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Politics : View from the Center and Left
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To: JohnM who wrote (26844)8/19/2006 10:26:51 AM
From: Lane3  Read Replies (1) of 543362
 
I would be interested in a conversation as to what you consider the core principles of libertarianism to be and what your basis is for saying such.

Since you mentioned this a couple of times, I guess it deserves a direct response although I don't see how I can do what you ask. I don't think I can do it because I don't know of any set of core principles. There is only one principle, that freedom/liberty/choice are to be maximized. The corollary is that government should have the lightest possible touch (because in doing things, government restricts liberty and ends up making a mess). That's really all there is to it.

theihs.org

How individual libertarians apply that politically will vary because we live in a society that is not libertarian and not going to ever be really libertarian. (That degree of tolerance and relaxation and trust just doesn't come naturally to human beings.) Different individuals will respond to the status quo differently given that they may experience greater restriction in one area than another, may see greater threat to society in one area than another, may see this or that more doable than something else, or may simply be more moderate or extremist in their approach. But the underlying theme is that choice is to be optimized. Period.

That's it. No list of core principles. No ruling body. Libertarians would not suffer a ruling body. Ruling bodies restrict liberty. Different individuals may have different political hobby horses that they ride furiously, like your buddy Norquist and his tax obsession, but their hobby horses are just a collection of hobby horses, not core principles.
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