reaching out to the left (article)

[heavenlyboy34]

Do you agree with this? I don't.

reaching out to the left. (http://www.lewrockwell.com/gregory/gregory175.html)

[Truth Warrior]

"The last move in politics is always to pick up the gun." -- R. Buckminster Fuller

[bill50]

I find that conservatives are much more open to libertarian ideas than liberals. Somewhat humorously, liberals are too close minded to ever question anything government propaganda tells them.

[Athan]

I agree. We need to reach out to ANY civil liberty minded citizens. Then as joint projects advance we can quietly talk about our type of conservative is not the neo-con type. Money is money and the I.O.U.S.A. can reach ANYBODY and it was more conservative than that bill o'rilley bullshit.

We can also warn them about socialism and how it destroys the middle class with Ron Paul's writings.

Either way, we are the minority but we have common sense and understanding of this god-damned mess as our strength.

[Paulitician]

I agree with reaching out to everyone.

[heavenlyboy34]

I find that conservatives are much more open to libertarian ideas than liberals. Somewhat humorously, liberals are too close minded to ever question anything government propaganda tells them.

I had the exact opposite experience here in AZ. Maybe it's a regional thing. Whereabouts do you live? :confused:

[nickcoons]

Do you agree with this? I don't.

reaching out to the left. (http://www.lewrockwell.com/gregory/gregory175.html)

Why do you disagree with it?

[smileylovesfreedom]

Do you agree with this? I don't.

reaching out to the left. (http://www.lewrockwell.com/gregory/gregory175.html)

I think it's important. I'm glad that people took the time to "reach out" to me. Not everyone on this board comes from a conservative background...

[Anti Federalist]

Agree with this:

By asking a few questions, you can often tell whether a left-liberal is more interested in personal freedom and thus a potential convert to libertarianism; or more interested in managerial social democracy, and thus more unshakably devoted to the state. Another good clue is how skeptical he is of government power even when “his” party is at the helm. For all their flaws, many people in the ACLU were relentless in condemning Bill Clinton’s violations of privacy and the Fourth Amendment. Such people have a limited understanding of freedom, but at least they take it seriously and have certain standards regarding civil liberties that they will not capriciously abandon for the sake of partisanship.

Another consideration is just how hostile someone is toward free enterprise: does he think private property is inherently evil, or that markets are mostly just and efficient but just need some smoothing out? One who believes the former probably is less likely to adopt libertarianism than one who believes the latter, who might just need a few lessons on economics to understand that even small doses of socialism are unnecessary and destructive.

Also, a left-liberal who is radically anti-war and anti-police state will often be receptive to libertarian ideas, since he already distrusts the establishment and recognizes that statism can cause very real and significant harm to human beings. The best, and somewhat rare, combination is in a liberal who is much more antiwar and anti-police state than anti-capitalism. This is somewhat rare because, unfortunately, many leftists are more radically anti-authority the more anti-market they are, whereas the ones who are more moderate in their condemnations of free enterprise are often also more tolerant toward empire and the establishment.

[heavenlyboy34]

Why do you disagree with it?

n/m. I changed my mind now that I've thought about it a bit more.

[The_Orlonater]

Speaking from a personal experience, they are quite ignorant.

[nickcoons]

n/m. I changed my mind now that I've thought about it a bit more.

If you tend to come from a more conservative background, and you want to learn how to present libertarian ideas to liberals, read as much of Mary Ruwart's work as possible. She presents liberty as "the compassionate choice", and has a very soft-spoken way about her.

[Brooklyn Red Leg]

Great essay. Lots of stuff to digest. Will probably post more later.