What is a Meso-Libertarian?
Matthew Hogan
Among libertarians, there are paleos, neos, and anarchos and other less cheery-os. But what about us, the mesos?
Nine-One-One has reopened the cracks among conservatives and libertarians and within these groups as well. But for myself, I don’t feel I fully fit in to the cracks that exist. I’m in the middle somewhere, a "meso", I guess, which might be yet another crack.
And so I toss the concept of "meso-libertarian" into the crack pot.
What do I think a meso-libertarian is? The following:
A libertarian who believes in national self-defense, yet is fiercely frightened of the Imperial War Party, like the paleos are, and the neos aren’t. But also isn’t in mental bed with the xenophobic paleocons who think immigration is a melanin-fueled menace, threatening the integrity of a mystical point on a compass ("the West"). (Does one really have to be pale to be paleo?)
A libertarian who thinks that immigration is the ordinary market action of people looking for better opportunity, and not multiculturalism run wild. But who additionally isn’t in mental bed with those who think all nation-state existence and border control is inadmissible.
A libertarian who is comfortable and at home with his/her society, and even its patriotic trappings, without endorsing its collectivist prejudices, statist tendencies, and government overreach—as the paleos do, the neos try, and the anarchos won’t.
A libertarian who believes that working within the system is as important as working outside, and that there are merits to traditional laws and procedures that ought to be used and even respected—as the paleos often do, the neos usually do and the anarchos don’t.
A libertarian who is nonetheless perfectly comfortable with the ultimate radical abolition of historic state institutions like public education, income taxation, etc. and with the creation of experimental communities—as anarchos are, paleos can be, and neos mute.
A libertarian who can accept that Americans, Europeans, Israelis, and even "white people" generally, have often acted as the bad guys, but without endorsing lefty political correctness about the intrinsic evil of America, "dead white men", Israel, or "Western Civilization." This is something the anarchos have trouble fully doing, that the paleos do mostly when the conservatives aren’t looking, and that the neos deny doing.
A libertarian who thinks Lincoln did great enduring evil but doesn’t feel a need to point it out by lionizing the racist Confederate slave state, a lionization paleos are prone to, neos eschew, and anarchos don't care about.
A libertarian who doesn’t feel that in order to be considered a libertarian it matters if one is an atheist, a theist, an Objectivist, an LPer, an Evangelical, a Scientologist, etc.?
If mesos exist, do we mesos have a Justin Raimondo, a Jacob Sullum, a von Mises Institute....?
Do we exist at all?
And, if so, have we a home?
Matthew Hogan
thetexasmercury.com |
