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Interesting. I haven't heard him speak about politics before, and I only knew that he was thought of as a Libertarian. I am very confused now about what he beli

by tashi 10y ago

Interesting. I haven't heard him speak about politics before, and I only knew that he was thought of as a Libertarian. I am very confused now about what he believes. He talks about our expensive college and health care systems, contrasting them with the rest of the world's, but my impression is that the most effective models currently in place are built on the opposite of free markets, so I can't tell what his solution would be. He praises Trump for being against open markets and military interventionism. But Trump has historically been in favor of open markets (and I thought Libertarians were as well), so it doesn't seem to be a deeply-held belief. And Trump may not believe in our current wars right now, but he has given many indications that he'd be willing to use nuclear weapons against enemies who don't have them, and to encourage our allies to develop their own arsenals, so I'm not getting a sense that a more peaceful world is his priority. Can someone please explain what I'm missing? I usually think of Libertarians as aiming for a logically consistent system, so that even when I disagree with them I can follow their reasoning. But I'm not getting Thiel at all.

aswanson 10y ago
There was a WSJ article awhile back that theil authored about Trump. His basic argument is that it's a vote against a political establishment that can't accomplish anything. I was as confused as you are about the seeming inconsistencies.
DefaultUserHN 10y ago
>And Trump may not believe in our current wars right now, but he has given many indications that he'd be willing to use nuclear weapons against enemies who don't have them, and to encourage our allies to develop their own arsenals, so I'm not getting a sense that a more peaceful world is his priority. If your enemies know you are willing to use Nuclear, they will not attack. If they won't attack, then there will be no war. No war = peace. >...he has given many indications that he'd be willing to use nuclear weapons against enemies who don't have them... He said "as a last resort." In other word, if America is about to go down, he will use Nuclear to save America as a last resort. If your enemies have nukes, and they are willing to nuke you, and you are not willing to nuke them back, then they'll just nuke you to bits, because they know you won't nuke them back. Remember, just because America is a good country doesn't mean that North Korea is also a good country. North Korea will not think twice about nuking America if America is not willing to nuke them back. >...encourage our allies to develop their own arsenals... Go read the Theory of Nuclear Deterrence. Nuclear Deterrence prevents war. It encourages countries to solve their problems through other means, instead of through war. Trump just wants peace. And he understands how to get it.

by tashi 10y ago

aswanson 10y ago

There was a WSJ article awhile back that theil authored about Trump. His basic argument is that it's a vote against a political establishment that can't accomplish anything. I was as confused as you are about the seeming inconsistencies.

DefaultUserHN 10y ago

>And Trump may not believe in our current wars right now, but he has given many indications that he'd be willing to use nuclear weapons against enemies who don't have them, and to encourage our allies to develop their own arsenals, so I'm not getting a sense that a more peaceful world is his priority. If your enemies know you are willing to use Nuclear, they will not attack. If they won't attack, then there will be no war. No war = peace. >...he has given many indications that he'd be willing to use nuclear weapons against enemies who don't have them... He said "as a last resort." In other word, if America is about to go down, he will use Nuclear to save America as a last resort. If your enemies have nukes, and they are willing to nuke you, and you are not willing to nuke them back, then they'll just nuke you to bits, because they know you won't nuke them back. Remember, just because America is a good country doesn't mean that North Korea is also a good country. North Korea will not think twice about nuking America if America is not willing to nuke them back. >...encourage our allies to develop their own arsenals... Go read the Theory of Nuclear Deterrence. Nuclear Deterrence prevents war. It encourages countries to solve their problems through other means, instead of through war. Trump just wants peace. And he understands how to get it.