So... how about that Tea Party?

[HappySqurriel]

SciFiBoy said:

HappySqurriel said:

(As usual) there seems to be a lack of understanding of libertarianism. In general libertarians tends to separate what they believe is right and what they thing the government should encourage or enforce; and you could say that a libertarian truly believes that the government should not be involved in legislating morality. It would be a fairly consistent position for a libertarian to be entirely opposed to something (say racism or forced racial segregation) and yet believe that the government has no right to force people to behave any differently than they are.

hmm, then how could they justify any sort of military or legal system?

military - would be forcing OTHER people to behave differently (not invade, kill, et al)

legal - forcing people NOT to commit crimes

?

Libertarianism is not the belief in anarchy, and most libertarians still believe that there are certain rights of an individual that need to be protected (justifying a legal system) and that everyone has a responsibility to collectively protect their nation (justifying a military). Saying that someone should be arrested for stealing (undermining someone’s right to property ownership) or for murdering someone (undermining someone’s right to live) is quite a bit different from arresting someone for saying something that hurts someone’s feelings.