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Is libertarianism a legitimate political platform?

Debate Information

There are Democrats, Republicans, and ever-elusive third parties, like Libertarianism - which is quickly rising in popularity. They are based around freedom of the individual and less government interference. Examples of their policies include:
- Legalization of marijuana
- Less gun control
- Open borders for immigration
- Abolishing the progressive tax
- Abolishing/auditing the federal reserve
etc.

Do you agree with this system of thinking, or should it not be taken seriously? As far as I know there haven't been that many libertarians holding office in local or state governments yet, with a few exceptions.
  1. Live Poll

    Is libertarianism legit

    7 votes
    1. Nope
      28.57%
    2. Yea
      71.43%



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  • agsragsr 881 Pts   -  
    Sorry, I don't think that's a legitimate platform overall if by legitimate we mean has a chance of actually winning an election. That said, Everyone is entitled to their opinions and many agree with some aspects of their platform (just not all).

    Live Long and Prosper
  • MayCaesarMayCaesar 5971 Pts   -   edited August 2018
    Okay, as a libertarian myself, allow me to clarify something first. As with any other political ideology, there are many ways this ideology can be interpreted. In general, I divide libertarians into three groups:
    1. Hypocritical libertarians. Best illustrated by the Libertarian Party of the US. These guys do not actually share much with advocates for individual freedoms and liberties. Their thought process goes as follows: "I should have the freedom to say what I want to say and to do what I want to do" - however, they only really apply it to words and actions that they personally would say/take, and they are not nearly as supportive of freedoms of others to say/do things they disagree with.
    2. Hippie libertarians. People such as hippies from 60-s, or many high school rebels. These ones take the extreme unintelligent simplistic position: "Everything goes". They are essentially anarchists, the difference being that they still recognize the existence of a state - just not quite that state having any practical relevance. Their position is not thought out at all and breaks upon the slightest scrutiny, as they get trapped in their own mutually exclusive over-simplified constructs.
    3. Intelligent libertarians. I count myself among such, and good examples include Objectivists and people from such organizations as Independent Institute and Law & Liberty. We advocate for individual freedoms and liberties mostly restricted by nothing but basic human right considerations. There is a large array of opinions on what constitutes a "human right", and some libertarians do include certain "collective good" ideas in their world view (for example, there are libertarians believing that the state must introduce certain regulations to protect the environment). In general, however, we believe that the individual is a master of their own fate, and as long as he/she does not bother anyone without their consent, nobody should bother him/her without his/her consent.
    I would like people to imply the 3rd group when they pronounce the word "libertarian". The first group uses the label to hide their hypocrisy behind the ideas they do not really share, and the second group does not have much in terms of ideas at all and masks their lack of position behind the curtains of free thinking.

    Libertarianism is an amazing ideology. Whether it is realistic in terms of practical state-building or not (it being realistic or not strongly depends on the people's willingness to sacrifice safety in favor of freedoms and liberties), it is very empowering for the individual believing in this ideology. You realize that your success does not depend on the environment you live in, but, rather, depends on what you as an individual do in this environment. Your future is in your hands and depends on no one but you. Once this realization dawns, you feel like for the first time in your life you breathed in fresh air. No longer does your fate depend on the whims of authoritarian controlling people, for now you understand that you do not have to bow before their whims, and you can build your own road to success, with your own hands, regardless of what people around you think about it.

    I sometimes get asked the following question in discussions about libertarianism, "Well, if it is all about freedoms and liberties for you, then why do you not simply become an anarchist? Why have any rules at all? Does it not show that your position is not logically conclusive?" Different libertarians will answer this question differently. I would say, "True freedom is impossible in a perfectly chaotic environment: when nothing is certain, then the freedom is reduced to the ability to change the currents of chaos. Nothing can be built in chaos." Some degree of order is needed in order for people to be able to exercise their freedoms in a predictable, understandable environment. However, this is where the ordering ends. Anything beyond the basic ideas of giving people certainty that they will wake up in the same environment tomorrow as today, instead of having their house burned by some bored punk - is oppression.

