Libertarians DO recognize that decency and respect are NECESSARY parts of the individual experience. However, what Libertarians are LOATHE to support are laws and regulations that limit self-interested behavior (regardless of how loathesome), or FORCE more societally-beneficial behavior AT THE EXPENSE OF individual rights.
IOW, if someone wants to be a prick, then they should be allowed to be one. If Bill Gates amasses a fortune of 1 quadrillion dollars and chooses to spend it on dancing girls and not libraries...that's his choice.
Unfortunately, too many people are quick to criticize what others do, and how they act WITHIN THE CONTEXT of wanting to limit others' behavior to mimic a more societal "norms". Libertarians oppose that.
While many people think of the "Invisible Hand" as the market clearing goods and services at a price (and it's a good analogy), Smith used the Hand to define the benign nature of the aggregate of ALL behaviors. IOW, that if everyone is totally and singularly self-centered, the net effect would be a benign reaction. Everything would likely offset.
However, he also pointed out that if a man in England reads about 10 million Chinese people being killed in a tidal wave, he doesn't think twice about it. HOWEVER, if presented with a choice of losing a finger, or being responsible for those 10 million lives being lost - most people would opt to lose the finger.
That is probably the closest documentation of pure Libertarian views that you could ever read. |
