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Ask a Libertarian/Classical Liberal/Small-gov't supporter (me).

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by anthonythegamer, Jun 26, 2017.

  1. The 2010s have been a volatile period of time in politics as conflicts emerge around the world and we (the West) struggle to deal with them in ways. Our elections have been tough. Populist figures like Trump, Le Pen, Sanders, and Duterte have made headlines and disagreements have gone violent. I wish we can have a nice and civil discussion..... OH RIGHT

    I'm a libertarian and simply put, I'm basically right in the middle here between left-wing and right-wing. I know it's more than that but I'm trying to simplify things here. Ask me anything!
     
  2. Andrew99

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    I like your intro you should be a blogger :slight_smile:

    Anyway I don't identify as a libertarian although it's probably the closest thing I am too when it comes to political parties. I'm pretty much in the middle although certain topics I'm really liberal on while others I'm conservative on.

    What are your thoughts on marijuana, abortion, assisted suicide, and Syrian refugees?
     
  3. Haha thanks. I've tried blogging on EC since there is a potential for audience but the revamp website got rid of my blog posts... :frowning2:

    Marijuana- Legalize it and subject it to state sales tax. Not really a fan of special taxes on marijuana like cigarettes and alcohol. Overtaxing it can create a new kind of black market. There is a black market for untaxed cigarettes in NYC because of their expensive cigarette taxes. It shouldn't stop at marijuana. Legalize all drugs. This link explains why https://fee.org/articles/how-prohibition-makes-drugs-more-potent-and-deadly/

    Abortion- Over the years, I've become more pro-life but I still acknowledge that banning it won't solve anything. Making birth control over the counter will help. No government shall decide if abortions should be allowed, that authority shall lie in the hands of the OB/GYN.

    Assisted suicide- Your body, your choice. Make it legal even for people who aren't terminally-ill. However that doesn't mean people should always seek assisted suicide as an answer. Just because it's legal doesn't mean it has to be endorsed.

    Syrian refugees- allow them in after a vetting process that is as streamlined as possible without compromising safety. Kinda like Canada. For them, it takes only about a year. Allow civilians to sponsor refugees and allow refugee resettlement be in the hands of charitable individuals and groups.
     
    #3 anthonythegamer, Jun 26, 2017
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  4. Blast

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    I am a libertarian socialist myself.
     
  5. Haha the leftist brothers to mainstream/right-wing libertarians
     
  6. ThatBorussenGuy

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    Probably a dumb question, but what is a libertarian? :thinking: How do you define what one is and what qualifies someone to be one? I feel like I should know this, but I've only really taken an interest in politics since the most recent election and I haven't quite nailed down what a libertarian actually is.
     
    #6 ThatBorussenGuy, Jun 26, 2017
    Last edited: Jun 26, 2017
  7. I love it when people are curious enough to want to know what a libertarian is ^_^

    Libertarianism is a political philosophy that government should butt out of our lives and maintain a laissez faire role. It's the opposite of authoritarianism, which advocates for government intervention.

    The mainstream libertarians you tend are primarily right-wing libertarians. Socially liberal, fiscally conservative. No exceptions to any of it. We tend to believe that personal activities like gambling, drugs and alcohol, and consensual sex should not be banned by the government, even if it's against our own beliefs. On that notes, we believe that economic activities like businesses and immigration should not be heavily regulated. THe government should act as a referee in the economy by punishing those who defraud others, but not as a player in the economy by having state-owned enterprises.
     
  8. Justinian20

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    I only know about Libertarian people from Trey Stone and Matt Parker describing themselves as Libertarian. I honestly believe governments should be formed from the more in the middle people because then you have certain things that work both ways, I am a far more left wing person though, I am a little too left wing to be a Libertarian. But I respect people who are more in the middle on issues because I actually think thats the best way for a government to be. Cause to me it means they aren't on the extremes of both sides, like when you get right wing extremists like Mike Pence, you get a not so great government because it takes peoples rights away.
     
  9. Ofc South Park xD

    Tbh, libertarians can be viewed as radicals when you compared them to other political groups. When we say we're socially liberal, we really mean it (legalizing all drugs, no more special taxes on alcohol and drugs, end most obscenity laws, legalize prostitution). When we say we're fiscally conservative, we really mean it as well (end most taxes, including income taxes; privatize everything except probably police and military, some want to go even further and privatize police; and end many regulations on business).

    The left-wing factions and right-wing factions in most governments seem to be on different sides of the same coin. Left-wingers tend to contradict themselves on immigration by supporting more immigration but stopping at open borders. Right-wingers tend to contradict themselves on deregulation by picking and choosing what regulations to slash.
     
