Libertarian Ideals are OK for 1776, but in 2007..?!?

The world is too complicated and people are too stupid for a libertarian system to work. That was the final argument made by a socialist friend, after I described the emergence of the Ron Paul Campaign. Well, at least he came out and admitted what he really thought.

And in the end, that is everyone's final argument against too much personal liberty. People just can't take care of themselves. I'll even admit, it often appears like this is true. Main stream media is filled with stories of human misconduct and stupidity. Jerry Springer, Maury Povich, Law and Order, CSI, Law and Order - special victims unit, NCSI, . . . Not to mention all the stories on crime, corruption and deceit shown on the news networks. With the failings of humanity so prevalent in our media, how can one not come to the conclusion that a group of intelligent elite should rule humanity?

I disagree with my socialists friend's assertion, however. I believe that individuals, working in their own enlightened self interest, can provide for themselves and can create an enlightened, healthy society.

Impossible you say, problems are too complex. There's Global Warming, Terrorism and WMD, Famine, HIV, Mad Cow Disease, all those ATV accidents, these are all problems that require global cooperation, and that cooperation can only be provided by a strong central organization.

C.S. Lewis said “Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”

To escape these tyrannies, libertarians and constitutionalists must provide concrete solutions to those problems that scare people into giving up their personal responsibility. We must re-educate people that their biggest obligation is to themselves, and that they, and only they, have the power to solve such problems. In the next few Blog entries, I will suggest libertarian answers to these practical problems, and provide details from the perspective of the individual. This new way of doing things cannot be explained by a sound bite like "let the free market work" or "give people more choices". Breaking the stranglehold of the statist philosophy of individual inadequacy will take education, and lots of it. We have been educated (brainwashed?) to believe focus on the individual is wrong. Reversing the trend to more and more centralized control of society will take time, but I believe it is important to begin now.