For years, I have always tried to give the libertarian movement the benefit of the doubt. I know there are different factions/degrees in the movement that may be more left or right leaning than others that claim to invoke or promote various concepts of voluntary, individual liberty.
I am not an expert on this school of thought, nor do I have any status or prestigious credentials about libertarianism to offer. What I can offer is my own observation and keen sense of identification.
Economically, I think the movement is spot on with many issues such as auditing the Fed, getting rid of income and other unnecessary taxes on both the Fed and state level, opposition to big central banks, concern over the revolving door (back and forth between multinational corporations/lobbyists and political positions), statist/coercive policies on any level and more.
In terms of civil liberties, they are great with a majority of issues such as defending due process, opposing unequal treatment of the law, opposing aggressive foreign policy, supporting vocalized protests against abuse of state and local power, calling out the weaponization and militarization of our federal administrative agencies, opposing the media propaganda, promoting voluntary associations and assembly, and the list goes on.
We want to thank Ryan Bennett for this Contribution – Please direct yours to Steve@GraniteGrok.com.
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In principle, the elements of voluntary association, non-aggression, localized representation, grassroots initiatives, free markets, regional banks, and decentralized currency all embody a set of concepts that sound pro-liberty, Constitutional, and likely are. 3
However, culturally, there seem to be some flaws. Unless, of course, there are various movements infiltrating some apparatus sectors of the libertarian movement. Either way, and most prevalently with LGBT activism, the legalization of drugs and legalization of prostitution ideas do not reflect the moral order of God’s natural law. This is not to say all libertarians support this. However, the umbrella of libertarianism seems to include anyone and anything that “does not harm anyone” and is “voluntary,” tolerating the pseudo-intelligentsia woke ideology that crept in behind the original movement closely associated with Ron Paul.
Where is the line drawn, though? Can anyone assert to be a libertarian because they don’t want to go to war, want local governments to have more control and privatization of the economy as much as possible?
What about staunch pro-choice, LGBT, prostitution, and drug rights? Can they be libertarian if they invoke one of these progressive issues while simultaneously declaring they are anti-vaccine, want less government all around (not a bad idea on its own), etc?
The libertarian movement should continue to be inclusive (in a non-woke manner) and promote the voluntary, non-aggression, anti-regime change ideals many sincerely promote in various ways and through a multitude of mediums. However, the party needs to adopt or become more vocal on some moral positions that are in alignment with Judeo Christian framework we were founded on (if they have already, then I refute this statement).
The concept of individual liberty is necessary, but only if it does not violate the natural rights of others. LGBT activism, hard drugs such as fentanyl and opioids, and the pouring in of hard drugs and rampant prostitution have all done spiritual damage to our youth despite this concept of “individual liberty.” Though the government has also abused the war on drugs and can use these issues as a false cover to become Orwellian, the issues should not be ignored. These issues should devolve to the states if not explicitly stated in the US Constitution. The laws of nature imply a moral order, not just rogue forms of individual liberty. This is a spiritual issue more than anything. Sometimes a consensual decision leads to spiritual death and depravity and our country should also protect these people in bondage or victims to un-Godly decisions, as well as our children.
Even if heavy-handed government policies are not enforced, at the minimum, God’s law should be promoted in the libertarian apparatus, especially with the way drugs and sexual perversion are polluting young people’s minds and cognitive development, not in a way that evangelizes but in a way that upholds the natural moral order. If we promote these values organically and work to engineer these ideas and promote the liberating power of the God of the Holy Bible, perhaps the next generation, less government would be necessary to promote and protect public health and order.
To those who already confront this and call this out thank you. This is more of an external view.