[ExI] Brief correction re Western Democracies [WASI am Call To Libertarians]

Richard Loosemore rpwl at lightlink.com
Mon Feb 21 03:20:04 UTC 2011


Ben Zaiboc wrote:
> Richard Loosemore wrote:
> 
>> Would it be more accurate, then, to say that Libertarianism is
>> about
> SUPPORTING the government funding of:
> 
>> Roads, Bridges, Police, Firefighters, Prisons,...
> 
>> ... but it is about NOT supporting the government funding of
>> theaters?
> 
>> ...In that case I misunderstood, and all western democracies are
>> more or
> less libertarian already, give or take the 0.0001 percent of their
> funding that goes toward things like theaters and opera houses.
> Richard Loosemore
> 
> 
> 'More or less', except that they assume the right to tell you if you
>  can have an abortion or not, who you should and shouldn't have sex
> with, whether you can marry someone of the same sex as yourself, what
> you can do with your own body, whether you even *own* your own body,
> whether you can be forced to risk your life, mandate that there is
> such a thing as a 'lawful killing', and dictate what that is, declare
> that a belief in an imaginary sky-fairy is necessary for the holding
> of public office (at least in some places), dictate what you can and
> can't do for fun, forcefully prevent you from using 'unapproved'
> therapies regardless of whether you wish to risk your own life doing
> so or not, dictating whether or not you're allowed to end your own
> life, ... (just a few objectionable things off the top of my head).
> 
> You get the idea, I hope.
> 
> 'Libertarianism' is not just about economics.
> 
> 
> Ben Zaiboc



I'm not sure, but at least one level of irony may have been missed here 
(e.g. I do not in the least believe that western democracies are more or 
less libertarian).

Be that as it may, however, could I point out that the list of 
objectionable things apply largely to ONE western democracy.

The European democracies, for the most part, are not guilty of these 
objectionable practices.


Richard Loosemore



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