Teamwork in a free society begins with the individual.
This is important for libertarianism to emphasize since statists see the individual as incapable, unintelligent, immoral, and irresponsible (we need the state to correct all this!). And statist economists emphasize aggregates (macroeconomics) resulting in people as unique, acting individuals getting lost in the collectivist morass.
Finally, and perhaps most telling, WMASM libertarians are overwhelmingly anti-war, more so than most leftists. (Read www.anti-war.com, for example.) Most libertarians are not about to be drafted or have relatives in the Middle East. By the author's own standards of selfishness , they are unselfish in this major stance.
Warm regards, Michael
I agree, Michael; however, in the case of Libertarians, team work seems to end with individualism.
Marcy
Marcy - I would add that 'me-ism' (individualism) _is_ the ideal that
libertarians are promoting, as a solution to the societal problems created
by excessive 'we'. This author appears to be just promoting a new
collectivist version of libertarianism - maybe as a counter the same problem
he complains about. Maybe it's just spin to help in recruiting, but maybe
they just don't understand the value of individualism or non-initiation of
force principles(?)
I'm not convinced that libertarians appealing to yet another collectivist
version of freedom helps anyone in the long run. But I wouldn't force that
upon anyone J
David
PS - I remember seeing a banner at a national LP convention years ago that
read 'LP - the only pro-gun party', so I agree with his observations just
not his proposed solution.
Behalf Of drmedelstein.threeminutetherapy@...
David,
I think there's an important distinction between egoism, on the one hand, and a public policy based on individual liberty, on the other. Libertarianism does not require people to be selfish -- in fact, I think it takes a certain amount of *non-selfishness* (at least as the term "selfishness" is conventionally used -- I'm sympathetic to the philosophical argument that on a deeper level *all* human actions are inevitably selfish) to respect and honor the rights of others.
What solution do you see the author as promoting, and where do you think it goes wrong?
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))
Hi David,
You reiterate my point -- Libertarians value individualism above all else. Libertarianism as embodied in a political party constitutes a contradiction in terms. You cannot promote a group and/or a group's ideas without team work, and teamwork requires giving up some individualism. Yes, you are correct that the blog, in most Libertarians' view, constitutes endorsing collectivism. Thus the 1-4% share of the votes received by Libertarian candidates; and "the what party?" response when I mention "Libertarian" to someone for the first time.
Marcy
Starchild - Yeah, I may not have been specific enough. I mentioned
selfishness as an objectivist definition, as opposed to the popular
definition of 'thinking of oneself...at the expense of others'. Either way,
I'm not trying to dismiss voluntary teamwork as Michael states.
Anyway, I reread the post, and I still think it sounds like he is promoting
an idea that the LP should include other areas of subjective enslavement
enjoyed by alternative demographics. It's possible that he just means - 'a
broader range of examples of freedom should be used when evangelizing
freedom and the party'... but then I read the examples he gives, and I don't
think that's the case. They all smack of parity of privilege ideals, not
initiation of force.
So to summerize, I agree it would be wise for libertarians to use different
frames of reference when promoting liberty, but not muddy the platform with
a bunch of new for and against agenda positions. It adds confusion to the
message and encourages people like Barr to join and corrupt the whole thing.
Cheers,
David
One exception would be 'pro-freedom' (libertarian definition) but I suppose
there are still some out there who feel enslaved by their own minds, like
that guy who wrote 'The Tyranny of Freedom' .
Behalf Of Starchild