Quote:I think most of us are libertarians at heart.   Libertarianism is a great ideal to aspire to.   It's when the rubber meets the road, and we start looking at the actual effects of various policies, what is effective and what is not, what is practical, what works, and what steps need to be taken to protect my rights against your liberties, it is then that we divide ourselves into democrats and republicans, liberals, moderates, conservatives, and none-of-the-above-all-over-the-map.   

 

You should have all the liberties there are, but it has to end when your fist meets my nose, when your pollution affects my property, when your smoke is drawn into my lungs, when your right to take drugs causes you to hit me with your car, when your right to sell your product in the grocery store causes me to be poisoned.   That's the practical aspect of it.   We are all in favor of free markets up to the point that our fundamental rights are infringed.   That's when we need to restrict your liberty- to protect my rights. 

 

The problem with libertarianism is it's really rather nebulous and undefined in most domains, and as such crazies of all sorts claim it as their position.

 

You can have libertarians who think the government needs to stop telling them they have to let black people drink from the white water fountain.

 

You can also have libertarians who think government's proper function is to stop oppression of others liberties.

 

Really it comes down to the disagreement of what liberty is.

 

To some it's letting them refuse to serve blacks and gays.

 

To others it's creating a market that allows for economic liberty and success for everyone.

 

It's also why libertarian usually seems to be code for, "I always vote republican, but I want to pretend I'm somehow principled differently from normal republicans." It's an easy shield to hold up because it can be twisted to mean so many things and be so many positions.

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