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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Grainne who wrote (99354)	3/23/2005 7:37:35 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

Any political philosophy that believes in no Social Security, no public health system, no public schools (just to name a few libertarian ideals) is selfish. It might be respuslive to you, and it might in your opinion have pretty much the same effect as would selfish action by others, but that doesn't make the philosophy itself or those who hold it selfish. Selfishness is a motivation. A desire to help yourself at others expense. Even if (and I really don't agree even with this much but I'll assume it for second for the sake of argument), libertarian policies would have the same effect as massive selfishness that doesn't mean that the supporters of the idea are selfish. A good test would be would libertarians be willing to get rid of programs that benefit them. If they just want to get rid of programs that benefit others while loading the pork on themselves than they are being selfish IMO. Of course every political, at least every one with a lot of people who subscribe to it, is held by some people who are selfish. There are selfish libertarians, conservatives, liberals, socialists, facists ect. It is the utter lack of concern for public health, society as a whole, the people who are not extraordinarily lucky and healthy and wealthy, that makes it a repulsive belief system to me. Many libertarians believe that their ideas would help public health and society as a whole, and even many of those that are no extraordinarily lucky, healthy, or wealthy. I understand you think they are wrong, but if your right it would make them wrong-headed but not selfish. Edit - Perhaps a more reasonable charge from your perspective might be that libertarianism enables selfishness, rather than that it is selfish. Tim