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And is the fundamental belief of libertarians: that governments can do nothing right, either morally or pragmatically.

by revscat 10y ago

travoc 10y ago
That's not accurate. They seem more concerned that every bit of power given to government to do something right will eventually be used to do something wrong.
- nommm-nommm 10y ago
  That's exactly what the libertarians on HN post. I seriously hope it's a very vocal minority though.
- RHSeeger 10y ago
  To be fair, there's a long and repeated history in the US of ---- GOV: We know this law is overreaching, but we promise we'll only use it the "right" way. ... 2 years goes by ... GOV: If you don't <plead guilty | accept this plea bargain>, we'll tack on a charge of breaking <this law that is overreaching>, even though you didn't violate what it's supposed to be about, and add 20 years to your sentence. ---- It's seen over and over. The US citizen's distrust of government getting more power than it absolutely needs isn't paranoid, it's based on the actions of the government.
  - notahacker 10y ago
    Conversely, and more relevantly to regulations on self-regulating cars, there's a long and repeated history of -- GROUP: The regulation is anti-business, anti-freedom and massively outdated. We should sweep it all away and deregulate this sector as much as possible. The market will take care of the bad companies. ...2 years goes by... GROUP: Do you know how important it is that this industry survives? Please give us some money to fix it. And some of the behaviour of some companies in our industry is unethical and dangerous and really should be stopped. Why didn't you step in earlier?
tomp 10y ago
I'm (mostly) a libertarian, and I disagree. I think the government is fundamental at keeping the society sane, secure and organized.
- jotato 10y ago
  I agree. I find my self leaning libertarian as of the last few years. To me it isn't about no regulation; just no "nanny" regulation
opo 10y ago
No that is simply not true. Just because someone doesn't think that the war on drugs is a good idea or that prostitution should not be criminalized, etc. doesn't mean they think "governments can do nothing right" libertarians != anarchists

And is the fundamental belief of libertarians: that governments can do nothing right, either morally or pragmatically.

by revscat 10y ago

And is the fundamental belief of libertarians: that governments can do nothing right, either morally or pragmatically.

That's not accurate. They seem more concerned that every bit of power given to government to do something right will eventually be used to do something wrong.

nommm-nommm 10y ago
That's exactly what the libertarians on HN post. I seriously hope it's a very vocal minority though.
RHSeeger 10y ago
To be fair, there's a long and repeated history in the US of ---- GOV: We know this law is overreaching, but we promise we'll only use it the "right" way. ... 2 years goes by ... GOV: If you don't <plead guilty | accept this plea bargain>, we'll tack on a charge of breaking <this law that is overreaching>, even though you didn't violate what it's supposed to be about, and add 20 years to your sentence. ---- It's seen over and over. The US citizen's distrust of government getting more power than it absolutely needs isn't paranoid, it's based on the actions of the government.
- notahacker 10y ago
  Conversely, and more relevantly to regulations on self-regulating cars, there's a long and repeated history of -- GROUP: The regulation is anti-business, anti-freedom and massively outdated. We should sweep it all away and deregulate this sector as much as possible. The market will take care of the bad companies. ...2 years goes by... GROUP: Do you know how important it is that this industry survives? Please give us some money to fix it. And some of the behaviour of some companies in our industry is unethical and dangerous and really should be stopped. Why didn't you step in earlier?

tomp 10y ago

I'm (mostly) a libertarian, and I disagree. I think the government is fundamental at keeping the society sane, secure and organized.

jotato 10y ago
I agree. I find my self leaning libertarian as of the last few years. To me it isn't about no regulation; just no "nanny" regulation

opo 10y ago

No that is simply not true. Just because someone doesn't think that the war on drugs is a good idea or that prostitution should not be criminalized, etc. doesn't mean they think "governments can do nothing right" libertarians != anarchists