Comments on: No Presumption of Liberty in Conservative Magazines

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:28:00 +0000

As Thomas Paine said, we establish society to fascilitate intercourse; we establish government to control our vices.

By: Methinks

Methinks — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:57:00 +0000

I like that. Very accurate.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:14:00 +0000

There is a difference between ordered freedom and anarchy. Inherent Rights with which we were endowed, not by men who can be overruled, but by our Creator come with corresponding duties to one’s self, to other humans in society, to our Creator, and to the society itself. Some things are so toxic to the human spirit they should not be allowed anywhere near children. This and the Randian anti-religious bigotry is where some libertarians go off the road into the ditch. They think that having a house of prostitution that sells crystal meth across the street from an elementary school is fine. And they are usually the same ones who think there is no right to self defense or defense of one’s family or property, and that a baby in the womb is an rights-less interloper that can be killed and throw in the trash for the mother’s convenience.

By: gappy

gappy — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:21:00 +0000

In theory, it’s a known fact that libertarians are distinct from Progressives and Conservatives. At the very least, a libertarian is indifferent to conservation of tradition, the legislation of virtues, and the supposed evils of immigration. Also, is repulsed by the myths of progress and Utopia and the coercive means to attain them. In practice, pure libertarians like Boudreaux, Balko and Williamson are a tiny minority.

A good number of self-professed libertarians do read the Weekly Standard, and they call Democrats Socialists. They tweet under the hashtags of #tlot and #tcot (“top libertarians|conservatives of twitter”), and vote for mostly conservative candidates in their districts. Interestingly, some true socialists, like Chomsky, also like to call themselves libertarians.

There is nothing terribly wrong with that. Misnomers are commons in everyday life. Simply, it is fashionable to claim that one is a friend of liberty while advancing his own agenda.

By: JohnK

JohnK — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:19:00 +0000

Liberals seem to want social freedom but they want to legislate economic affairs.
Conservatives seem to want economic freedom but they want to legislate social affairs.

Libertarians seem to be the only ones who support negative liberty in both economic and social affairs.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 06:14:00 +0000

They don’t arrive at it through logic. They find the logic to justify the positions of their fathers.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:58:00 +0000

As long as the Republican Party continues to defend the Second Amendment, and the right of people to defend themselves from criminal attack – and the Democratic Party remains hostile to the Second Amendment, and self-defense; there is far more than a dime’s worth of difference between the two.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:51:00 +0000

There’s an old saying that goes: liberals don’t care what you do, as long as it’s mandatory.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:44:00 +0000

And many children of conservative parents turn liberal and libertarian. How do you think the 1960s happened?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:44:00 +0000

Liberals and conservatives are 2 sides of the same oppression coin. Only libertarians offer real freedom.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:27:00 +0000

Conservatives are just slaves to tradition. That’s where their consistency lies. It is only their dumb luck that tradition in the US includes a healthy serving of liberty.

By: Terrence

Terrence — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:39:00 +0000

You guys would enjoy http://www.lastingliberty.com. It fits your taste.

By: Gil

Gil — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:53:00 +0000

I agree in the sense that Libertarians prefer an X-rated society whilst Conservatives prefer a PG-rated society where they can comfortably raise children. Fortunately it would seems Conservatives tend to have larger families than Liberals and Libertarians so maybe it’s not all bad.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:24:00 +0000

Perhaps it’s just a case of lowered expectations, but I came away from the study surprised at how pro-liberty the examined magazines came across. After all, we’re talking about regulation of sex, drugs, and gambling, and it’s not like conservatives have a reputation for being laissez faire on those issues. Yet contrary to the comments here that conservative is the same as Republican, the magazines had a mixed record on gambling and drugs, and National Review basically adopts the same line as Reason. Heck, there have apparently even been positive articles in conservative rags about pornography, something I never would have expected.

By: Frank

Frank — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:05:00 +0000

Not really surprised. The conservative mags (esp The Weekly Standard) have, at best, a weak devotion to small government so I expect them to have even less libertarian views on so-called social issues.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:51:00 +0000

I’m all for protection of innocent life and common decency, which is why I’m in favor of banning all guns. I assume you’re onboard?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:48:00 +0000

This is typical Village Idiot nonsense such as we commonly see from the muirduck. According to Ken Willis, he doesn’t have a freaking clue as to what Libertarians believe or value.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:21:00 +0000

I’m not sure what your point is – IMO it’s common decency to mind your own business and let people live their lives as they see fit as long as they’re not harming somebody else. Sex, gambling, drugs, and even rock and roll, all fall within that definition for most who partake of such activities.

I’m curious how you would define “common decency” and how you propose government would protect it.

By: Nathan Scott

Nathan Scott — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:58:00 +0000

Tell that the the third of black inner city youths that end up in prison for drug crimes.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:54:00 +0000

Nice appeal to ridicule.