7/10/2006

"Why you dirty libertarian socialist rat!"

Just when you thought it was safe to take a toaster into the shower...

Our comrades over at www.ontheborderline.net like to call us "collectivists," "socialists," and even -- gasp -- "scum." We've only occasionally discribed them as pocketbook libertarian rednecks who demand the right of bring automatic machine guns into their local convenience stores to buy a pack of Backwoods cigars. So I put two words together in the Google search engine and bingo! I find there is such a thing as a "libertarian socialist."

What is such a political animal:

Libertarian Socialism is a term essentially synonymous with the word "Anarchism". Anarchy, strictly meaning "without rulers", leads one to wonder what sort of system would exist in place of one without state or capitalist masters... the answer being a radically democratic society while preserving the maximal amount of individual liberty and freedom possible.

Libertarian Socialism recognizes that the concept of "property" (specifically, the means of production, factories, land used for profit, rented space) is theft and that in a truly libertarian society, the individual would be free of exploitation caused by the concentration of all means of wealth-making into the hands of an elite minority of capitalists.


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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

How so?

Anonymous said...

Yo Cato:

Marx was an theoretical idealist like Ayn Rand. Adam Smith was an economist who developed his theories by observing a realistic setting. Darwin was a C student who got on the boat, observed the plants and animals along the journey and developed theories as a result.

As I've mentioned in our discussions a number of time, I find the theories of Rand and libertarians idealistically interesting, as the theories of Marx. However, people are not theories and they individually are unique. Grouped together and averaged out, they might make a nice longing Bell Curve, but on average everyone is 52 percent a woman and 48 percent a man. On average, everyone has a breast and half a penis. In reality, anyone with one breast or half a penis has suffered a birth defect or a serious medical condition.

I think the end points of Marx's and Rand's theories eliminate the need for politics. Remember, "politics" is:

1. social relations involving authority or power
2. the study of government of states and other political units
3. the profession devoted to governing and to political affairs
4. the opinion you hold with respect to political questions
5. politics is the process and method of making decisions for groups

The think that gets left out of your idealist, theoretical parlor debate is politics -- whether the politics is formal, informal, volunteer or by force. I want to live my individual life the way I see fit and don't like restrictions that are placed on me in the private and public sector.

When you say, "Anarcho-socialism is the same ridiculousness that Marx presented." I chuckle and agreed. And then I wonder what you were doing 25 years ago when I was reading about libertarians, voting for them and subscribing to Reason magazine. You were probably up in your high school bedroom listening to the latest Rush album having no clue as to who Ayn Rand was and why they would dedicate an LP to a person by that name and, quite frankly, not giving a rip either.