  10. Reciprocal

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    But...who would build the roads? :grin:
     
  11. GalleyGirl

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    I'm not particularly libertarian but I am very much a center person. This is actually quite hard because my parents are quite right wing, but a lot of my friends are very left wing. So I have my parents saying the left will put us all in a recession and my friends saying the right will crush all the poor people, which means I keep feeling both are exaggerations and not being able to agree with either of them! But it's also hard because without knowing (or meaning it) the both are being really harsh on each other, I remember vaguely mentioning my mum was more right wing and my friend looking shocked and horrorified went 'Your mum's tory??!!' (the main English right wing party) I was so scared I ended up lying and saying no I meant she was centrist. I was wondering what advice you could give for dealing with theses kinds of situations? When you don't share such extreme opinions, or want to defend one side without offending the other?
     
  12. Ahh UK politics, I love watching UK Parliament do Question Time. We need that here in the U.S.

    Honestly, I don't believe you can do much to change that other than having other friends who are more receptive and tolerant of other political views or trying to get your friends to be more tolerant and be more open to discussion. The former is far easier.
     
  13. Magic!
    Serious answer, private companies HAHAHA
     
  14. Winter Maiden

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  15. ^beauty of libertarianism is that we have the choice to say "no" if we want :slight_smile:
     
  16. Aussie792

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    If social circumstances have made certain communities less productive and market solutions are inadequate to build the necessary infrastructure or provide public services to improve the situation, is it positive for public spending to plug that gap and provide impetus for subsequent private economic growth? For example, if poverty reduces the capacity to engage in the formal economy and a safety net ends up improving productivity and individuals' quality of life, is it inconsistent with your libertarian principles to implement that safety net?

    How should libertarianism take inequality of bargaining power into account in thinking about contracts? Should tenants and landlords be free to draw up any agreement they so wish without regulations about what that contract looks like?

    Do you worry libertarianism presumes individuals have more agency than they realistically do?

    How clearly do you distinguish between libertarianism's means and ends?
     
  17. Answered your questions and concerns in order of your asking :slight_smile:

    Almost always when a certain community doesn't fare as well as others, it has more to do with government policy rather than social circumstances. I don't deny that racism plays a role, but not as major as you would think. If that were the case, the ethnic Chinese in Indonesia and Malaysia would be living in terrible environments, except most of them don't.

    In a laissez-faire economy that libertarians advocate for, the poor should definitely have opportunity for social mobility even with little to no education. However, many economies are far more micromanaged than one may think. Hairdressing is a prominent example. Almost anyone could learn how to cut and style hair on their own or with a little help from a hairdressing friend. Here's the problem, many countries in the developed world requires licensing to be able to work in that profession. The poor may not be able to save up for classes to get licensed to cut hair. As a result, that's a rung from the social ladder removed from the bottom for the poor, meaning less opportunities.

    Services and goods are provided by markets, but usually they are provided by taxes. From time to time, people are less likely to donate to charity when governments taxes and provides ample public services. If we all want to help those for are disadvantaged, we'd do it on voluntary means. We don't need to be levied for taxes to provide services for the disadvantaged. Charity organizations can help save the day. It's not against libertarianism to be kind and giving, but it's against libertarianism to have a safety net funded by the involuntary collection of tax revenue.

    Parties should definitely be able to negotiate on terms and conditions of contracts even without regulations. Tenants aren't necessarily forced to rent a place out. Of course, if there is coercion involved in signing the contracts, then there should be a penalty. Also, contracts should only be enforceable by law if violating it would be an implicit or explicit act of property theft.

    Many libertarians don't deny that while most people are level-headed enough to make decisions for themselves, some aren't so level-headed. However, we agree that it's a hell of a lot better than forfeiting some choice to a monolithic government that decides things for us.

    Well, how we can achieve libertarianism is to end gov't involvement in our lives and our economy. We're quite successful with social libertarianism with legalization of gay marriage and liberalization of drug laws in the US. However, getting the government out of the economy is much harder since the government actually has something to gain from by being involved in the economy. The end goal for this is continuous and ample economic growth, along with a tolerant society.
     
    #17 anthonythegamer, Jun 28, 2017
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  18. tranonymous

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  19. Good intentions but terrible results. Pure direct democracy is simply mob rule; basically, tyranny of the majority. We are a republic, not a democracy for a reason. Pure direct democracy leads to individuals banding together to take away the rights of minorities. Gay marriage has been banned by referendum like Prop 8 in CA. Had this been direct democracy, CA wouldn't have legalized gay marriage until 2015 with the Obergefell vs. Hodges SCOTUS case because it would have ended with "well, the people have spoken."
     
  20. tranonymous

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    The way I see it the "majority rules" problem is present in representative democracy ( and all forms of democracy) as well. And I think that direct democracy would be better for minority issues, as each issue would be dealt with separately. In a representative democracy people vote on a bundle of ideas and policies (a party or candidate) which means that issues that only effect a small number of people are ignored by most people, who vote based on which parties will effect them personally. This means that someone straight who for example supports gay marriage might very well not vote on a party that supports gay marriage because they disagree with the party's other policies.

    Another question.
    I once read a book about libertarianism, in which the author believed that the government shouldn't redistribute wealth (in the form of taxing the wealthy and giving benefits to the poor) as he believed that there should be no "safety net" with freedom comes the the freedom to fail. Do you agree with this?