With the political winds whipping about in an almost frenzied state in these troubled yet interesting times, many people seem to be striving to find what their identity or affiliation is in the political sense. In the last 50 years or so it has always been relatively easy to determine one's line of thinking as well as his/her political tendencies by reading into whatever stereotype their appearance, behavior, and lifestyle seemed to display. Yet, as of late it seems that attempting to discern one's leanings without more than a word or two in conversation is becoming more and more difficult as people are grasping on to more obscure lines of thinking. Increased disenchantment with the two mainstream political monoliths in our country is causing more and more individuals to seek something or someone else to identify with and put on a pedestal.
Lately the term libertarian has become a common one. With Ron Paul on the campaign trail promising fiscal and economic conservatism, he has gained a cult-like following among those who have a wide array of varied beliefs - all of which could be construed as libertarian. I myself, took an interest in this utopian concept of maximum personal liberty and thought, "Hey, that can't be so bad". It was only when I started to get into heated arguments and debates with other self-proclaimed libertarians that I had to take a step back and examine what it actually means to be one of these so-called bastions of ultimate liberty and freedom.
As I began to delve into the subject of libertarianism, what I found both astonished and appalled me at the same time. At first glance, a libertarian strives to achieve maximum personal liberty through limited to non-existent government. The typical American libertarian is conservative when it comes to money and the economy yet is very liberal when it comes to social issues/questions like abortion and gay marriage. Ultimately in a nutshell, a libertarian believes in achieving his/her own maximum liberty without any regard for other people's choices and what sort of consequences they might face. That being said, however, there are many facets to libertarianism like with any political affiliation. Some libertarians are actually quite conservative all around with a few wacky ideas here and there, others are simply and bluntly put, socialists and anarchists.
In my mind, there is so many things wrong with the whole concept of what is libertarianism. First of all, the concept in its purest, undiluted form is absolutely impossible to achieve. You cannot build a society based on the notion that any person can do whatever they like short of murder and suffer no consequences.
"Some libertarians consider libertarianism to be a lifestyle and not a political philosophy... These "lifestyle" or "cosmopolitan" libertarians, some of whom - to the detriment of their cause - are condescending, pompous snobs, are not content with personally and culturally conservative libertarians (like Ron Paul) tolerating diversity; they want them to likewise celebrate depravity. They apparently don't know the difference between libertarianism and libertinism." - Laurence M. Vance
Anytime I think of the word libertarian, I think of Utopia and anytime I think of Utopia, I remember an old Laurel and Hardy movie aptly named, "Utopia". Long story short, in the movie, the two bumbling idiots inherit a fortune and buy a boat. They then find an island in the middle of the ocean and call it their own, inviting everyone and their brother to the "land with no rules". Obviously attracted by the notion of lawlessness, the island quickly became crowded with scoundrels and miscreants alike and when anarchy ensued and the venerable Mr. Hardy attempted to instill order, they simply told him, "There are no rules here, GTFO!!!" This movie, exaggerated as it is, still displays what ultimately can occur with a true libertarian state. The concept might look good on paper and perhaps in a world where everyone shared the same culture and thought the same way, it might even pan out, at least for a little while... All good things surely come to an end...
Obviously, there are many different notions of what libertarianism is and doubtless, there are many individuals far more intelligent than I who have a firmer grasp on the supposed philosophical genius of all things libertarian and/or anarchy. I, on the other hand, know what I see before me and all I can say is that it reeks of selfishness.
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