Sunday, January 1, 2006

Why You Are a Libertarian

Why You Are a Libertarian - A moral article by Harry Browne.

You’re a libertarian because you abhor violence . . .

When a neighbor isn’t willing to contribute as much to a social project as you are, you’d never think of:

Using a gun to force him to contribute;

Hiring an armed gang to threaten to kidnap him or confiscate his money if he didn’t contribute;

Using the government in place of the armed gang if he didn’t contribute — because every government program, in the final analysis, involves violence against those who don’t comply.

If two people have agreed to engage in voluntary behavior between them, with no violence involved, you’d never think of:

Using a gun to stop them;

Hiring an armed gang to threaten to kidnap them if they didn’t stop;

Using the government in place of the armed gang to stop them.

If a company and an individual have agreed to engage in voluntary behavior between them, with no violence involved, you’d never think of:

Using a gun to stop them;

Hiring an armed gang to threaten to kidnap them if they didn’t stop;

Using the government in place of the armed gang to stop them.

If a foreign government is not attacking America, you’d never support the idea of initiating violence against the foreign country.

As one who abhors violence, you’re willing to tolerate anything that’s peaceful, and you practice the principle of live and let live — opposing the initiation of force (violence) against anyone for any purpose.

That’s why you’re a libertarian.

2 comments:

Mike Huben said...

Tired ideological rhetoric from one of the least inspiring libertarians I've ever met.

His "coercion of the neighbor" argument fails miserably as soon as you think of condominiums, and the decisions of the condo association. That is voluntary and contractual, just like our government. He just wants you to overlook that inconvenient fact.

I've been to the 2000 MA Libertarian Party meeting where Harry Browne, Carla Howell, and Michael Cloud all spoke. I felt sorry for the attendees: they were phenominally bored because the speakers all robotically repeated the libertarian happy-talk they would use to appeal to non-libertarians. I was surprised that nobody recognized my name on the badge on my chest: heck, I was wearing my jackboots and had flown in on my unmarked black UN helicopter, but they didn't notice.

D.R.M. said...

Why do you have the right to property in the first place?