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Title: The Liberty Scam
Source:
Slate
URL Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/ ... /2011/06/the_liberty_scam.html
Published: May 20, 2016
Author: Stephen Metcalf
Post Date: 2016-05-20 21:54:48 by Gatlin
Keywords: None
Views: 3642
Comments: 21
Why even Robert Nozick, the philosophical father of libertarianism, gave up on the movement he inspired. Recently, I overheard a fellow Amtraker back off a conversation on politics. "You know, it's because I'm a libertarian," he said, sounding like a vegetarian politely declining offal. Later that afternoon, in the otherwise quite groovy loft I sometimes crash at in SoHo, where one might once have expected,say, Of Grammatology or at least a back issue ofElle Decor, there sat not one but two copies of something called The Libertarian Reader. "Libertarianism" places one—so believes the libertarian—not on the political spectrum but slightly above it, and this accounts for its appeal to both the tricorne fringe and owners of premium real estate. Liberty's current bedfellows include Paul Ryan (his staffers are assigned Atlas Shrugged), Glenn Beck (he flogged The Road to Serfdom onto the best-seller list), Slate's Jack Shafer, South Park, the founder of Whole Foods, this nudnik, P.J. O'Rourke, now David Mamet, and to the extent she cares for anything beyond her own naked self-interest—oh, wait, that is libertarianism—Sarah Palin. With libertarianism everywhere, it's hard to remember that as recently as the 1970s, it was nowhere to be found. Once the creed of smart set rogues, H.L. Mencken among them, libertarianism all but disappeared after the Second World War. What happened? The single most comprehensive, centrally planned, coordinated governmental action in history—that's what happened. In addition to defeating fascism, the Second World War acted as a magnificent sieve, through which almost no one, libertarians included, passed unchanged. (To pick one example: Lionel Robbins, the most prominent anti-Keynesian before the war, served as director of the economic division of the British War Cabinet; after the War, Robbins presided over the massive expansion of the British higher education system.) By the '50s, with Western Europe and America free, prosperous, happy, and heavily taxed, libertarianism had lost its roguish charm. It was the Weltanschauung of itinerant cranks: Ronald Reagan warming up the Moose Lodge; Ayn Rand mesmerizing her Saturday night sycophants; the Reader's Digest economist touting an Austrian pedigree.
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#5. To: Gatlin, posts that Ronald Reagan was an itinerant crank, ----- Y'ALL (#0)
Gatlin posts that Ronald Reagan was an "itinerant crank", ----- -- warming up the Moose Lodge.
In addition, he dismisses Reagan's words on libertarianism. “If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism. I think conservatism is really a misnomer just as liberalism is a misnomer for the liberals — if we were back in the days of the Revolution, so-called conservatives today would be the Liberals and the liberals would be the Tories. The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is.”
“If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism. I think conservatism is really a misnomer just as liberalism is a misnomer for the liberals — if we were back in the days of the Revolution, so-called conservatives today would be the Liberals and the liberals would be the Tories. The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is.” I predict that before long, -- Trump will say more or less the same thing about libertarianism. Which will give gatlin a hissy fit...
The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is.” Everyone on the right these days claims Ronald Reagan. Neoconservatives, libertarians, social conservatives, moderates, and the rest each have a favorite quote. He was a complex man with complex thoughts, allowing every ideologue to pick out-of-context phrases.
Uh - wrong, as usual. Nothing was taken out of context. You just don't like the fact that he said good things about the libertarian philosophy. Ronald Reagan Was No Libertarian I never claimed he was.
Why in the Hell are you answering tpaine's post? Put down the glass pipe ... at least for the rest of the evening.
#17. To: Gatlin (#14)
Check it again - I answered YOUR post.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestBy the '50s, with Western Europe and America free, prosperous, happy, and heavily taxed, libertarianism had lost its roguish charm. It was the Weltanschauung of itinerant cranks: Ronald Reagan warming up the Moose Lodge; ----
#6. To: tpaine (#5)
(Edited)
Gatlin posts that Ronald Reagan was an "itinerant crank"
#7. To: Deckard, gatlin, - about to get a hissy fit, --- Y'ALL (#6)
Reagan's words on libertarianism.
#8. To: tpaine (#7)
Reagan's words on libertarianism. “If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism. I think conservatism is really a misnomer just as liberalism is a misnomer for the liberals — if we were back in the days of the Revolution, so-called conservatives today would be the Liberals and the liberals would be the Tories.
#11. To: Gatlin (#8)
He was a complex man with complex thoughts, allowing every ideologue to pick out-of-context phrases.
#14. To: Deckard (#11)
Replies to Comment # 14. Why in the Hell are you answering tpaine's post?
End Trace Mode for Comment # 14.
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