One major flaw with libertarianism is that it's short-sighted. If you're going to argue rational self-interest, you must acknowledge that what you perceive as the best course of action may incur harm down the road. Key example: the environment. It was in the rational self-interest of companies to dump PCBs into the rivers because it cut down disposal costs thus allowing them to make more profit. However, only later did science catch up to these actions and prove that PCBs are carcinogenic. You have to correct for imperfect knowledge, and to do so requires a government that isn't solely existent for the purposes of protecting rights--the three so-defined essential rights of life, liberty, and the amorphous pursuit of happiness. That one was always a cloudy one, Founding Fathers. Way to be all concrete and then end vaguely, well, everyone can kind of do shit that makes them happy.
Anyway, in a libertarian society, the government only accounts for immediate short-term grievances--BigStupidCorp dumped acid in my water, it has infringed upon my right to property. Oh, and life because now all my skin is gone. Govt! But in the case of pcbs, all of society simply did not have the knowledge. It wasn't a socially constructed problem like a marginalized few having no voice, or big companies kept it on the hush, there simply was no information. Only after extensive research was conducted did it become apparent that pcbs are sometimes like little gifts of love from cancer. Therefore, in order to prevent such fuckups happening again, government was equipped to preemptively place restrictions, guide action, establish guidelines. In a libertarian view, this is not only illogical, it is immoral. The argument relies upon the system being able to absorb enough trial before individuals remedy error, for whatever reason--an advocacy group paying for a water body's protection perhaps--but that STILL doesn't correct for lack of knowledge.
Furthermore, those with the appropriate knowledge often have very little market/bargaining power, so to assume that everything will reach equilibrium under large market economics is bullshit.
...too late. I need to sleep. i was going to make some other point about how there's a reason the statements of rights always fall in the order of right to 1) life, 2) liberty, 3) and pursuit of happiness but right now i don't think i can think anymore. suffice to say that there's a reason why libertarians remain a relatively small portion of thinkers in this country, who disproportionately own the national quota of assbaggery, douchedom, and outspokenness.
it pisses me off how pissed off libertarianism makes me and how i find myself writing/thinking about it so often.
i liked talking a lot, even if it is now 3:48 AM. late night talks always establish so much more meaning and rapport, at least until the brain goes. if you can stay up that late talking to someone, it means something.
i read this, and then i understood the joke that is your status. not that your status is a joke. but like. ahaha.
ReplyDeletei like this post. i like "suffice to say that there's a reason why libertarianism remains a relatively small portion of thinkers in this country, who disproportionately own the national quota of assbaggery, douchedom, and outspokenness."