As a fellow libertarian (of the paleo variety), it seems like we try to convince people of going from A to Z instead of going from A to B, then B to C, then C to D and so forth. Abolish the welfare state, abolish the income tax, private law enforcement, etc. I'm not so sure people are gonna go for that, not because they're can't expand their minds to think of such things, but because......they're sensible. The cure is dosage dependent. In other words, two tylenols will relieve the aches and pains, but 50 might kill you. We can abolish the welfare state, but unless the underlying culture gets abolished at the same time, it won't work out and we would immediately have a revolution on our hands.
Why don't we just get on board with people who are moving in the right direction and push it a little further instead of taking it to damn near an-cap? As a way to not alienate people we mostly agree with.
Here's what I've learned as a former alcoholic/drug-addict. We didn't get into this problem overnight and won't get out of it overnight. No serious drug user quits using and immediately has his life transformed. It takes years usually. Sometimes quickly sometimes slowly, but it doesn't happen right away. Freedom in the US eroded over centuries. We won't make a dent with a few elections. Why don't we play the long game? Because I'm thinking that getting anywhere near free markets and personal liberty will take generations. Even if states were to peacefully secede, I know that they are going to carry a ton of baggage with them and not all of it will be good. Cultural rot has infected every level of this country.
I was just thinking about the black community. I personally think that most of their problems come from a 70% illegitimacy rate. Even if starting today, every black woman having a child also has a man willing to actually stay and raise the child, it would still be a full generation before the real change comes. Yet it seems that the black "leaders" are demanding change NOW. Even if they got everything they wanted in the next presidency, I would be willing to bet everything I have that not much would change. The same root problems would still be there.
The obsession with immediate gratification infects the culture we live in today. I don't think libertarians are immune. Our Marxist nemeses may have outsmarted and outworked us liberty loving folks.
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