Donald Trump Is Not A Libertarian
- Thread starter Ponca Dan
- Start date
of course not, not by strict definitions certainly.
he is a new york liberal and always has been - but the classic JFK kind, not the subverted post-modernist pious moonbats that falsely claim the word liberal today.
look around. today if you are a free speech absolutist, you are at minimum a "conservative" and more likely, some kind of nazi. classical liberals like Jordan Peterson and Dave Rubin are described as "far right" by the braying idiots of our nation.
when looked at in the modern context, compared to other contemporaries, trump certainly is something like a libertarian and you cannot argue that lower taxes and deregulations haven't been good for small business and the economy in general. and unlike recent predecessors, he is at least a constitutionalist - appointing judges that reflect that.
i'm 85% libertarian and free markets, but i break with them about open borders and being an absolutist on the free market stuff to the extent that i understand tariffs are a legitimate negotiating tool.
the biggest problem with libertarians is that there is simply too much unrealistic idealism in the unyielding litmus tests. libertarianism is more of an essential, primary ingredient than it is a finished philosophy.
he is a new york liberal and always has been - but the classic JFK kind, not the subverted post-modernist pious moonbats that falsely claim the word liberal today.
look around. today if you are a free speech absolutist, you are at minimum a "conservative" and more likely, some kind of nazi. classical liberals like Jordan Peterson and Dave Rubin are described as "far right" by the braying idiots of our nation.
when looked at in the modern context, compared to other contemporaries, trump certainly is something like a libertarian and you cannot argue that lower taxes and deregulations haven't been good for small business and the economy in general. and unlike recent predecessors, he is at least a constitutionalist - appointing judges that reflect that.
i'm 85% libertarian and free markets, but i break with them about open borders and being an absolutist on the free market stuff to the extent that i understand tariffs are a legitimate negotiating tool.
the biggest problem with libertarians is that there is simply too much unrealistic idealism in the unyielding litmus tests. libertarianism is more of an essential, primary ingredient than it is a finished philosophy.
Your criticism of libertarianism as you present it is unfounded. Government by its very nature is based on the threat of violence, or actual violence. Do what you’re told, or else! Even the most benign form of government has the threat of violence as its foundation. Government in any form is authoritarian. Libertarianism is the pure political philosophy of anti-authoritarianism. It’s entire structure emanates from the Non-Coercion Principle. You are criticizing an anti-authoritarian political philosophy for refusing to use authoritarian means to achieve its goals. You regard it as naive and unrealistic because it rejects the use or threat of violence. It seems to bother you that the philosophy is non-compromising in that regard. But if libertarians use authoritarian means to achieve its purposes it wouldn’t be libertarian, would it? Rather than dismiss it because it won’t compromise, it might be better if you check the premises you use in the 85% part of you that is libertarian and compare those principles you use in your 15% authoritarian self. You will find a distinct difference in them. You might be well served if you study/compare those differences and seek to become more consistent.
NOTE: I apologize if I’m sounding like I think I’m superior. I don’t mean to.
People are fundamentally prone and apt to use power, coercion and violence of varying degrees to get what they want. It’s an element of human nature.
That’s why idealistic, utopian libertarianism will never be viable as anything but a thought exercise.
That’s why idealistic, utopian libertarianism will never be viable as anything but a thought exercise.
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