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What is a libertarian?
By Allan Saxe, WBAP Political Analyst What is a libertarian? Many confuse libertarians with all sorts of other political positions. Libertarians are neither liberals nor conservatives. Some libertarians find a home in the Republican Party, not because it is a perfect fit, but more than other parties. Libertarians have a tendency to make everybody angry and disturbed. And that is why I enjoy their philosophy so much. I am not a true libertarian. I believe in the role of limited government in a whole host of areas. But libertarians make conservatives and liberals alike re-think their positions or at least contemplate their present perspectives. I became a semi-libertarian some years ago. I was reared a liberal Democrat. My college instructors were liberal Democrats, products of the Roosevelt New Deal. They were good people and well meaning. I began to think of liberals as being "better" than other political groupings. After all, they cared about the poor and the common man. So I would espouse my liberal ideas in all sorts of conversations. One evening, a young person said to me, "If you care so much about the poor, why don't you give them your money?" It was a perspective I had never held. I would much rather give the poor everybody else's money! Libertarians make you come to grips with your real intentions. It makes you an honest man. I began to ask myself if I really cared about the poor or simply thought good thoughts and engaged in warm conversations. Libertarians are not against charity. Far from it. They are against public charity. If you really care for the underprivileged, give them your money, feed them, clothe them, and house them. Then you become something true and believable. Your actions meet your words. Libertarians hold the individual to be the center of all political discussion. The majority cannot take away your inherent rights, no matter how large the vote margin. Individuals can do whatever they please as long as they do no physical harm to another. Further, no person's property can be taken involuntarily. Property and personhood are inviolate. Libertarians infuriate liberals as they are against welfare and burdensome taxation. They make some conservatives angry for opposing laws that restrict personal behavior. Libertarians stress personal responsibility more than others. You are a free person, libertarians state, but you must be held responsible for harm to others. I have met some true pure libertarians. They are brave and resourceful people. I am not one of them. I would be left far behind in a utopian libertarian world. Libertarians require one to be swift and sure and disciplined and resourceful. They believe in freedom in a way few do. The marketplace would make "mincemeat" of me! However, one libertarian purist told me that I too would find a place in their world. I could be the "court jester." Most libertarians believe that people are basically good. And if left to their own designs, free of government interference, society would flourish as never before. I believe that men are inherently evil. They reply that even if that were true, why be governed by men desiring power. Where I see possible conflict and rage, they see cooperation. One day while driving on a busy Dallas highway I told a libertarian friend I was fearful of the maniacs driving the roadway with us. I was fearful of the "crazy" drivers. My friend replied that he viewed it much differently. He saw cooperation on the roadway. Thousands of vehicles and the vast majority making it home safely and securely. I am not a true libertarian because I believe in some forms of state taxation for specific purposes. I am for a national defense and perhaps even a compulsory draft. I do not understand how we could have constructed streets and highways on a voluntary basis or even fought our two world wars. Libertarians reply that if you were a patriot there would be no need for a compulsory draft. Most libertarians wish to decriminalize controlled substances and believe prohibitive laws make the matter worse and contribute to crime. Libertarians believe that compulsory state education has ruined education. I do believe that! So if you really believe in freedom think about the libertarian party. If you believe in the individual as the true center of the political universe you might consider libertarian ideas. Do not let conservatives fool you. They do not really believe in little government. Remember the last Texas Legislature, mostly calling themselves conservatives, considered 5,800 pieces of legislation. Thank goodness these "conservatives" only meet briefly once every two years. And as for the liberals, let them contribute their own money for all the people they care so deeply about.
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Listener Comments: Oh
yeah, the educational system that gave me the knowledge to succeed in
college is a sham and doesn't work. Give me a break Dr. Saxe, just because
you believe it is so does not make it true.
This is, by far,
the best definition of Libertarian. Thanks for the article, I am, as
I thought, a conservative Republican for sure. |
