Some Musings on Libertarianism and my Ever-Evolving Political Views

In respone to my First in Freedom post, Sid writes:

Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors? How appropriate since the Libertarian regulation-free ideal would allow smokers inside the hospital doors. That doesn't matter quite as much as the fact that the hospital would be able to refuse care for any reason, including age, race, or sex. And those locked out of the hospital doors may have no other choice since Libertarian ideals permit monopolies. The real irony is that some of the people would become ill from the irresponsible waste disposal policies of the hospital. After all, the Libertarians believe that the government should restrict such things.

Libertarianism always sounds nice on the surface. But they fail to recognize a few things. First, free markets cease to be free the moment monopolies appear. They eliminate a pillar of a truly free market - customer choice. Second, the free market has no morality. Companies are often more profitable without pollutions controls and work place safety and with child labor. Thirdly, lack of regulation in the financial industry would permit dangerously amplified boom-bust cycles that could result in a collapse of the financial system. Finally, government welfare programs are more stable then any charity based on voluntary contributions could ever be. Given a widespread downturn in the economy, charitable giving would naturally decrease just when that aid was most needed.

My response:

Thanks for the comment - you raise some interesting points.

First I'd like to clarify that I'm not what you might categorize as a true free market Libertarian. My political identity is still evolving but I would generally describe my views as socially liberal and fiscally conservative. Often times when you add those two together they equal a Libertarian.

Many of the issues you raise are definitely worth considering. I don’t intend to address each point you make here but I will tackle a few.

First I’ll begin with government welfare systems since that is one area that I feel strongly about. For starters, if shifting away from government welfare programs led to a net decrease in charity I would lose no sleep over it. I have the right to give all of my money to charity or none at all. The government’s ability to control what should otherwise be my discretionary income should be severely, if not completely, limited.

Since you attacked some positions that I don’t necessarily hold I’ll raise one that you didn’t address. Fair enough? ;) I am definitely for the legalization of all drugs. Marijuana should be treated as alcohol is today, except that the drinking / smoking age should be lowered (probably to 16 or eliminated altogether) and there shouldn’t be any regulation over the naming of the label (there actually is if you weren’t aware already). I think hard drugs, like heroin, should be intelligently regulated. That is to say that advertising for them would be severely limited and a doctor’s prescription would be required for all purchases.

It should be noted that my positions are tentative and will likely change due to further education and introspection. I’ll definitely post more about these issues in the future so stay tuned!