any libertarians out there?
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any libertarians out there?
...and if not, possibly this will change your mind 
http://www.isil.org/resources/lit/libertarianism.html
http://www.isil.org/resources/lit/libertarianism.html
Thread Starter
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Joined: Apr 2001
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Although a good friend of mine wrote a response:
Unfortunately modern AMERICAN libertarianism equates to social irresponsibility and selfish materialistic promotion. Americans simply aren’t mature enough as a nation to have total freedom. As corrupt and frustrating as government in the United States tends to be, big business and so-called “free market entrepreneurialism” yield equally if not far more corrosive forces on society. The reason government has gotten so big in America is because Americans, it seems, are just not responsible enough to look after one another on their own volition. Before certain environmental laws, for example, we had lakes and rivers that were flammable, folks… FLAMMABLE! This is not because of some natural phenomenon like the tar pits or oil fields… American industry under the oh-so-idealistic laissez-faire economy saw no reason to clean up after themselves and dumped all their filth and pestilence into our waterways. Because of their disregard for the long-term benefits for society, these industries had to be regulated. In theory, I’m a libertarian too, but I’ve lived long enough to realize that this all-or-nothing approach is nearly impossible to facilitate into reality. Karl Marx tried it on the opposite end of the spectrum and look what happened there.
Once a certain new enlightenment of sorts hits US shores and the values of America have matured to the levels more in-line with much of Western Europe, maybe then we can look at going back to more libertarian ideals.
Freedom, after all, is not a privilege—it is earned.
Once a certain new enlightenment of sorts hits US shores and the values of America have matured to the levels more in-line with much of Western Europe, maybe then we can look at going back to more libertarian ideals.
Freedom, after all, is not a privilege—it is earned.
