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I was definitely that stupid and dense during my libertarian phase. It took me a while to start generating counterexamples to the "property rights promote indiv

I was definitely that stupid and dense during my libertarian phase. It took me a while to start generating counterexamples to the "property rights promote individual liberty" idea, though of course once I started the trickle quickly became a flood, I saw the floodwater all around me, and the gimmick was up. Today I would fully agree with you that the most experienced "libertarians" are actually conservatives dressed up in the clothing of freedom, but there's a sucker born every minute, and the key to bumping this particular sucker out of this particular ideology was not an accusation of crypto-conservatism (of which I heard plenty) but rather a frontal attack on the core ideas of libertarianism as I understood them.

giraffe_lady 4y ago
Yes this is true. I really struggle to find balance with this one. On one hand demanding to be treated as if they are representing views in good faith when they are not is one of the most effective and exhausting strategies of the far right, libertarians included. So I try to identify it and refuse to. But on the other hand yes, surely a lot of self-identified libertarians "on the ground" are being honest about their understanding and motivations, and it's shitty to dismiss their positions as disingenuous when they aren't. I doubt it's possible to always get it right, and I'm not comfortable choosing one of those two errors to make exclusively. So I do my best and ask for forgiveness when I get it wrong.