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Politics : Libertarian Discussion Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: The Philosopher who wrote (5103)	4/25/2002 11:34:56 PM
From: Gulo	Respond to of 13062

Of course, people that are currently concerned about their freedoms would be more likely to visit the quiz web site than those that aren't, so the reported percentages should be expected to reflect that. The whole point of the quiz, however, is that libertarians are far more common than some people think. The problem is that most people with what are unarguably libertarian opinions call themselves something else because they have been told to pick a place along the left-right axis. I think the quiz does a decent job of defining the term "libertarian" by adding the dimension of personal freedom to the old left-right axis. How many people in North America would you say are social liberals, fiscal conservatives and favour personal over government responsibility? Many fiscal "conservatives" cringe at the level of Republican government interference in the economy (through business subsidies and hypocritical trade laws) or with our social structure (through prohibition or morality laws). Many social "liberals" fear the level of collectivism favoured by the Democrats. Why should those people not be called libertarians? Surely they deserve a quarter of the political map, if not more nowadays. The original term "liberal" has been co-opted by the socialists, and both the authoritarian side and fiscal conservatives are using the term "conservative". That doesn't mean libertarians automatically support the Libertarian Party. Simply put, however, if you would like a less intrusive and more efficient government than we now have, you have no choices among the two main parties. What would the founding fathers say? Do you see the Republican or Democrat platforms in the constitution? I don't. By the way, I'm a supporter of the Advocates, in case you haven't deduced that. ;) -g