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Let's assume we live in a complete libertarian society. The property right is upheld; there's no corporate or person income, property or estate tax; the government is minimized to national defense and law enforcement.
Since certain people, like Warren Buffett, and certain companies, like Apple or Google, are good at accumulating wealth, they would be able to buy as much land as possible.
Now what? They'd own let's say 50% of America. Now, everybody who wants to live on their land must comply to their rules:
1. No freedom of speech - remember the Google Manifesto?
2. No firearm ownership - virtually all companies ban firearms on their properties.
3. No health food - hey, Buffett loves French fries.
4. No free competition - it's their land, remember? Comcrapst is all you get.
5. No right wing white people are allowed.
Since the lands are owned by the private entities, It's their land and their rules, right?
Please do not comment if you aren't leaning towards the libertarianism.
What you're describing is a corporatocracy, it has little to do with libertarianism. If, as you say, corporations are good at accumulating wealth, why would they want to accumulate land for the sake of control of the society? It doesn't make business sense. Far more economically efficient to sustain big government and let the government deal with the masses that feed their interests for the minimal cost of lobbying. Although your scenario is not at all likely, even if it were so, do you think we would accept what it brings without resistance? Especially since libertarianism is about individual civil liberties?
Heh, that is actually pretty accurate I think. I would add that libertarians prefer to abandon you in the woods and allow you to be raised by wolves in the wild. Best bet is probably some balance between the 3.
But the wolves will teach you how to survive on your own without Mom or Dad.
The only way you can avoid the potential for oppression by a larger more powerful force is to be a part of the largest, most powerful force... and then there is no one to protect people outside of that group from you. Government is the label we place on the most powerful force in a society, therefore you would then be a part of the government. In America, the founders had the forethought to construct the framework of the most powerful force (the government) in such a way that it had some measure of forced balance upon itself. In places that do not have a carefully planned system of that nature, you are apt to get all kinds of undesirable and destructive frameworks to rise to fill that power void, example: ISIS. History bears this out in example after example after example, it is basically a law of human nature.
Does the 4-year-old child kicking a soccer ball around in the streets of Afghanistan who will be killed by a Trump-approved drone strike in the near future consider Isis or the U.S. Government an "undesirable and destructive framework"?
Heh, that is actually pretty accurate I think. I would add that libertarians prefer to abandon you in the woods and allow you to be raised by wolves in the wild. Best bet is probably some balance between the 3.
Not abandon to the woods, just left to fend for themselves in the vein of "under my roof, you live by my rules, and if that doesn't work, YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN."
For most people who grow up and move out, they figure it out just fine. They become stewards of their own life, independent of Mom and Dad's rules, caretaking, etc. Same thing with the government. You do many things already that are either independent or in spite of the government being extended Mom and Dad. The libertarian suggests that because this is so, why are you still letting their rules apply under your roof? Say you had a sibling, older or younger doesn't matter, who was simply a bum. Not drug addicted, not alcoholic or mentally ill...just straight lazy. The kind of person who just got real used to Mom and Dad doing everything for them. One day, Mom and Dad decide they want to buy that sibling new clothes, new XBox to waste time on, and various other goodies...but they can't really afford it, so they demand it from you. You say no, so Dad pulls a gun on you and says maybe you ought to rethink that answer. So you rethink an now 25% of your income goes to Dad to pay for the stuff he and Mom want to do, including lavishing stuff on your wastrel sibling.
The libertarian says this whole arrangement is wrong. Your sibling being coddled is wrong, your income being taken by force is wrong, your Mom and Dad trying to run your life is wrong, all of it is wrong because you are doing just fine on your own. No special talent, just a normal adult who understands how to survive and self-actualize at the same time, like most adults. The libertarian says you should be free from Mom and Dad's coercion and rules to do exactly that - survive and self-actualize. Of course do so peacefully, but you'd do that anyway because most people would, what with their inner economist doing math and sorting out the best way to provide a proper standard of living and all.
Thing is, in that scenario, neither your sibling, your Mom or your Dad have much interest in you being free from their applied force. They all lose the minute you are free of them being allowed to take things from you. They outnumber you 3 to 1, so voting on the matter would likely not go your way either. Sucks to be you I guess. Welcome to the reality every libertarian wakes up to every single day. 97-98% of the population is on the side of your wastrel sibling, your Mom or your Dad, and just like in this thread (and every other discussion on the matter that has happened ever), all of them will shame you for even daring to consider your own individual freedom in a world where what they want is how things are.
Like the discussion about roads, schools, welfare, etc. Think of that like being 32 years old, but your Mom still does your laundry and Dad still changes your oil and unclogs your drains. The 25% of your income going to them was at first about force, but they threw in these perks to make you feel less indentured about the whole thing. So you bring the subject again at dinner and say yeah, you really want to take back 100% control of your income, your life, etc. Shock and horror appear on your family's faces, and before they rant about their divine right to a portion of your income "because family" they laugh you off because without them, how will your laundry ever get done? How will your oil get changed? DRAINS DO NOT UNCLOG THEMSELVES AND ONLY YOUR DAD CAN UNCLOG A DRAIN!!!!
The government is the ultimate helicopter parent, and the nation has been brainwashed into thinking the Sun rises and sets because Mommy-Daddy Government wills it so. None of us can possibly do for ourselves that which Mommy-Daddy do for us, therefore, Mommy-Daddy G must never, ever be questioned.
You have no faith in humankind. Just a bunch of bumbling idiots unable to care for themselves without a strong central government guiding them every step of the way. Without the powerful central government we will be out in the wild raised by wolves. That is good brainwashing by the government. They have convinced a lot of people that a large federal government is a necessity.
You have the *exact* same naive view of human nature that the communists (your ideological arch-enemies) had.
"Everyone will just get along and play nice and cooperate for the common good without coercion." Indeed! That's never happened anywhere at any point in history.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jackwinkelman
Look at the early settlers out west. They had none of the modern conveniences even the poorest Americans take for granted now. Yet they survived and thrived.
The American west was notoriously violent and lawless. Yes, many people survived, and a few thrived (often bandits, con-men like Soapy Smith, corrupt land speculators, and other shady characters), but many were robbed of everything they had or killed.
Tell me that the Wild West regime would work in modern day New York City, Los Angles, Chicago or...anywhere civilized.
Last edited by Freak80; 10-27-2017 at 09:55 AM..
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