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Re:Snowden’s biggest revelation: We don’t know what power is... by Empact on Sunday December 29, 2013 @10:56PM (#6982949)
"Other people were also right" is not an argument against libertarians being right about things.

And isn't that the point? We should be celebrating and expanding on the opposition that exists, not dismissing it for lack of "our label".

Re:Snowden’s biggest revelation: We don’t know what power is... by gress on Sunday December 29, 2013 @10:57PM (#6982955)
No, but it is an argument that libertarianism is incidental to them holding a few views that happen to be popular.

Lots of people value freedom, and many of them are pro-pot and anti-war because they believe the alternative to be oppressive.

Libertarians are a narrow subset of this who subscribe to an absolutist philosophy that they believe will maximize freedom. Many people who value freedom strongly disagree with libertarianism as a means to achieving it, even though they sympathize with the desire.

Re:Snowden’s biggest revelation: We don’t know what power is... by baddox on Monday December 30, 2013 @01:54AM (#6983434)
Your characterization of libertarians as people with an absolutist philosophy that they believe will maximize freedom applies only to a subset of people who identify as libertarians.
Re:Snowden’s biggest revelation: We don’t know what power is... by gress on Monday December 30, 2013 @12:06PM (#6985461)
If true, that supports my point further.
Re:Snowden’s biggest revelation: We don’t know what power is... by gress on Sunday December 29, 2013 @11:34PM (#6983054)
..and to reply to your later addition - there is no reason to celebrate libertarianism if you think it's a damaging philosophy just because libertarians agree with you on a few issues. Libertarianism isn't an arbitrary label.
Re:Snowden’s biggest revelation: We don’t know what power is... by nl on Monday December 30, 2013 @12:47AM (#6983236)
I - for one - think that libertarianism is just as bad a problem as "the security state" (or whatever label you want to apply to a state-run security apparatus which appear to be beyond the rule of law).