Libertarianism Is Not Only Wrong, It's Dangerous!

Abraham Lincoln 

We are living in ever-changing times. These changes are happening in all facets of our lives. On the political front, there are more and more people who call themselves or at least identify with what has come to be called libertarianism. Over the last year, I have been putting to study the behavior and attitudes of these pro-claimers of liberty and justice for all. Frankly, I have not been impressed with their narrative from their outspoken correspondence which makes comments like. "You sure love letting people steal your money!" 
Moreover, their behavior brings to mind the famous quote from one of the most popular presidents of all time, Abraham Lincoln.

"The perfect liberty they seek is the liberty of making slaves of other people." -- Abraham Lincoln

To a libertarian, property rights are sacred. Any government is bad. Capitalism has no flaws, and the capitalist are the modern-day nobles of our society. Worker rights and activism is evil. Lastly, they feel the poor are pampered and "good-for-nothings," who should be left to fend for themselves. For example, an outspoken libertarian Murray Rothbard, who claimed to be such an intellectual, advocated a dangerous spew to the least common denominators of our society. The libertarian’s emphasis is the demagoguery of government and taxation, and here is an example of his rhetoric:

   

Rothbard was an early pioneer of modern-day libertarianism. In a nutshell, libertarianism is a radical anti-state political philosophy. It unites a free-market system of economics,with a no exception attachment to property rights, a so-called profound love of human liberty and a love of peace, with the conclusion that society should be allowed to develop with no interference from the state whatsoever. In fact, the libertarian feels there should be no state,  period. The libertarian hates worker unions. They [Libertarian's] claim labor unions pursue policies that disrupt a capitalism in action that is the cause of their prosperity.
Renowned libertarian Ludwig Von Mises once said:

Ludwig Von Mises

  

       "What is today euphemistically called the right to strike is in fact the right of striking workers, by recourse to violence, to prevent people who want to work from working."

With The Libertarian Who Needs Facts?

One thing this writer has uncovered in research of the libertarian and the followers of its ideology is that facts don't matter. Who needs facts, seems to be their mantra. Studies have shown when people leave one ideological extreme they usually end up in another. The methodology of the libertarian is not that hard to follow. Oppose their perceived evils of the world with a fairy tale; "Obama coming to take your guns, Obama is a Muslim and not a natural born citizen who is going to hand America over to our enemies, there is epidemic voter fraud." These are but just a few of the libertarian backed fairy tales of our current times. The bottom-line is the academic libertarian loves abstract, fact-free arguments. This type of behavior may go over well with like-mined right-wing authoritarian followers, where nobody is going to pull the old fact-checker out. But, en masse, it matters to the American people and time after time these flawed untruths being levied by deep-pocket backers of the Libertarian party have backfired on the libertarians.

The Libertarians Think They Are The Modern Day Founding Fathers!

All the modern day political parties want the founding fathers on their side. The facts, with any earnest study, clearly shows all modern day political parties laid their roots in the 1700s. All of us are liberals, conservatives, libertarians, and independents against the monarchy which hovered over us, and we fought as a nation to unleash ourselves. We all fight for liberty and the pursuit of happiness. History has revealed to us times when our founding fathers not only encouraged rants against government, but led the charge. There were also times when our founding fathers were against rants of rebellion, anarchy, and the anti-government rhetoric that has become so common-place in today's environment.

James Madison

"It cannot have escaped those who have attended with candor to the arguments employed against the extensive powers of the government, that the authors of them have very little considered how far these powers were necessary means of attaining a necessary end."

"Stable ownership is the gift of social law, and is given late in the progress of society."

 

"All the Property that is necessary to a man is his natural Right, which none may justly deprive him of, but all Property superfluous to such Purposes is the property of the Public who, by their Laws have created it and who may, by other Laws dispose of it."

The Constitution of the United States is the very definition of a strengthened government. The Federalist Papers were nothing more than an extended argument in support of the Constitution. In fact, the founding fathers comprised a balance that was arbitrary and coercive. Fast forwarding to modern times, the founding fathers had no way of foreseeing the New Deal. There was no need for this type of action back when our nation was being forged. However, there are examples when the founding fathers were quick to resort to the resources of the state as quick as any modern day liberals. For example, Ben Franklin, played the Pennsylvania legislator like a "piano in the dark," using it to fund a hospital he wanted to establish. One of the first instances in our nation’s history, using the state to do good social work. It's also worth bringing to the light that the founding fathers' words were much nobler than their actual deeds. Most were quite comfortable with owning slaves. Women were given no voice whatsoever. George Washington himself, by executive order, made it a crime to criticize the government.

For almost 150 years, in fact, the Bill of Rights was paid lip service in patriotic orations and ignored in the marketplace. It wasn't until after World War I that the Supreme Court began the process of giving real meaning to the Bill of Rights.[ Source: Robert Allen Rutland]

Why Are Libertarians Dangerous? 

The libertarians are dangerous because of their growing influence within the Republican Party for starters. Then there is the emergence of the radical Tea Party, which is nothing more than the repackaging-of-the-fascist-playbook. These people are political crackpots and are, usually, harmless. However, with America electing a black president, the Republican Party hierarchy began to come to the realization that its Southern strategy no longer can win national elections. Catering to the lowest common denominator in our society; the uneducated, racist, anti-government types, and their fairy tale propaganda is spurning not only division among people in America it is emboldening anyone with an ax to grind. To act out in violent anti-social ways which have brought on the genesis of new terms like ' hate crimes', and 'don't tread on me,' mentalities. With the already flawed doctrines of the Republican Party being proven to be failures, we see a faction develop that says we must hang on to power no matter what.  In short, Republicans have taken the libertarian mantra that " government is bad," and run with it, largely with the help of deep-pocketed influences like the Koch Bros. Judicial decisions like corporate-person-hood and money is free-speech and lastly gerrymandered voting districts we are, in fact, looking at a governess by organized mob. Take all of this into account with the following  Republican doctrines already in place and we have a civil storm brewing in this country. This storm is why Libertarianism is not only wrong, it's dangerous. Here are just but a few of the ills of the libertarian's influence on the Republican Party.

Reagan's "Government is the problem."

Phil Gramm's contention that the country's "economic crisis" and "moral crisis" were due to "an explosion of government."

Talk radio hosts' advocacy of armed resistance to "jack-booted government thugs."

Dole's 1996 campaign, advancing the notion that taxes were "Your Money" being taken from you.

Gingrich's Contract with America (welfare cuts, tax cuts, limitations on corporations' responsibility and on the government's ability to regulate them)

Dick Armey's comment that Medicare (medical aid for the elderly) is "a program I would have no part of in a free world."

Bush's tax cuts, intended not only to reward the rich but to "starve the beast", in Grover Norquist's words: to create a permanent deficit as a dangerous ploy to reduce social spending.

Jeb Bush's hope that the Florida state government buildings would one day be empty.

Intellectual support for attacks on the quality of working life in this county and for undoing the New Deal.

   In closing, here is a video by an ex-libertarian who, mind you, clearly states his narrative is a worst case scenario if the libertarians were to gain a foot-hold of our We the People government. For one, this writer hopes never to see such a day. 

Written By: Johnny Hill