Friday, July 20, 2007

Libertarians: Right 75% Of The Time

After much political soul searching I have come to the conclusion that the Libertarians are the only party that has most things right. 75 percent may not sound like much but when you consider the Democrats and Republicans are at best, right about 25% of the time, the choice is clear.

If we look at social and financial issues each being 50% of the equation it becomes easier to analyze the theory. Let's look at the Democrats. Right off the bat we can say they are wrong on business. Governmental interference helps nobody. At least their brand of nit picking and taxation. On social issues they are a little better. Standing up for individual rights on most occasions unless that right happens to conflict with other ideas. Actively promoting racism disguised as Affirmative Action however makes them lose most of their moral credibility.

The Republicans fare better in the business realm, at least in theory they profess to be "hands off" even though they are not. On social issues they are nothing if not tragic. So while they believe in the first few Amendments to the Bill Of Rights they seem to completely get lost when religion gets in the way. Suddenly they find it acceptable to tell people how to live and what to do. Wrong.

So why are Libertarians at 75% then? On social issues they are completely correct. The basis of their thinking basically is "do what you want as long as you do not harm others." Seems like a sensible philosophy and unlike the major parties they do not make exceptions when it comes to religion, personal morality or cultural differences. Principle only.
In business is where they start to lose me. Sure they are right when it comes to small business. Governmental interference can only harm these enterprises. Big business is another story. Here, the iron hand of a larger entity (such a transparent governmental entity) can actually help. Left to their own devices big business sees nothing but the bottom line. Pollution, safety and the greater good are all small considerations when it comes to profit.

A Libertarian once explained that the market will correct all that is wrong. So that if consumers demand more economic and environmentally friendly cars let's say, the market will adjust itself. Not so, without someone looking out for the nations best interests, big business will rape the environment, enslave the workers and corrupt the soul. Why not, they have done so before. Wouldn't children still be working in coal mines and wouldn't substandard food products be on the shelves if big government hadn't stepped in? Now the real problem then becomes what is government and who controls it?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

The first question to ask yourself is "Would a Libertarian government choose to create corporations in the first place?". You forget that corporations are not something that exist in the natural world. They are created by governments.

As for the "Enslave the Workers" part, how? If there are no regulations to prevent people from starting a business or working as they choose, then in order to get people to work for them, companies would have to make the conditions attractive.

Of course now, when it takes a gang of lawyers to start a business, we have little choice about where we work. If we don't have political pull, we're better off working for somebody who does.

Vlad said...

Rich,

Thanks for your comments. Basically I think we are on the same page here with just some minor differences of opinion. Libertarian viewpoints are the right ones in my humble opinion. Well, certainly more right then the other parties. Out of curiosity, how did you come across my blog? I haven't told anyone about it yet?

Yours in Liberty,
Vlad