Tuesday, September 24, 2019

"Former libertarians"



I've run into several people who used to be libertarians but have kind of moved away from the position over the years.

I used to think there could be no such thing as a "former libertarian", that anyone making this claim was never a libertarian to begin with, but I'm not as certain anymore.

Have they really embraced the antisocial method of politics? Have they actually given up on society and voluntary interactions?

If so, I doubt it's because of new information-- I can't believe anyone has tried to find reasons to reject libertarianism harder than I have. Or, I seriously doubt they have. I am always trying to falsify everything I believe. One bit of counter-evidence tells you more than thousands of confirming points. But even when I think I've found counter-evidence, it turns out to be an error or a misunderstanding on my part. That doesn't mean we all agree, but the disagreements are matters of interpretation, not flaws with the position.

But, the current societal climate is hostile to self-responsibility and liberty. It is hard to continually swim upstream. To just relax and let yourself go with the flow is often tempting. Is this what they've done?

I don't know, but I suspect it often is.
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