Now before all of my fellow freedom fighters freak out on me, hear me out. Ever since I became active and involved in the Libertarian movement, I've heard terms such as "Libertarian Marxism" or "Libertarian Socialism". In the past, all I could do in response was either laugh or shake my head. How the HELL could there be such a thing as Libertarian Marxist, right? A collectivist society is the polar opposite of a free society. Well, tonight I caught a glimpse of the possibility... and it's been right under my nose.
In a Libertarian society, you'd be free to do essentially anything you'd like, as long as you don't prevent from someone else from doing the same. You could do anything you wanted, as long as you don't infringe upon other people's rights in the process. It'd be a society free from force or coercion of any kind.
I, like some of you, DESPISE the political philosophy that is Marxism, or any collectivist philosophy for that matter. Why? Well, if you honestly don't know what Marxism is, look it up. I'm not going to get into it (it'll just set me off on raging tangent). Just know that I hate everything it stands for.
So tonight, in a meeting for a Libertarian organization I'm a part of, we had an individual that described themselves as.... "Marx-ISH". The individual didn't know what Libertarianism was (which is precisely my problem when people call themselves something without having a broad knowledge of other political philosophies- POLIDENTITY CRISIS?!?!) and sat in on our discussion to learn a little bit more, which I commend them for.
When I asked her why she'd force people to live under a political regime that they didn't sign up for, she replied "Well, they wouldn't be forced." Basically, to sum it up in a nutshell, I helped her paint an image of a free society in which VOLUNTEERS would be permitted to practice Marxism... something I have NO problem with. That's the whole basis of Libertarianism.. do what you want, just don't force it on me.
In a free society, a group of 2,000 (or whatever number) individuals, could buy a large piece of land somewhere, and set up their own society within it. It'd consist of people that voluntarily signed a contract to enter the community under specific conditions. When if people end up not liking their way of life? They can leave at anytime. Sure, there'd be all sorts of variables, disclaimers and exceptions.. YES, I know. This is a blog, I'm just describing a general idea. You want some scholarly, in depth analysis? Go read a CATO journal.
Now, is this necessarily Marxism? No, not really... the only term I could associate this with would be Libertarian Marxism (which sounds absolutely disgusting to me). But hey, it'd work. You want to live in a society of stagnation? Feel free. You want to live in a society in which you have virtually no freedom nor rights? Be my guest... just DON'T make me do it. Basically, any society can exist within a free society.
This concept had always been in the back of my mind, but I had never really grasped it until I spoke with this individual tonight. For some reason, it just became much more clearer. And by the way, this concept is very similar to what the Seasteading Institute, an organization founded by Patri Friedman, wants to do (except they want to do it on water... very interesting, go to their website).
Which brings me to my next point (brought up by G. Jenkin on the facebook group)... WHY DON'T LIBERTARIANS CAPITALIZE ON THIS?!?!!? This concept is soooo appealing to people. I must say, when it comes to marketing strategies, Libertarians are the worst. First off, Libertarians are anti-government, so there aren't nearly as many Libertarians running for public office as opposed to other parties (proportionally). Second off, Libertarians always rant about the free market, capitalism, etc... (yes, Im guilty of it to.. even on this blog, haha). We should do a better job of capitalizing on the specific issues that we DO agree with people on. For instance, the gay community. Most of the Gay community supported Obama throughout his campaign. I don't understand why... Democrats are a bunch of pansies when it comes to Gay marriage. They support civil unions but not marriage (lmao). Obama has turned his back on the Gay community. Libertarians are the only ones that do, and always have, support Gay marriage (marriage shouldn't even be a government institution anyways, as far as I'm concerned). In my opinion, the Libertarian Party has done a piss poor job of reaching out to the Gay community. If anyone is empathetic towards their struggle, it's definitely Libertarians.
And to any of you proud queers out there that are still supporting the Democratic party, have some self respect and stop taking their shit! Don't let them jerk you around.
/Rant over.
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