Introduction
Before I begin, I am not implying that all ‘‘Left-Libertarians’’ think this way, I am only saying the things I have heard some ‘‘Left-Libertarians’’ say about their critiques on Libertarianism and/or anarcho-capitalism.
Anarcho-capitalism -vs- Anarchy
A weird assumption about anarcho-capitalism is that we ignore all other forms of anarchism and suggest that all of society HAVE to be anarcho-capitalistic. I do not know where they get their information from but this is simply not true. In a Rothbard-Block way of anarchism, all people are free to choose to live however they want as long as they don’t enable force or violence upon a person or their property. If a group of people want to start a ‘‘commune’’ in an anarcho-capitalistic society, they can. If that commune wants to advertise their way of life in billboards, they can! How does that violate the non aggression principal and property rights? Another example, if all one wants to do is be self-sufficient (ie make their own clothing,shelter, food) they should. If those self-sufficient people want to write books about being self-sufficient and sell them in book stores, they can! Now, I agree that anarcho-capitalism is the most efficient way to live, but having that belief does not mean that I ignore other forms of anarchism. Of course other forms of anarchism can exist in society, and even government, to think that they won’t would be absurd.
Praxeology
Some “Left-Libertarians” claim to be Austrian Economists but most do not understand basic praxeology, which is a key belief in the Austrian School of economics. Some even question praxeology by asking such questions or saying statements like, “ How can all value scales be rational?” or “Value scales do not always satisfies human ends.” I know books like “Man, Economy, and State” and “Human Action” may look scary to read because of their length, but these statements and criticisms could be answered by reading these books.
Feminism And Environmentalism
We also get criticized for being anti-feminist and/or anti-environmentalist. Shame on us for not caring about our environment and women! Apparently, in our version of anarchy, we would take great pleasure in driving semis and beating women. But, seriously, this is another wrong assumption. Now, feminism used to be a great movement because the State claimed that women were basically second class citizens by not allowing them to own property, claim ownership over their own body, or denying them the right to vote. But as Christina Sommers said, modern feminism was becoming a movement filled with “female bullies.” Christina Sommers, by the way, is one of the best writers on feminism, I would recommend reading her books “Who Stole Feminism:How Women Have Betrayed Women” and “The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism Is Harming Our Young Men.” Sommers understands that women should not be superior to men or they shouldn’t be second class citizens(ie men shouldn’t be superior to women), THEY SHOULD BE EQUAL!!! Another great writer on feminism is a fellow anarchist, Wendy McElroy. McElroy is another feminist that hates the modern feminist movement for about the same reason as Sommers. A fabulous book by her would be “Sexual Correctness: The Gender-Feminist Attack on Women.” Still, it puzzles me that we get an anti-feministic label. Libertarians follow the non aggression principal which applies to all people and not just one gender. I guess in the case of feminism, I am opposed to the mainstream feminist movement but I am not anti-feminist as some “Left Libertarians” would claim I am.
Some of these “Left-Libertarians” misunderstand the Rothbardian-Blockian view on the environment. This misunderstanding leads to them labeling us as being anti-environmentalists. Some assume that we are one of those groups that say, “ Screw the environment, it will take care of itself.” Trust me, I hate those kinds of people just as much as you do! I agree that the statement is nonsense. But I am also critical from the zero sum game advocates, such as ‘‘the great’’ Al Gore. If not taking Al Gore serious when he talks about the environment makes me anti-environment, then I guess I am a anti-environmentalist. The environment is best cured by private industry. For example, just look at what The Nature Conservancy is doing compared with public funded environmental programs. Then others say that we are anti-environmentialists because we would allow oil drilling, people owning property, tree cutting etc. Well if that is your definition or interpretation of being anti-environmentialist, then I guess I am one. But I think that we would have had found a better source of energy by now if the State wasn’t so anti-market, for example, hemp energy.
Apoliticals That Use Political Spectrum
A few “Left-Libertarians” call themselves apolitical, yet they love to use the political spectrum. Instead of saying Rothbardian or libertarian, they would rather say left Rothbardian, Right Rothbardian, Left Libertarian, or Right Libertarian, way to be apolitical. I do not consider myself right libertarian, I consider myself Libertarian. I do not consider myself Right Rothbardian, I consider myself Rothbardian. The political spectrum is so screwed up, so why use it? Damn labels!
Libertarianism As A Cult
Well more specifically they consider that Rothbardian Libertarian has turned into a cult. This is also an argument the Objectivists bring up, they call us a cult, but how? Walter Block would consider Rothbard one of his biggest influences yet they disagree on abortion, slavery, capital punishment, etc. Robert Murphy and Walter Block are very different in views but yet they are both Rothbardians. That is not a cult attribute. We understand that people are people and we have different views.
Free Market?
I would just like to say that many of the “left Libertarians” are not pro-free market, they are pro-fair market. They rather rely on the neoclassical view fair trade rather than the Austrian view of trade in general. Even more so, some “Left-Libertarians” feel that it should be fair to have some sort of democratic system in the workforce, yet many are against voting, I do not see how wanting a democratic system and being anti-voting can go together. Democracy is a obvious failure when applied to the State, so why would Democracy be a success in a workforce?
Conclusion
These are only a few point that came up to mind. Again, I am not suggesting that all of “left Libertarians” think this way but these certainly apply to some of them.