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Burzum
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13 Feb 2012, 8:38 am

Vexcalibur wrote:

Go to India, get a car and try driving, you will experience how things look like when government isn't regulating anything.

The Indian government builds and owns the roads. It is therefore their responsibility to make sure they are managed correctly. What you've just said in fact demonstrates government incompetence. If the roads were privately owned by competitive enterprise then you might have an argument.

Declension wrote:

Imagine that a bunch of people are playing a game of monopoly. After a while, a couple of players have outplayed the others, and have gotten most of the money in the game. Then, the players have to leave and go do something, so they abandon the game with the board still set up.

Now, a new group of people stumbles on the board. One of them, Jeff, sits himself at the place which has the most money. He says, "hey, let's play a nice, fair game of monopoly!" Jeff is a libertarian.

EDIT: Actually, it's even worse than that! You see, in the original game of monopoly, the rules were completely different. In the original game, players frequently just stole money from each other, and killed each other to take their money. But in the new, "fair" game that Jeff is proposing, these things are completely illegal! Otherwise it wouldn't be fair, you see.

What you've just said is so nonsensical I cannot even guess at what your intended meaning was.

Dox47
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13 Feb 2012, 9:55 am

@LKL

DU or TP? I'm guessing DU.

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Master_Pedant
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13 Feb 2012, 10:40 am

CoMF wrote:

I'll never understand why self-styled leftists always equate libertarianism with giving carte blanche to the wealthy elite to do whatever they want with impunity.

Guess they've never heard of the Non-Agression Principle.

Uh, no, that's not the reason. They've just seen the libertarians actually apply their idealized "non-aggression principle" and have determined that libertarians define "aggression" way too narrowly.

CoMF wrote:

Edited to Add: Also, have they ever entertained the possibility that, through their relationship with the state, the wealthy elite perpetuate the abuse of those of lesser means?

Uh, quite a few "self-styled leftists" (most, in fact) do believe that government is influenced and bought by a wealthy elite (hell, Karl Marx talked about how the state does the business of capital-owners back in the 19th century and more moderate leftists generally subscribe to some version of the Investment Theory of Politics). The problem, of course, is that self-styled leftists don't think getting rid of or undermining the state will eliminate the problem of concentrated private power (well, maybe anarcho-syndicalists believe that). Most moderate leftists think rules against (currently legalized in the US) bribery is the best way to go. That won't eliminate the problem of elite influence, but it sure as hell would mitigate it.

CoMF wrote:

What good are "regulations" when you essentially have the foxes guarding the chickens?

Replace the foxes with hounds, then.

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CoMF
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13 Feb 2012, 11:26 am

Master_Pedant wrote:

I get really annoyed when people dismiss the entire concept of Libertarianism simply because of a few closet Republicans dragging it through the mud. I welcome allies on both sides of the political spectrum and judge them by their actions, not their words or the letter after their name, and don't subscribe to the fantasy that either side is inherently more benevolent or magnanimous than the other.

Master_Pedant wrote:

I was referring to leftists that embrace statism, not Anarchism.

Master_Pedant wrote:

The problem, of course, is that self-styled leftists don't think getting rid of or undermining the state will eliminate the problem of concentrated private power (well, maybe anarcho-syndicalists believe that). Most moderate leftists think rules against (currently legalized in the US) bribery is the best way to go. That won't eliminate the problem of elite influence, but it sure as hell would mitigate it.

How about we just remove the perverse incentives for misbehavior that currently exist instead of enacting more laws that will only be corrupted, sidestepped, or ignored?

Master_Pedant wrote:

Replace the foxes with hounds, then.

What will you do when the hounds start preying on the chickens? Just curious.

Vexcalibur
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13 Feb 2012, 11:49 am

Burzum wrote:

Vexcalibur wrote:

Go to India, get a car and try driving, you will experience how things look like when government isn't regulating anything.

ha ha lol hah.

No, I am not talking about road maintenance. I am talking about regulating driving and cars. Which last time I checked is not privately lead in the US or... anywhere.

