Libertarianism is often criticized as only being for "rich white guys".
Of course, in the next breath it will be said to only be for losers who live in their mom's basement.
It's for people who think too much... or is it for people who don't think things through?
It is said it can't work in the "real world" by people who support Statism- which has failed to accomplish the supposed reason for its imposition every single time it has been imposed- for thousands of years.
But, statists have never been accused of being rational or consistent. Just "pragmatic" and "normal".
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The founders of this once great nation would, today, be classified as hard-core Libertarians. They would also be shocked and horrified, if alive today, at how far from their original principles the people have let their government stray. See, public indoctrination... er, public schools do work.
ReplyDeleteAlso, every pioneer who headed west was a "leave me alone I can do it myself Libertarian." Statists (or as I like to call them, anti-rightists) hate independent, I can do it myself, people.
I would like to look each founder in the eyes and yell "What did you expect to happen? You went and screwed everything up by establishing a State!!"
DeleteAnd, unfortunately a lot of the pioneers seemed to be of the "leave me alone... but, I'm happy to violate you" types. Or, at least content to look away while others set up the same kind of "system" that they had escaped.
I know... hindsight. I'd probably mess things up in the same situation, too.
And yet, had you been born in China, still living there and feeling the same way you do, you wouldn't be allowed to run the blog.
DeleteThere have been no societies, including hunter-gatherer societies, in which there were not rules to follow and, at the very least, a council of elders. In the old west, when there were no gun laws (and I'm all for an armed citizenry), where nearly every one went armed or had access to a firearm, did the bad guys stop murdering and robbing? In the absence of an honest police force, many of the citizens of San Francisco, in the mid-1800's, formed vigilance committees. Sometimes they got the bad guy. Sometimes the got an innocent person.
Humans are far from perfect. Most will not think logically like you and be willing to apply the zero aggression principle without first accessing the facts and looking at the evidence. Many will react from emotion and lack of evidence and, in a society without some form of policing and a justice system, no matter how imperfect, will shoot, hang, or beat to death an innocent person. At least in our imperfect system an accused (who is innocent) has a chance to clear his or her name. That wouldn't happen with a lynch mob.
I'm not a copsucker, as you put it, by any means. But I also don't believe that, otherwise, honest, peaceful citizens would get it right when it came to true justice anymore than what is happening now, and I believe that there is a greater chance that they would get it wrong more often.
And, yes, giving a badge and a gun to someone will tend to corrupt them with the belief that they are the authority and that they should be obey, regardless. That, too, is human nature. Who will guard the guardians is an issue that must be dealt with every day. That is why the citizenry must be allowed to record police-citizen encounters. I believe it will force the police to be more careful in what they are doing.
I often wonder if "allowing" people to vent is also a statist tactic. It allows us to blow off steam and avoid doing substantive things. There is probably more real resistance and "treachery" in China.
DeleteThere is no Utopia. People will make mistakes. Personally, I would rather face freelancers than "officials" any day. I believe the freelancers would face more consequences than the badged wonders do. At least, that's what I observe happening today.