Libertarians Freak Out

[foolsguinea]

@Der_Trihs

Same thing, really. Ever hear the phrase “the market is never wrong” ? If the market, say, collapses, and makes everyone miserable - that was a “solution”. That’s what “should have happened”. It’s the equivalent of saying that anything that happens is part of God’s Plan and shouldn’t be interfered with; the free market fundamentalists are the economic equivalent of the people who pray at their dying relative’s bedside instead of taking them to a doctor. Because if God/the Market wanted them better, it would happen on it’s own. And trying to help is evil, and shows a lack of faith.

:Satori:

Oh, good grief. This more than anything explains the convergence of ideas in the Religious Right. Perhaps the primary idea is fatalism, & the religiosity & apparent social-darwinism are secondary to that & interpreted through that lens.

[foolsguinea]

@Rhythmdvl

So a Libertarian, a Randian, and a LaRouchian walk into a bar…

a steel bar 40" long, lying on the path.

The Libertarian kicks it without looking, it flies up, & his body hits it longways, striking himself from head to crotch. He blames his own bad luck.

The bar falls against the Randian, striking her across the belly & knocking the wind out of her. She flings it away, cursing the apelike proletariat that created this piece of the material culture & discarded it to strike her.

Its arc collides with the LaRouchian’s forehead & face, knocking him down, dazing him, & leaving a grand bruise. He “realizes” that the bar & the Randian are both fascists, & the Libertarian is their useful idiot.

[FoieGrasIsEvil]

@Whack-a-Mole

Well, Rand’s Objectivism is on the upswing and that is often closely tied to Libertarian ideals.

Truly scary IMO.

Without consulting the internet, and in the face of my own ignorance, I have to ask: what in the bloody hell is so special about Atlas Shrugged? I am (shamefacedly) an English degree holder and have never read it. Should I? Is it in any way representative of the human condition?

What’s the Dope on this book?

(Sorry about the hijack, OP).

[dropzone]

You don’t read romance novels, do you? It being a book doesn’t mean you have to read it, though I dare you to. I double-dog dare you. And I don’t mean that you get to read ten pages before you throw it across the room for the trash it is. You have to finish it.

Remember the crap the other kids in class wrote that they were convinced was both deep and well written? Expand it to book length and make the student a sociopath.

[Little_Nemo]

The Libertarian kicks it without looking, it flies up, & his body hits it longways, striking himself from head to crotch. He blames his own bad luck.

No, a Libertarian would say “If we had a real Free Market economy, somebody would have found a use for that steel and I wouldn’t have whacked myself in the face with it.”

[foolsguinea]

@Little_Nemo

No, a Libertarian would say “If we had a real Free Market economy, somebody would have found a use for that steel and I wouldn’t have whacked myself in the face with it.”

As a former anarcho-capitalist disciple of Fang the Unwashed, I have to say that anyone who says that isn’t a real libertarian, but a muddle-headed believer in soft totalitarianism via chaos theory. Real liberty includes the liberty to be independent, ungoverned, useless, & unlucky.

[BMax]

@foolsguinea

a steel bar 40" long, lying on the path.

The Libertarian kicks it without looking, it flies up, & his body hits it longways, striking himself from head to crotch. He blames his own bad luck.

The bar falls against the Randian, striking her across the belly & knocking the wind out of her. She flings it away, cursing the apelike proletariat that created this piece of the material culture & discarded it to strike her.

Its arc collides with the LaRouchian’s forehead & face, knocking him down, dazing him, & leaving a grand bruise. He “realizes” that the bar & the Randian are both fascists, & the Libertarian is their useful idiot.

Is this in Liberteria? Would the Libertarian sue the owner of the sidewalk (because there would be no public sidewalks in Liberteria, there’s no profit in it) for breach of contract and creating a hazard, or would he have to re-read the fine print of the contract he signed before paying the fee for using the sidewalk?