    ---

    Something that should also be noted is that a political "libertarian platform" is very hard to construct. A true libertarian party, for example, would be a very volatile construct. Us, libertarians, are individualists by nature, we do not work very well in groups, especially in groups with some sort of hierarchy involved - denouncing social relations based on the concept of authority is one of the cornerstones of libertarianism. Objectivists, as an illustration, have fractured many times since their formation, as disagreement on specifics of the ideology drew them to pursue their passions separately.

    As such, I think that a libertarian political system is much more likely to arise as a result of a shift of the collective consciousness towards the ideas of freedoms and liberties - shift that is likely to occur in the distant future, where the technological evolution will lead to extreme decentralization of power structures and make the concept of the government somewhat obsolete - than as the outcome of a modern democratic process.
    Applesaucepiloteer
  • linatelinate 58 Pts   -  
    libertarians are clowns
    Applesaucepiloteer
  • piloteerpiloteer 1577 Pts   -  
     Ron Paul, and Rand Paul are libertarians. Although I would call them traditionalists, or conservative leaning. But they're opposed to war. Opposition to war is one issue all libertarians would agree upon, whether they are left leaning, or progressive, or traditional, or constitutionalists. Constitutionalists are considered to be libertarians, but they try argue for Christian law. Like for instance, they are opposed to pornography and freedom of speech that demeans Jesus or God. Bernie Sanders is considered a left leaning, or socialist libertarian, much like the brand of libertarianism that is seen in Europe. Gary Johnson ran for the libertarian party ticket in 2016. I would consider him to be an idiotarian. He seemed very unaware of modern issues and his running mate was Bill Weld a former governor of Massachusetts. The NRA was all over Gary Johnson for choosing Bill Weld as a running mate. Gun control is another issue that most libertarians would agree on, more or less. The NRA gave Bernie Sanders a B+ rating for protecting gun rights.

     The term "libertarian" was first used in Europe. In the 1920s, the communists, socialists, and anarchists tried to negotiate a merger to form one large "umbrella" party, but the negotiations failed. The very next day, members of the anarchist and socialist parties split off and created a splinter party known as the libertarians. Libertarianism in the United States is usually associated with my hero, Ayn Rand. The core of American libertarianism is wildy considered to be a modern argument for objective reason. The core of Rands philosophy is centered around economic freedom and private property rights.
  • piloteerpiloteer 1577 Pts   -  
    Ron Paul and Rand Paul are libertarians, although they're traditionalists, or conservative leaning. But they're opposed to war. Opposition to war is one issue all libertarians would agree upon, whether they are left leaning, or progressive, or conservative, or constitutionalists. Constitutionalists are considered to be libertarians, but they argue for implementing Christian law. Like for instance, they're opposed to pornography and freedom of speech that demeans Jesus or God. Bernie Sanders is considered a left leaning or socialist libertarian, like the brand of libertarianism that is seen in Europe. Gary Johnson ran for the libertarian party in 2016. I would consider him to be an idiotarian. He seemed very unaware of modern issues and his running mate was Bill Weld, a former governor of Massachusetts. The NRA was all over Gary Johnson for choosing Bill Weld as a running mate. Gun control is another issue that most libertarians would agree upon, more or less. The NRA gave Bernie Sanders a B+ rating for protecting gun rights.

    The term "libertarian" was first used in Europe. In the 1920s, the communists, socialists, and anarchists tried to negotiate a merger to form one large umbrella party, but the negotiations failed. The very next day, members of the anarchist and socialist parties split off and formed a splinter party known as the libertarian party. American libertarianism is widly considered to be centered around the political and philosophical writings of my hero, Ayn Rand. The core of Rands philosophy is centered around objective reason. In the political arena, Rands philosophy is centered around economic freedom and private property rights. 
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