3 ms·

I'm worried libertarians are throwing out the baby with the bathwater. A democratic government is great, but just like corporations, it needs to be held accoun

I'm worried libertarians are throwing out the baby with the bathwater. A democratic government is great, but just like corporations, it needs to be held accountable. That's why I donate to the ACLU. It helps keep government accountable for their abuses of power. Also, paying for news sources keeps journalists shining a light on corruption. Also education. An educated populace is a populace that's hard to control. These are some of the things authoritarian governments (that you're afraid of),go after first as they try to seize power. Pol pot did it, Stalin did it, North Korea does it. These are also unironically some of the things that conservatives/liberatarians seem to dislike.

ryanwaggoner 8y ago
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Perhaps we have different views of libertarianism. I’m not an anarchist. I also donate to the ACLU, and EFF, and a bunch of environmental groups, and ProPublica, etc, etc. I am NOT saying we don’t need government. But government is so incredibly powerful by its very nature that I think you should always be skeptical of it, hold it accountable, and be very, very careful about letting it go beyond a certain point in terms of authoritarianism. Because you can’t usually put the genie back in the bottle without revolution once you hit that tipping point.
leetcrew 8y ago
> These are also unironically some of the things that conservatives/liberatarians seem to dislike. what do you mean by this? libertarians i know seem to like the ACLU as much as any large institution, and as far as i know, paying for news differs much more by age group than political affiliation, even though many libertarians might feel that the mainstream news doesn't share their values. > Also education. An educated populace is a populace that's hard to control. this is definitely one that libertarians/conservatives don't like to pay for, but i do question your claim here. how is an educated populace harder to control when the government administers the education?
malandrew 8y ago
I used to donate to the ACLU, but once it started actively throwing due process rights under the bus in the service of highly left-leaning fundamentalism I stopped donating.

ryanwaggoner 8y ago

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Perhaps we have different views of libertarianism. I’m not an anarchist. I also donate to the ACLU, and EFF, and a bunch of environmental groups, and ProPublica, etc, etc. I am NOT saying we don’t need government. But government is so incredibly powerful by its very nature that I think you should always be skeptical of it, hold it accountable, and be very, very careful about letting it go beyond a certain point in terms of authoritarianism. Because you can’t usually put the genie back in the bottle without revolution once you hit that tipping point.

leetcrew 8y ago

> These are also unironically some of the things that conservatives/liberatarians seem to dislike. what do you mean by this? libertarians i know seem to like the ACLU as much as any large institution, and as far as i know, paying for news differs much more by age group than political affiliation, even though many libertarians might feel that the mainstream news doesn't share their values. > Also education. An educated populace is a populace that's hard to control. this is definitely one that libertarians/conservatives don't like to pay for, but i do question your claim here. how is an educated populace harder to control when the government administers the education?

malandrew 8y ago

I used to donate to the ACLU, but once it started actively throwing due process rights under the bus in the service of highly left-leaning fundamentalism I stopped donating.