3 ms·

It amazes me that this place gets a reputation of being libertarian when the vast majority of comments here (and on similar subjects) are extremely authoritaria

It amazes me that this place gets a reputation of being libertarian when the vast majority of comments here (and on similar subjects) are extremely authoritarian. The libertarian stance is that if someone isn't harming you then you have absolutely no justification to impinge on their freedom. This is fundamental liberal and libertarian theory common to all branches of both.

goatlover 4y ago
So what does a libertarian society do with people who do the following in public: defecate, shoot up, litter, block sidewalks with tents, harass passerbies? Do you arrest them for breaking the law? Allow them to continue doing so? Or would there be no such laws because it’s not harming anyone under a libertarian view? How does a libertarian deal with the chronically homeless?
- guerrilla 4y ago
  > How does a libertarian deal with the chronically homeless? Obviously you house them, feed them, offer them treatment, etc. with the least amount of friction possible. If they refuse and aren't literally hurting anyone, then nothing. You don't need to over-complicate this.
  - lostmsu 4y ago
    I think this is not a libertarian place then.
  - goatlover 4y ago
    So if they refuse assistance and continue breaking the law, you just let them? Do libertarians not have laws against littering, camping out on sidewalks or near schools, etc? I've seen enough public places trashed by the fraction of the homeless that are either too ill or don't care to pick up and walk a few feet to a trash receptacle. It can be unsanitary at times. Parks and coffee shops end up locking their bathrooms so they don't have to clean up the mess. If involuntary commitment is against your principles, what about relocation to designated areas where the homeless have access to services they need? They can leave and go wherever, they just can't camp outside those designated areas, or otherwise break the law, just like any other citizen.
    - guerrilla 4y ago
      If they're harming people, you do something about it; if they're not, you don't. That's it.[1] > I've seen enough public places trashed by the fraction of the homeless that are either too ill or don't care to pick up and walk a few feet to a trash receptacle. I mostly see non-homeless people do that. I'd say they're responsible for the majority. Look at the side of highways, for example. > Parks and coffee shops end up locking their bathrooms so they don't have to clean up the mess. Provide them bathrooms. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harm_principle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harm_principle
mixmastamyk 4y ago
An unwise comment on the surface; there are at least thousands of folks here. Further, those that are hn libertarians typically are most concerned with low taxes and possibly property values. Even so libertarianism has to take the real world into account at some point to be a useful -ism. That means your freedom ends where mine begins.

goatlover 4y ago

So what does a libertarian society do with people who do the following in public: defecate, shoot up, litter, block sidewalks with tents, harass passerbies? Do you arrest them for breaking the law? Allow them to continue doing so? Or would there be no such laws because it’s not harming anyone under a libertarian view? How does a libertarian deal with the chronically homeless?

guerrilla 4y ago
> How does a libertarian deal with the chronically homeless? Obviously you house them, feed them, offer them treatment, etc. with the least amount of friction possible. If they refuse and aren't literally hurting anyone, then nothing. You don't need to over-complicate this.
- lostmsu 4y ago
  I think this is not a libertarian place then.
- goatlover 4y ago
  So if they refuse assistance and continue breaking the law, you just let them? Do libertarians not have laws against littering, camping out on sidewalks or near schools, etc? I've seen enough public places trashed by the fraction of the homeless that are either too ill or don't care to pick up and walk a few feet to a trash receptacle. It can be unsanitary at times. Parks and coffee shops end up locking their bathrooms so they don't have to clean up the mess. If involuntary commitment is against your principles, what about relocation to designated areas where the homeless have access to services they need? They can leave and go wherever, they just can't camp outside those designated areas, or otherwise break the law, just like any other citizen.
  - guerrilla 4y ago
    If they're harming people, you do something about it; if they're not, you don't. That's it.[1] > I've seen enough public places trashed by the fraction of the homeless that are either too ill or don't care to pick up and walk a few feet to a trash receptacle. I mostly see non-homeless people do that. I'd say they're responsible for the majority. Look at the side of highways, for example. > Parks and coffee shops end up locking their bathrooms so they don't have to clean up the mess. Provide them bathrooms. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harm_principle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harm_principle

mixmastamyk 4y ago

An unwise comment on the surface; there are at least thousands of folks here. Further, those that are hn libertarians typically are most concerned with low taxes and possibly property values. Even so libertarianism has to take the real world into account at some point to be a useful -ism. That means your freedom ends where mine begins.