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Nothing in modern US politics comes even close to libertarianism. Libertarianism opposes all regulation of business unless it is in concert with the non-aggress

Nothing in modern US politics comes even close to libertarianism. Libertarianism opposes all regulation of business unless it is in concert with the non-aggression principle (i.e. don't kill, steal, commit fraud, etc.). Libertarian thinking on antitrust is that it's unnecessary because there is no such thing as a natural monopoly; monopolies are the result of government regulation. Eliminate the regulations that privilege certain businesses over others, and competition will ensure an efficient market. In reality what we have in the US is a political class which constantly molds regulation to further benefit the shareholders of big businesses. Sometimes they remove regulations to this end, but much more frequently they create or alter them. There's no philosophical bent behind this at all, it's just the strong using government as a tool to oppress the weak (exactly what libertarianism warns us about). Nobody has ever pandered to libertarians when trying to justify their policies, so I have no idea why people like to blame them. To me a sign that the libertarians are on to something is that no government has ever dared to try it. Governments are comprised of powerful people and if they did they would lose all that power...

xtian 6y ago
> In reality what we have in the US is a political class which constantly molds regulation to further benefit the shareholders of big businesses. The political class you are talking about serves specific masters. They also mold ideological discourse which is where modern libertarianism comes from in the first place. Go check who's funding all of these libertarian speakers and institutes.
- dantheman 6y ago
  So libertarian are in power? Libertarians are non-interventionists, so clearly not effecting foreign policy. Against gov spending and gov debt, clearly not winning there. We are making progress on civil rights, gay marriage, ending the drug war. The size and scope of government continues to increase every year, so I don't see how anyone could call that libertarian.
  - xtian 6y ago
    The role of modern libertarians is not to hold power. It is to foment confusion and conflict around any initiatives that would limit the power of private capital (e.g., anything that would address the climate crisis in a meaningful way).
mindslight 6y ago
Libertarians get picked on for being a constant "other". Grassroots blue and red teams each start with a desire for freedom, but are then led by the professional politicians into supporting authoritarian policies to attack the other team and benefit those politicians' true employers. Libertarians don't subscribe to the ensuing narratives, thereby appearing directly opposed to each of the two popular teams. Furthermore, libertarianism ends up being quite left-brained which makes for a quick short circuit to authoritarianism via logical contradiction. The Party entertains these to gain sponsors the same way the reds and blues do, and there is little doubt it would take on the same corrupt role as the other teams if given a whiff of power.

xtian 6y ago

> In reality what we have in the US is a political class which constantly molds regulation to further benefit the shareholders of big businesses. The political class you are talking about serves specific masters. They also mold ideological discourse which is where modern libertarianism comes from in the first place. Go check who's funding all of these libertarian speakers and institutes.

dantheman 6y ago
So libertarian are in power? Libertarians are non-interventionists, so clearly not effecting foreign policy. Against gov spending and gov debt, clearly not winning there. We are making progress on civil rights, gay marriage, ending the drug war. The size and scope of government continues to increase every year, so I don't see how anyone could call that libertarian.
- xtian 6y ago
  The role of modern libertarians is not to hold power. It is to foment confusion and conflict around any initiatives that would limit the power of private capital (e.g., anything that would address the climate crisis in a meaningful way).

mindslight 6y ago

Libertarians get picked on for being a constant "other". Grassroots blue and red teams each start with a desire for freedom, but are then led by the professional politicians into supporting authoritarian policies to attack the other team and benefit those politicians' true employers. Libertarians don't subscribe to the ensuing narratives, thereby appearing directly opposed to each of the two popular teams. Furthermore, libertarianism ends up being quite left-brained which makes for a quick short circuit to authoritarianism via logical contradiction. The Party entertains these to gain sponsors the same way the reds and blues do, and there is little doubt it would take on the same corrupt role as the other teams if given a whiff of power.