"... believes in the freedom of all individuals or as
John Stuart
Mill once said, “The only freedom which deserves the name is that of
pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to
deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain
it.”"
But Where Do You Stand?
By
Nicholas Snow
Published: 16 February 2011
“I am a libertarian.” These are the words of
Leonard E. Read, from his 1956 Freeman article
“Neither Left Nor Right.”1 Read was prompted to write this short
article when, after one of his lectures, an observer pointed out, “Why,
you are neither left nor right!” Many years after Read heard these very
apt words, this still remains a common observation.
Today, libertarianism is assumed to be some corky and crazy minority.
This is unfortunate. As Read correctly points out, libertarianism is
neither “left” nor “right”. The libertarian is indeed very different from
the liberal on the “left” and conservative on the “right.” Some on the
“right” are starting to notice and revolt against the similarities. As
Kevin McCullough of Fox News
recently said in
an article,
- “Libertarians and Conservatives are as different as Libertarians and
Liberals. The truth is libertarians are the worst form of political
affiliation in the nation. Combining the desire of economic greed, with
the amoral desire to promote any behavior regardless of its cost to our
culture is a stark departure from the intent of the Founding Fathers.”
Mr. McCullough’s words attempt to disparage the libertarian view
through the use of language meant to leave the reader no other option but
to agree with him. In reality, a libertarian is an individualist who is
uncompromisingly anti-authoritarian. He believes in the freedom of all
individuals or as
John Stuart
Mill once said, “The only freedom which deserves the name is that of
pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to
deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it.”
The “desire of economic greed” is simply the belief in the free market.
Greed, or self-interest to use a more apt word, is ever present in human
nature. What matters is how it is channeled. The free market allows
individuals pursuing their own self-interest to enrich themselves only by
enriching others first.
Adam Smith called this the “invisible hand”. This is contingent upon
a system of protected private property rights, where individuals, who own
themselves, are free to own and exchange property. To stifle this system,
by the use of force, means to stifle human creativity which would
certainly sets us on a path to poverty.
As for “the amoral desire to promote any behavior regardless of its cost
to our culture,” Mr. McCullough is simply twisting words in a way that is
meant to leave the reader in shock. In reality he has distorted the true
view. He mainly points to the examples of libertarian support for drug
legalization and gay marriage. It is true libertarians support these
policies. But, to not support them is inconsistent with the belief in
individual liberty. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
This does not mean, however, that the libertarian must approve of and
promote the use of drugs or gay marriage. He may personally disapprove of
one or both. He is free to do so, just as any individual is. There is no
desire amongst libertarians to promote “amoral” behavior. What he
actually promotes is the freedom for all individuals to make their own
choice. Besides, culture is a form of spontaneous order and cannot be
controlled at a gunpoint. Attempting to do so is essentially central
planning. Black markets will emerge, and in order to make the coercion
work more coercion will be necessary. Protecting culture from so-called
“amoral” behavior requires education and promotion of family life, not
the use of the state to restrict the freedom on which our nation is
founded upon.
As Read points out, the “right” and “left” simply just offer two
different forms of authoritarianism. Libertarianism is neither; it is a
rejection of the use of force to centrally plan individual’s life in both
the economic and social spheres. If this makes being a libertarian the
worst form of political affiliation, then I still maintain, I am a
libertarian, for I am neither “left” nor “right”.
Download
Leonard E. Read’s Neither Left Nor Right here.
1
This article was re-printed in the 2006
January/February issue of The Freeman. https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffee.org%2Ffrom-the-archives%2Fbut-where-do-you-stand%2F --
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