From: HANLY-AT-BrandonU.CA
Date: Sun, 28 Apr 1996 13:42:00 -0600 (CST)
Subject: Re: Any thoughts about libertarianism?
To: marxism-AT-jefferson.village.Virginia.EDU


Paul wrote:
I don't know what the political significance, if any, of this
ideology is, or its class character.  


COMMENT: Libertarianism seems to be based mainly in certain strata
of the intelligentsia. I would not think that the militia are 
libertarian usually. Where did you get this idea? What they have in
common with libertarians is their hatred of government and that they see only
the repressive role of the existing capitalist state. Libertarians
are extremely liberal and permissive re matters of morals and values.
I doubt that the militia members are but I stand to be corrected. Some of
the militia groups seem to be racist and others are conspiracy theorists.
   A great deal of libertarian thought derives from economic theory either
of the Walrasian or Hayekian type. The free market and free contract
is associated with
maximisation of welfare (Walrasian and Smithian view) or freedom (Hayek)
and government production or redistribution associated with dicatorship
and involuntariness. Libertarians believe that the state should have
only the minimal function of defence and provision of courts to regulate
the market and prosecute criminals.
 Libetarians rely heavily upon idealised models of the market
and ignore the real structure of actually existing capitalism, although there
critiques of former communist state planning are often sound enough
. Libertarian rhetoric may be useful for capitalist apologists
 but capitalists are not
crazy. If non-market means maximises profits they are not going to follow
the libertarian gospel.
  Cheers, Ken Hanly
      P.S. One group of libertarians are disciples of Ayn Rand. However,
I find authors such as Nozick in ANARCHY, STATE, AND UTOPIA, or Jan
Narveson THE IDEA OF LIBERTY, or Loren Lomasky more cogent. Hayek and
Friedman are representative libertarian economists although Friedman
is probably much too leftist for a true libertarina. Friedman has commended
things like a guaranteed annual icnome. Horrors! An anarchist
libertarian who defends free market capitalism Murray ROthbard.
If Sciabbara is still around perhaps he can answer better.
    



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