You summed it up really well, I always say "I'm a libertarian, not a constitutionalist". If the feds are thwarting local tyranny, great, if the locals are nullifying a tyrannical federal law, good for them. At this point there is no principle of centralization or decentralization to defend, the ship sailed a long time ago. Now we have to worry about real people suffering under oppressive laws, I'm more or less for whatever helps them.
Dennis, What if local gov and federal gov teamed up? Even if libertarians don't believe in the Constitution, it is still a good strategy to prevent full blown nazification.
We are in a real mess. If we go with full free market anarchy overnight, clean slate, no looking back, a lot of people will suffer far too much in the short term. On the other hand, if we try to dismantle the state bit-by-bit (or chunk-by-chunk, like Ron Paul wanted), it would take a long time, and even though the intensity of the pain experienced by people would be arguably lesser than pulling a Molinari, low intensity harm over a long period of time will be felt as worse than the reality we face today, and people will want to roll back.
And it is not as if the people is well informed. They don't know about mutualism, natural law, money, or the non-aggresion principle.
So even if the Constitution is a lost cause, it is still a cause that has to be fought. Most babies in libertarianism were born because of the fight for upholding the Constitution, and they are growing. It is easier to convert statists through the Constitution. If someone devises a better way to convert authoritarians into libertarians, I'll go with that. Until then, it is better to not burst this bubble.
You summed it up really well, I always say "I'm a libertarian, not a constitutionalist". If the feds are thwarting local tyranny, great, if the locals are nullifying a tyrannical federal law, good for them. At this point there is no principle of centralization or decentralization to defend, the ship sailed a long time ago. Now we have to worry about real people suffering under oppressive laws, I'm more or less for whatever helps them.
ReplyDeleteDennis, What if local gov and federal gov teamed up?
ReplyDeleteEven if libertarians don't believe in the Constitution, it is still a good strategy to prevent full blown nazification.
We are in a real mess. If we go with full free market anarchy overnight, clean slate, no looking back, a lot of people will suffer far too much in the short term. On the other hand, if we try to dismantle the state bit-by-bit (or chunk-by-chunk, like Ron Paul wanted), it would take a long time, and even though the intensity of the pain experienced by people would be arguably lesser than pulling a Molinari, low intensity harm over a long period of time will be felt as worse than the reality we face today, and people will want to roll back.
And it is not as if the people is well informed. They don't know about mutualism, natural law, money, or the non-aggresion principle.
So even if the Constitution is a lost cause, it is still a cause that has to be fought. Most babies in libertarianism were born because of the fight for upholding the Constitution, and they are growing. It is easier to convert statists through the Constitution. If someone devises a better way to convert authoritarians into libertarians, I'll go with that. Until then, it is better to not burst this bubble.