Thread: I finally realized why I don't call myself a libertarian

Can you give a rundown of your economic views?

You mentioned what you are politically, and what you're not economically.

You didn't expand on what you were economically.

Sure, 60 years ago while the rest of the world was trying to rebuild after WWII the United States had a competitive advantage in most industries. That's why "made in the USA" was so much more prevalent back then on everything from sneakers to food products to luxury automobiles.

The world moved on. Countries rebuilt. New markets opened. Things change. These days more often than not "made in the USA" doesn't mean jack shit except that you're likely to be paying 2-3 times as much for a product that really isn't all that better than what you could get with a "made in Taiwan" tag on it.

there are plenty of small l libertarians all over the Republican and Democratic parties. they just seem to exist more at the state and local level than the national, because the nature of national politics is one of polarization between the "liberal Democratic left" and the "conservative Republican right."

unfortunately there just doesn't appear to be much room on the national level for people with nuanced views that would get them defined as more libertarian than conservative or liberal. It's the nature of the game. Most of those candidates get trounced in primary contests for federal office because primaries tend to bring out the even more polarized and extreme members of both parties, they move toward the extremes during primary season then try to drift back to the middle in the general election.

The day that I declare that I'm a full-fledged anything, I invite you to smack me.

What?

Actually, it's more likely that "Made in the USA" means you're paying a 20% markup for something that's made in Taiwan with a "Made in the USA" tag sewn onto it.

The market taking advantage of people who think like CC.

Fielding candidates is only one way to influence government. This is what I mean by playing the game: libertarians often resign themselves to obscurity because they cannot achieve their immediate and visible goals, outright ignoring more subtle and deliberate politicking in order to cultivate a future that is more open to libertarian candidates.

well yea, then there's that... i more meant actual made in the USA products though.

And that's where the second issue I brought up comes in, so I guess I'll explain a little more fully.

The LP has two semi-distinct philosophical strains running through it. On the one hand you have the pragmatists who would absolutely agree with you. Stick to one or two issues and take a gradual approach to seeing those issues dealt with in a desirable way. (This is the side I'm on, btw)

The other side are the idealists. In their minds anything short of a full make-over of the US government into a pure libertarian ideal is a failure and not worth pursuing. They have a "why bother doing X when we can't do Y and Z at the same time?" mentality, even though doing even X on its own would further the libertarian cause.

For a long time idealists have run the LNC. It's kind of in flux right now, the idealists and the pragmatists within the party are kind of duking it out to see who leads. If the idealists win, the LP will continue to be a non-factor. If the pragmatists win, the LP might actually start getting a few things done.