"I can do what I want as long as I am not harming anyone else." That's what they say... but what they mean is, "As long as i'm not harming anyone IN THE SHORT TERM. Is this perhaps the most shortsighted philosophy of all time? They don't think about years and decades later; the personnel, material and economic strain on the health service; children with parents dying of disease attributable to the excesses of youth...
Could libertarian ideals, in the long term, be a greater threat than those of the radical islamists?
2007-08-02 04:33:58 · 12 answers · asked by Jerusalem Delivered 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
'no.' ? a bit more detail please?
2007-08-02 04:37:55 · update #1
very witty, scotty
2007-08-02 04:39:40 · update #2
remember i am talking about society in general, which for teh most part has adopted these ideals, even if they do not explicitly express them by taking an active role in politics.
2007-08-02 04:43:04 · update #3
No, I do NOT like unlimited freedom as it is a recipe for disaster. I thought I had made that quite clear. People need to be responsible; since when are the desires of the individual more important than the needs of society?
2007-08-02 04:50:55 · update #4
I don't think you have a clear grasp on Libertarianism. Libertarians don't support anarchy, we just think that government has exceeded its intended role.
And even if that WERE the case, I would still choose it over the CURRENT economic strain on our system that the liberal entitlement mentality has bred.
2007-08-02 04:42:26 · answer #1 · answered by Time to Shrug, Atlas 6 · 4⤊ 1⤋
I guess you in general do NOT like freedom then?
Libertarian beliefs in tehir purest form are to have and engender the greatest amount of personnal freedom. The loath government control of anyhting and express a belief that government should be for little more that the common defense and some policing actions.
If you like free societies then you have to in some ways support the Libertarian belief system. Personnaly I agree with them on a great many issues. However I do nto vote for them for two reasons.
1. They are not big enough to win elections so voting that way would waste my vote.
2. They go to further extremes on many issues than I am comfortable with.
My forefathers fought some times to the death to give me the freedoms I have. I will fight to keep them. My children are being educated to fight to defend their freedoms as well.
People can only be pushed so far. Yes plan for the future. But if you have to bankrupt the present to meet some future goal, then that goal must be changed.
2007-08-02 04:43:20 · answer #2 · answered by Jeff Engr 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
It's like this-you only live once. Live free and be happy. Almost everyhting the government (but not all, mind you) puts under it's control gets worse. If you want to turn a headache into a brain tumor, involve government. The boys and girls in grey flannel suits and skirts know how to screw things up and make a career of it. And you also cannot legislate individual responsability. Passing a law does not make someone responsible, it makes them obey because they might get into trouble.
2007-08-06 03:43:45 · answer #3 · answered by david m 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"What's best for me in the short term" seems to be the philosophy of all Americans, not just liberals. Our involvement in the middle east, on any level, is a perfect example of that. We've been trying to find short term solutions to long term problems ever since we allowed ourselves to become totally and completely dependent on a finite resource that for the most part we don't control. Talk about a lack of foresight!
2007-08-02 05:03:34 · answer #4 · answered by Judy L 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
So freedom itself is the greatest threat to your utopia?
I will agree that socialism and libertarianism are completely incompatible. If the individual is to be free to make decisions, he or she must be expected to bear the full weight of the consequences and not shift that burden to society. If everything is to be for the "common good" than yes, freedom is the biggest threat.
The other option is to imprison people who refuse to act in the way the government has decided is best for them. What are the long-term costs and consequences of having the world's largest prison population? (America has more prisoners than China and India combined, even though those two nations have ten times the population. Half of those criminals are there "for the good of society" based on perceived long-term consequences and not because they have committed any violence or theft.)
2007-08-02 04:38:27 · answer #5 · answered by freedom first 5 · 3⤊ 3⤋
It should be spelt "salvation" not "ruin".
If you want to talk about long term repurcussive effects from actions, perhaps you could also consider the fact that for 3 generations now, every industrilised nation on the planet has been wasting resources, starting wars which people are still paying for, financally and in other ways....nearly 100 years down the line, and actions taken years ago are causing even more wars today.
Perhaps if countrys such as the US stopped valiantly defending itself by bombing OTHER 3rd world country's to the ground, we might not all be in fear for our lives from a war that is not ours today.
2007-08-02 04:40:45 · answer #6 · answered by Scott Bull 6 · 2⤊ 3⤋
In your way of thinking, Libertarians are doing the same thing as GW is doing, short term gain for long term disaster and even that is not so sure.
America would do well to reject the Republicans idea of peace and freedom. It is all for the wrong reason GREED
2007-08-02 04:39:49 · answer #7 · answered by P.A.M. 5 · 2⤊ 3⤋
In fact, Radical Islamists are against Libertarian ideals as well. Does that mean if you hate Libertarians you support the terrorists?
2007-08-02 04:38:30 · answer #8 · answered by scottcmu 3 · 5⤊ 3⤋
The number of libertarians is small. In the US it is not growing. I do not believe the philosophy is a threat.
2007-08-02 04:39:35 · answer #9 · answered by regerugged 7 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Libertarians are mostly old pot-smoking hippies from the sixties, and their kids.
These people are talking examples of what marijuana does to your brain.
Don't fret about them. They have a voice in the political arena as large as their collection of still-functioning brain cells.
2007-08-02 04:39:49 · answer #10 · answered by kNOTaLIAwyR 7 · 3⤊ 3⤋