Another reason why I think we really should steer clear of politics is that the discussion level isn't all that high. Actually, some of the arguments are the ki

Another reason why I think we really should steer clear of politics is that the discussion level isn't all that high. Actually, some of the arguments are the kind that 4chan laughs at[1]. There's so much that libertarians ignore that you can point out, criticize, even mock but their answer to "No lifelines, no backup plans, no connections" is well known and straight-forward. It's "charity" and it is far from obvious that this is somehow a worse plan than "massive bureaucracy to administer welfare funded by confiscating 40% of people's incomes." If every system is corruptible then this argument cannot be really used against any system in particular. We know democratic institutions are sometimes captured, officials are bribed, public funds awarded to friends and family... but democratic governments limp along. They do better than many alternatives. Pure libertarian government may be utopian or theoretical, that does not mean that moving in its direction wouldn't make governance better. If this was all that took to convince you to move away from libertarianism then either you were never one, or you're rationalizing a change made for other reasons. [1] http://i.imgur.com/3F501i3.jpg http://i.imgur.com/3F501i3.jpg