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TeaEarlGreyHot
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13 Feb 2012, 3:18 pm

Tequila wrote:

TeaEarlGreyHot wrote:

Y'all do realize Libertarian is a very broad scope, right? It encompasses everything from near Anarchism to what's essentially a Republican that's socially liberal.

Indeed - some mild libertatrians just want a smaller welfare state, but they don't want to abolish it completely. They just want it to be far more effective for those that do need help and assistance.

It's correct to say that libertarianism is extremely broad, and many libertarians would be completely alienated by other kinds of libertarianism.

I love how this is being ignored. :lol:

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Tequila
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13 Feb 2012, 3:47 pm

TeaEarlGreyHot wrote:

I love how this is being ignored. :lol:

I consider myself a libertarian. I've known libertarians who favour keeping the NHS, for instance, and retaining the welfare state (although in nothing like its present form).

TeaEarlGreyHot
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13 Feb 2012, 3:56 pm

Tequila wrote:

TeaEarlGreyHot wrote:

I love how this is being ignored. :lol:

I consider myself a libertarian. I've known libertarians who favour keeping the NHS, for instance, and retaining the welfare state (although in nothing like its present form).

I'm one of those Libertarians that would rather see major reform concerning the social programs over them being abolished altogether.

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Tequila
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13 Feb 2012, 3:57 pm

TeaEarlGreyHot wrote:

I'm one of those Libertarians that would rather see major reform concerning the social programs over them being abolished altogether.

You might better be considered a classical liberal.

TM
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13 Feb 2012, 3:58 pm

ruveyn wrote:

LKL wrote:

...where everything is for sale, and everyone looks out for him- or herself:
http://www.npr.org/2012/02/08/146575908 ... umbai-slum

There is a difference between a minimal government and just plain social chaos. Libertarian means society under a minimal government who function is to protect lives, protect property, secure rights and provide a peaceful means of settling disputes. It does NOT mean gang rule.

ruveyn

The problem is that "minimum government" is quite a lot these days, just the bare minimums would be:

- Law enforcement.
- Military
- Courts.
- Some form of assembly of democratically elected representatives to come up with laws or a direct democracy solution.
- A tax collector of some sort to pay for the former things.

TeaEarlGreyHot
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13 Feb 2012, 3:59 pm

Tequila wrote:

TeaEarlGreyHot wrote:

I'm one of those Libertarians that would rather see major reform concerning the social programs over them being abolished altogether.

You might better be considered a classical liberal.

Hardly. I hold more Conservative views than Liberal ones.

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Tequila
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13 Feb 2012, 4:01 pm

TeaEarlGreyHot wrote:

Hardly. I hold more Conservative views than Liberal ones.

Do you believe in civil and economic freedom whilst believing in a small welfare state? Classical liberalism (which is nothing at all like U.S. "liberalism") is your bag. In Europe classical liberalism is considered a right-wing ideology.

TeaEarlGreyHot
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13 Feb 2012, 4:07 pm

Tequila wrote:

TeaEarlGreyHot wrote:

Hardly. I hold more Conservative views than Liberal ones.

Sorta. I actually don't like welfare at all but acknowledge it's usefulness. Reluctantly.

Most of my political views are centered around 2 things:

1) Smaller government
2) Money management

Welfare is a bad financial move and makes government larger.

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Tequila
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13 Feb 2012, 4:09 pm

What are your views on social policy? You have the economic views of a classical liberal but the social ones might be another matter.

TeaEarlGreyHot
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13 Feb 2012, 4:11 pm

Tequila wrote:

What are your views on social policy? You have the economic views of a classical liberal but the social ones might be another matter.

My views on social policy:

The government makes bad financial decisions and grows too large when they butt in.

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Tequila
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13 Feb 2012, 4:14 pm

Do you believe that government should tell people what to do or not? Or have you no views one way or the other? What are your views regarding crime, prisons, sin taxes, and so on?

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