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Politics : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lazarus_Long who wrote (41442)	11/18/2005 2:06:44 AM
From: Lady Lurksalot	Respond to of 90947

Laz, Tim, a nice balance. - Holly

To: Lazarus_Long who wrote (41442)	11/22/2005 6:48:51 PM
From: TimF	Respond to of 90947

Minarchist state? What's that? en.wikipedia.org Politics is the art of the practical. And libertarians can't win elections. That makes their beliefs impractical because they never get a chance to implement them in the real world. They probably never will be implemented as a total package, but its possible some ideas could be implemented, and others could move things in a positive direction even if they never get directly implemented. There was a point when the conservative movement wasn't a whole lot bigger than the libertarian movement is now. I'm not saying the libertarian movement will be as successful or grow as much as the conservative movement. I don't think that is likely. But it is possible, and even if it doesn't grow that much it could still become more powerful and successful. Even if someone in the Libertarian party can't win elections. Perhaps someone with some libertarian ideas can (and have in some case up to the level of Congress). I care much more about the ideas than the party and in fact don't vote for the party. You don't have to be the dominate in order to win some elections, and you don't have to win many elections for some of your ideas to have an effect on the debate. If non-libertarians are close to evenly matched on a particular issue the majority on that issue might be shifted by the libertarians. Of course we don't normally vote on individual issues but the majority still has an effect. Politics is to a large extent the art of the practical, but consistently pushing a principle can help move what is practical, and can make the achievements worthwhile rather than just going along with the flow. Also see Message 21855256 It isn't about libertarians or libertarianism, but it is somewhat related. Its about how giving in to the purely practical in politics can be impractical for your agenda. Tim