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Title: The problems with libertarianism. : philosophy
Source:
Reddit
URL Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/philosophy ... _problems_with_libertarianism/
Published: Jul 20, 2011
Author: Posted by u/perforin
Post Date: 2018-07-20 07:09:34 by Gatlin
Keywords: None
Views: 2523
Comments: 5
The second problem is that libertarianism fails to account for all the means by which our actions are influenced. Continuing the above example, a libertarian would say it is wrong for the government to coerce the restaurant into serving healthy food, but they would probably say that it is acceptable for the restaurant to influence our behavior with aggressive, manipulative advertising and engineering junk foods to push all our evolutionary buttons. Why is one means of influence (coercion) wrong, but another (manipulation of our wants and desires) acceptable? I suspect it is because most libertarians believe we have free will, and therefore we are not forced into eating unhealthy foods. The problem is that we don't have free will; our actions are entirely caused by external factors. Whether someone forces you to do something or they manipulate you into wanting to do an action, the end result is the same: you do the action that they wanted you to do. Because libertarianism doesn't concern itself with the ends it is blind to this problem, and cannot adequately account for it. A better framework would consider both the ends and the means. It would weigh the results of actions, like the health of the population along with all the means, like government regulation and manipulation by advertising when determining the best course of action. Libertarianism has significant structural problems that make it an ineffective moral and social framework regardless of your views on the moral rightness of liberty and government. I see two major problems with libertarianism. The first is that it is a moral and social framework that only considers the means when ruling on the rightness of an action. The problem is that means are not sufficient, only necessary in determining the right action; the ends are also a necessary part of the calculus. Because the ends aren't considered the actions prescribed by libertarianism may or may not be the right ones, it would depend on the ends. Any framework that leads to wrong actions is an ineffective framework. An example of this: libertarianism says the government should not force restaurants to serve healthy food because government force is an immoral means. Even if this causes everyone to become obese and sick the action is still wrong in the eyes of the libertarian because the means are wrong.
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#4. To: Gatlin (#0)
Obviously the author equates the two. So what's his alternative to government coercion? They should also advertise.
#5. To: misterwhite, Gatlin, vicomte13 (#4)
(Edited)
I like Jefferson's Alternative: "Truth is great and will prevail" -- That's the AMERICAN alternative to Comrade Vicomte's "universal" coercive "professional" rainbow fairy Vanguard Elite.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestWhy is one means of influence (coercion) wrong, but another (manipulation of our wants and desires) acceptable?
Replies to Comment # 4. So what's his alternative to government coercion? They should also advertise.
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