ziggy_encaoua
08-03-2007, 12:31 PM
There are many quizzes & forms across the net like this on http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html
Personally I can’t stand them because they reinforce a rather rigid & dogmatic view of libertarianism & as it goes many people seem to think Libertarianism is rather dogmatic & rigid philosophy. I’ve often experienced that unless you fit people’s perception of they think a libertarian should be preaching they’ll try to lynch you & accuse you of hypocrisy. As far as I’m concerned libertarianism is actually a broad church extending from the free market liberals thorough to anarcho-capitalists, all of whom in some degree have an ideological similarity in wanting to increase individual rights & minimizing the role of the state. What libertarianism isn’t to me is a checklist & because somebody doesn’t fill one checkbox correctly doesn’t mean they aren’t a libertarian. However of course I realise that not all who claim to be libertarians are for instance just because somebody wants to cut taxes doesn’t mean their a libertarian especially if their a social authoritarian. Quite often I encounter folk who claim to be libertarian because they want ganja to be legalised & prostitution laws to be liberalised but when you ask them about liberalising gun laws they ain’t so keen. Okay not strictly a libertarian but somebody with libertarian sympathies but there again some libertarians would say not. Some libertarians are satisfied that somebody is a libertarian unless they do fill all the checkboxes correctly. As I say I don’t think dogma helps being as it could put the backs up of some of those who have libertarian leanings. Of course its not just libertarians who think you’re not a libertarian unless you agree with a, b, c. So here’s the question for all what makes a libertarian for you, what marks out a libertarian for you?
Personally I can’t stand them because they reinforce a rather rigid & dogmatic view of libertarianism & as it goes many people seem to think Libertarianism is rather dogmatic & rigid philosophy. I’ve often experienced that unless you fit people’s perception of they think a libertarian should be preaching they’ll try to lynch you & accuse you of hypocrisy. As far as I’m concerned libertarianism is actually a broad church extending from the free market liberals thorough to anarcho-capitalists, all of whom in some degree have an ideological similarity in wanting to increase individual rights & minimizing the role of the state. What libertarianism isn’t to me is a checklist & because somebody doesn’t fill one checkbox correctly doesn’t mean they aren’t a libertarian. However of course I realise that not all who claim to be libertarians are for instance just because somebody wants to cut taxes doesn’t mean their a libertarian especially if their a social authoritarian. Quite often I encounter folk who claim to be libertarian because they want ganja to be legalised & prostitution laws to be liberalised but when you ask them about liberalising gun laws they ain’t so keen. Okay not strictly a libertarian but somebody with libertarian sympathies but there again some libertarians would say not. Some libertarians are satisfied that somebody is a libertarian unless they do fill all the checkboxes correctly. As I say I don’t think dogma helps being as it could put the backs up of some of those who have libertarian leanings. Of course its not just libertarians who think you’re not a libertarian unless you agree with a, b, c. So here’s the question for all what makes a libertarian for you, what marks out a libertarian for you?