Re:A Defense of libertarianism (and response to Zed, etc.)
by tome on Sunday January 11, 2009 @09:54AM
(#429177)
And how do Libertarians ensure that those they share a state with act "in the interest of preserving freedom in the long term, not maximizing personal wealth in the short term" in the particular cases where that may be non-rational?
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Re:A Defense of libertarianism (and response to Zed, etc.)
by gaius on Sunday January 11, 2009 @10:12AM
(#429196)
They can't. That's the flaw. You basically have to start again with a bunch of Libertarians who raise their kids Libertarian (this is the easy bit) without it descending into a cult (this is the hard part).
The problem with retrofitting it is unless you already have the no-coercion culture and infrastructure in place, too many people acting in their personal short-term self-interest find coercion easier. Which doesn't mean mugging people in the street; it's as mild as "my vote for your handouts of their money".