How Libertarianism Would Actually Curtail Human Freedom {long read}

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/how-libertarianism-would-actually-curtail-human-freedom



***SNIP

A second — more important — source of confusion is that “libertarian,” as a rubric, offers Republicans certain rhetorical advantages. It suggests they’re for something and not just against the Democrats, and that this something is related to “liberty.” (And it performs this latter function while avoiding the hated epithet “liberal.”) It also serves an irenic purpose insofar as it gestures at common ground for Tea Partyers, the religious right generally, and Wall Streeters. If these factions can agree on anything, it’s that they want “less government” — meaning less liberal government — and this is easily elided into the claim that they want more liberty. As long as no one inspects the logic too closely, this “We’re all libertarians now” line can seem helpfully plausible. Which brings us to the fourth reason, a national media always ready to exploit the helpfully plausible in its constant search for the appealingly (or is it appallingly?) simple.

So one increasingly hears certain prominent Republicans referred to as libertarians or as members of the party’s “libertarian wing.” Ted Cruz and Paul Ryan have been identified as such at one time or another, as have (with slightly more reason) both Pauls, Ron and Rand. This, again, is a mistake. As I’ve argued elsewhere, no important Republican politician is a libertarian. Still, perceptions are important in politics, and there is certainly no doubt that real libertarians belong — noisily, busily belong — to the Republican coalition.

Given this, all of us have an interest in understanding the nature of libertarian thought, and in knowing whether it forms the basis of a workable politics. Michael Lind has written brilliantly about these issues ( here, for example) in the context of practical politics. I want to take them up in a more theoretical light. I will focus on the central concept of libertarian thought — the idea of personal freedom — and argue that it cannot be coherently explained on libertarian grounds. I will also argue that a libertarian society, if fully realized, would be actively hostile to the development of free selves. Libertarianism, in other words, cannot give a persuasive account of its own core concept. It’s as close to self-refuting as a political theory can be.

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Some criticisms of libertarian thought are unwarranted. For example, it is sometimes alleged that libertarians lack concern for others, or are motivated only by greed, or embrace a crass, materialistic ethic. Libertarians think such charges are based on a simple confusion. Their intent is to advocate for liberty, they say; what free people choose to do with their liberty is an entirely separate matter. I think this reply is conclusive if it is meant to rebut the claim that libertarians, because they value freedom, must also value the content of every free choice. (In other contexts, as I will argue below, it is much less conclusive.) That claim really is a confusion. I do not have to approve of pornography simply because I endorse the First Amendment. Similarly, I do not have to approve of choices to be selfish or shallow because I favor economic and political liberty. Liberals, who are often on the receiving end of this kind of attack from conservative critics, should think twice before directing it at libertarians.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

1. "they want 'less government' — meaning less liberal government"

The terms "liberal" and "government" are opposed to each other. When MLK was marching he was seeking to diminish government control over people. So too was the basis for Lawrence v Texas. Liberalism is openness, freedom, self-expression and self-empowerment. Government is incorporated violence.