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Forum Post: Confessions of a Former Libe(R)tarian

Posted 10 years ago on Jan. 27, 2014, 12:02 p.m. EST by shoozTroll (17632)
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"During college, a friend admitted he was confounded by my politics. He didn’t know how to reconcile my libertarianism with my other commitments. We were Buddhists and vegetarians, and I knew exactly what he meant. The tension centered around compassion. He wanted to know how someone concerned with the world’s suffering wouldn’t adopt a more compassionate political perspective.

It was a reasonable question, one that I asked myself regularly. My stock answer was that while I supported compassion in the form of assistance to those in need, I opposed the clumsy government mechanisms we relied on for it, not to mention the veiled coercion behind them — where did anyone get the right to enforce their values at the barrel of a gun (meaning taxes), no matter how noble those values might be? "

http://www.alternet.org/belief/confessions-former-libertarian-my-personal-psychological-and-intellectual-epiphany

10 Comments

10 Comments


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[-] 1 points by GirlFriday (17435) 10 years ago

That's a pretty interesting read.

[-] 1 points by shoozTroll (17632) 10 years ago

http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/how-libertarians-play-clowns-circus-show-called-republican-party

These "clowns" are entertainment for the Koch's.

http://articles.philly.com/2014-01-18/news/46304622_1_house-democrats-electoral-votes-matter

http://www.citizensforethics.org/blog/entry/koch-network-mysterious-group-pushing-shift-pennsylvania-electoral-votes

If voting doesn't matter and it's all over and it's all just a duopoly?

Why would those guys still be spending so much to affect outcomes?

Do you really think they are stupid? that they're just in the habit of throwing their money away?

Keep in mind too, that they are not alone.

[-] 1 points by shoozTroll (17632) 10 years ago

The truth hurts, until you accept it.

Then it's just the truth.

[-] 0 points by MattLHolck (16833) from San Diego, CA 10 years ago

on scan, this appears to suggest the people are not the government

[-] 0 points by shoozTroll (17632) 10 years ago

the conclusion is pretty telling.

"But the truth an ideologue is at pains to accept is that no life can live up to ideology. We are a messy species living messy lives. And we are lucky for this. The intellectual libertarian wants the world to be the kind of ideal world it never can be. He (and it’s often he) is unable to live with ambiguity and compromise. The beautiful (it is a kind of beauty) logical edifice of libertarianism is built on the faulty premise that this is the kind of world that is built on logical edifices.

The discomfort I felt with libertarianism was the discomfort of my ideas not aligning with my experiences. My thoughts and feelings were at odds. The feeling nagging me was that I couldn’t reconcile my humanity with my ideology any more than my friend could for me. Over time, that feeling became a reason in its own right.

I saw, as many libertarians see, a world tangential to this world we live in, which is the world I always felt like I belonged to.'

[-] 1 points by MattLHolck (16833) from San Diego, CA 10 years ago

OK

though I never liked philosophers on the poetry forums

I usually held my tongue

[-] -1 points by shoozTroll (17632) 10 years ago

Libe(R)tarianism is first and foremost a philosophy, adapted to ones politic.

[-] 2 points by go4broke (120) 10 years ago

Yes true, and "Libe(R"tarianism" can be 'adOpted' by Democrats too as proven by Obama's Presidency, so perhaps a better term would be 'Libe(R)tariDanism.

A reminder, Occupy is a non-partisan movement because they know that both parties stink.

[-] -2 points by shoozTroll (17632) 10 years ago

hchc?

You know, you should at least be a little thankful that I haven't already kicked you out again.

I'm very tired of playing this game with you.

But you know what else?

I'm not afraid of compromise, when it suits the greater good.

When it shows the hope of promoting peace.

Will you admit my position is accurate, if I adjust my meme?

I will offer you this compromise.

(l)ibe(R)tarian, in order to demonstrate the level of infestation, in this country, at this point in time..

Shit fuck...you did it again!

You just had to say your favorite word.

This is the very last olive branch I will be offering to you, without sensing a sincere change of heart..

[-] 0 points by shoozTroll (17632) 10 years ago

C'mon, ya gotta feel for the guy.