Libertarian Socialism is an Oxymoron?

[o_O.Q]

sc94597 said:

DarthMetalliCube said:

The ideals of Libertarianism and Socialism are not mutally exclusive. You could be libertarian in certain aspects but Socialist in others. You might, for instance, be opposed to Authoritarian governments when it comes to policy but feel they have an obligation to grant/enable everyone equal rights. You may beleive in the importance of the free market and self ownership, as many Libertarians do, but still feel capitalism needs to be regulated so as not to allow monopolies, etc.. I consider myself very Libertarian but was also a supporter of Bernie Sanders (social democrat). 

What these ideals primarily share in common is an anti-authoritarianism, a skeptisism towards crony capitalism, neoliberalism, and the striving towards equal opportunity and liberty for all.

To look for a key example of both - Noam Chomsky is a good example of a Libertarian Socialist/social democrat. Dennis Kuscinich also somewhat embodies both these ideals as a politician. 

While there are similarities between social democracy and pretty much all other mainstream ideologies, libertarian socialism is not the same thing as social democracy. Libertarian socialists believe that a true socialist society can be achieved organically by the elimination or decentralization of government. They don't think welfare capitalism is the utopia its proponents make it out to be. Social democrats believe in capitalism tempered by the welfare state. They believe that welfare capitalism is successful, and push for state action to achieve these ends. 

Noam Chomsky is peculiar in that he thinks the state has a role in changing society before a libertarian one can be achieved. This is similar to Marx's premise, but the means by which society should be changed are different between the two. Most libertarian-socialists criticize Chomsky for not wanting to outright abolish or decentralize the state. 

The only similarities are that they contest mainstream liberalism, but that is like saying liberalism and state-communism are similar because they contest fascism. Social democrats are quite authoritarian when it comes to certain economic issues, and a lot of crony capitalism can be traced to social democratic policies (for example, farm subsidies for big agriculture were meant to decrease food prices for the poor.) 

 

" Libertarian socialists believe that a true socialist society can be achieved organically by the elimination or decentralization of government."

 

but that doesn't make sense... maybe if humans were like ants or bees or locusts

 

what stops the individual in such a situation from pursusing their own interests at the expense of the group?