4 ms·

Libertarianism has become deeply unfashionable. Many on the right talk about libertarianism as a gateway drug to the hard right. As some who is broadly libertar

Libertarianism has become deeply unfashionable. Many on the right talk about libertarianism as a gateway drug to the hard right. As some who is broadly libertarian this is quite distressing. We have no representation in government or the mainstream parties and no media machine like the hard right / alt right or even the far left!

dsfyu404ed 4y ago
>Many on the right talk about libertarianism as a gateway drug to the hard right Lolwut? Both the left and the right complain that libertarianism is a gateway drug to the other party. "We'd have won if it weren't for that obnoxious 2% that won't vote for anybody who's platform is all about controlling people" and all that jazz.
- pharmakom 4y ago
  Sorry I don’t have any links to share but this is common view in the alt right
  - Mouthfeel 4y ago
    [dead]
- spamizbad 4y ago
  I think people on the right talk about it pushing people "hard right" they're specifically talking about the rise of the Mises caucus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mises_Caucus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mises_Caucus I think there's a separate complaint about the Libertarian candidates peeling voters away from conservative Republicans in close contests, resulting in a Democratic victory. The problem with this argument is that many of these Libertarian voters have zero interest in major-party politics, and may not be closely aligned with either party. So if you removed the Libertarian candidate from the ballot, many Libertarian voters would rather stay home than decide on the "lesser evil", and those that did choose a major party wouldn't support one party over another enough to matter.
  - api 4y ago
    I never capitalize Libertarian for that reason. The present day Libertarian party is a bunch of absolute fruitcakes. It's neither libertarian nor a competent political party.
    - Apocryphon 4y ago
      A pretty good listen about how the downfall of the Pragmatic Caucus led to the current Mises memelord takeover of the Libertarian Party: https://www.buzzsprout.com/760511/10807095-the-new-leaders-of-the-libertarian-party https://www.buzzsprout.com/760511/10807095-the-new-leaders-o...
api 4y ago
I heard this once: “A libertarian politician is like a teetotaler in the brewery business.” So maybe that’s the deal. Maybe people who get into politics do so because they want to control people or beat up on some other group because of grievances. People who have neither control issues nor bigotries maybe spend their time in other ways.

dsfyu404ed 4y ago

>Many on the right talk about libertarianism as a gateway drug to the hard right Lolwut? Both the left and the right complain that libertarianism is a gateway drug to the other party. "We'd have won if it weren't for that obnoxious 2% that won't vote for anybody who's platform is all about controlling people" and all that jazz.

pharmakom 4y ago
Sorry I don’t have any links to share but this is common view in the alt right
- Mouthfeel 4y ago
  [dead]
spamizbad 4y ago
I think people on the right talk about it pushing people "hard right" they're specifically talking about the rise of the Mises caucus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mises_Caucus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mises_Caucus I think there's a separate complaint about the Libertarian candidates peeling voters away from conservative Republicans in close contests, resulting in a Democratic victory. The problem with this argument is that many of these Libertarian voters have zero interest in major-party politics, and may not be closely aligned with either party. So if you removed the Libertarian candidate from the ballot, many Libertarian voters would rather stay home than decide on the "lesser evil", and those that did choose a major party wouldn't support one party over another enough to matter.
- api 4y ago
  I never capitalize Libertarian for that reason. The present day Libertarian party is a bunch of absolute fruitcakes. It's neither libertarian nor a competent political party.
  - Apocryphon 4y ago
    A pretty good listen about how the downfall of the Pragmatic Caucus led to the current Mises memelord takeover of the Libertarian Party: https://www.buzzsprout.com/760511/10807095-the-new-leaders-of-the-libertarian-party https://www.buzzsprout.com/760511/10807095-the-new-leaders-o...

api 4y ago

I heard this once: “A libertarian politician is like a teetotaler in the brewery business.” So maybe that’s the deal. Maybe people who get into politics do so because they want to control people or beat up on some other group because of grievances. People who have neither control issues nor bigotries maybe spend their time in other ways.