> And yes, left-wing libertarians are not often encountered on tech boards in my experience. This fascinates me. It seems both very American and very 'techy' t

> And yes, left-wing libertarians are not often encountered on tech boards in my experience. This fascinates me. It seems both very American and very 'techy' to be a right-wing libertarian (or is that the wrong term?). In many ways both views are very opposed, but there are striking similarities too (especially on a 'social' level, which interests me as a social scientist). It's like we're siblings: entirely different personalities that often clash, but a strong mutual understanding and similar 'values' through similar background/upbringing. With the disclaimer that I'm still very much investigating and that I might very well be wrong, it seems to me that the left wing tends to be more on the 'social' side of things, and more burdened/informed by the European past, and perhaps too theoretical and big in scope. The right wing seems to focus more on the individual side of things, is perhaps a little too uninformed by Europe's past (and the role of property in that), and sometimes seems a little too much like 'let's change everything without questioning our basic assumptions'. I find that the techier, more entrepreneurial side of myself is more attracted to the right-wing libertarian views that seems more optimistic, but that the social scientist side of me combined with a very communal, religious upbringing (in a 'socialist' country) is more attracted to the left-wing libertarian views that feel a little more pessimistic/cranky at times. Perhaps that is why HN seems to have more right-wing libertarians, whereas my intellectual and often decidedly anti-technology circles ar almost entirely left-wing libertarians (if they're libertarians to begin with). Some thoughts from my armchair...