I am relatively new to libertarianism but I wrote this to put in my highschool newspaper. I would love some suggestions, point out anything wrong or that I missed. Criticizm is welcomed, thanks.
Albert Einstein’s quote “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results.” is the best explanation for modern day politics. The Democratic party and the Republican party have monopolized our present day government and while the citizens of the United States listen the these two parties go at each other’s throats day in and day out and as we see a new incumbent president from the opposing party of the previous president get sworn after 4 to 8 years of failure, broken promises and distrust, we fail to ever see any real ‘change’.
Both parties are blinded by their hypocritical ideologies; Liberals base their platform on opposing unconstitutional wars, supporting personal freedoms, such as women rights, gay rights, separation of church and state, and claim to oppose unconstitutional bills such as the so-called ‘Patriot Act’. While they make a strong front for personal freedoms, they are anything but for economic freedom for individuals while imposing increasingly progressive taxes and the belief of ‘wealth distribution’ as patriotic. French political philosopher Frederic Bastiat says its best, “The state is the great fiction by which everybody tries to live at the expense of everybody else.”
On the other hand, Conservatives claim to base their platform on economic liberty while failing to be proponents of individual liberty. It has seemed to be more important for the Republicans to move their party towards a religious organization rather than a political one.
Both parties are very hypocritical and do not realize that economic freedom and individual freedom are one in the same.
After President Clinton policed U.S. troops around the world during his tenure, President Bush based his 2000 campaign from a somewhat non-interventionist foreign policy. He actually said “I am not so sure the role of the U.S. should be to go to other nations and tell them to ‘do it this way’”. Well, we saw how well those plans went.
While the Republican Party claims to be a party that supports ‘low taxes, and small government’, a 700 billion dollar bailout was passed with a Republican controlled congress along with a Republican president. How can you be a party of low taxes and small government when you pass a bill that results in the exact opposite?
On the same note; liberals love to point out the loss of liberties Americans have endured under the ‘conservative’ President Bush. But the same democrats that liberals voted into office are the same democrats that gave President Bush the power to do ‘whatever he deemed necessary’ following the 9/11 attacks. Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel even has an outline of a mandatory civil service for Americans between the age of 18 and 25 which is only a step towards a national draft.
There might be a difference in the two parties’ supporters, but is there actually really in big difference in who the supporters vote for?
All the while these two parties continue to fail America by placing a ‘war on drugs, increasing national debt with unnecessary government spending, increasing foreign violence and military presence overseas, and enlarging the size of our bureaucracy, while restricting personal freedom and taking our country further and further away from our founding fathers ideals, the third largest party in the United States is not even mentioned.
Republican and Democrats alike have claimed that our current financial crisis came out of nowhere and could not have been prevented. While Bush republicans come up with excuses for the failure of our economy, liberals find it a perfect time to attack the evil “Free Market” and try to convince the American people that Socialism can save us. The truth is that these current financial woes have nothing to do with the ‘free market’, it is impossible considering the fact that we have not even actually had a free market in decades, probably not since the Federal Reserve arrived in 1913.
Surprisingly enough, republicans and democrats fail to realize that Libertarian Economists (Austrian economics) have been predicting this crisis for years. Despite libertarians spot on prophecies, oddly enough the government continues their bad habits and ignores libertarian economic train of thought.
As far as social issues go, I as a Christian I have my own morals such as believing homosexuality and abortion are wrong, but does that mean my morals should be forced on other Americans?
As a libertarian I do not have to agree with other people’s lifestyles but I do tolerate them; for what takes place in other people’s lives, whether it is homosexuality or the recreational use of smoking marijuana is no more my business than it should be that of the government’s.
Morality should not be in the hands of the government (especially the federal government) as long as it is not violating anyone else’s natural rights or property rights. Libertarianism is not a moral philosophy but it is a political one, filled with tolerance and opposing coercion.
Ludwig Von Mises (founder of Austrian Economics) said, “The great characteristic feature of a free society is that it can function in spite of the fact its members disagree in many judgments of value.”
Until any “Change” or “Progress” can take place in America, what first must take place is a change in our election process; eliminating the monopoly of Democrats and Republicans while giving third parties an opportunity.
I am a libertarian because I believe in freedom…Why aren’t you?
Good job.