• Plastic_Ramses@lemmy.world
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    15 hours ago

    In my heart, i am a libertarian.

    In my brain, im not stupid enough to believe that the general public is smart enough to make it work.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      9 hours ago

      The eternal problem of “the general public” is that they’re a product of their material conditions. They don’t emerge from the soil and engage with the world on first principles.

      When you grow up in a community that has been heavily privatized and financialized, socially owned and operated community functions have to be developed from the ground up rather than inherited. Any kind of proposed social change will grow out of the body of the system that came before.

      Libertarians grow up in countries where it is easier to believe in the end of the world than the end of capitalism.

      • Forester@pawb.social
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        12 hours ago

        I’m not him, but technically anybody who isn’t an authoritarian is a libertarian. Economic theory is Left Right. Freedom is up down. It’s a spectrum.

        Though apparently I’m one of the minority libertarians as I believe in egotistical altruism. Caring about the planet etc.

        • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          5 hours ago

          You contradict yourself in the first paragraph.

          It is a spectrum, which is why “anybody who isn’t an authoritarian is a libertarian” is not true.

          • AlDente@sh.itjust.works
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            1 hour ago

            I don’t understand why you think that’s a contradiction. You both agree that there’s a spectrum between the two. Technically, if if you’re not 100% authoritarian, you have a greater-than-zero alignment with libertarianism.

            Now, if you’re trying to say landing somewhere in the middle of the spectrum means you’re neither, then I tend to agree with you (labels suck). However, then I’d take it a step further and say nobody is going to be the 100% perfect embodiment of either end of the spectrum, and therefore, no true authoritarian or libertarian exists. I think that to say either one of you is wrong is just arguing semantics.

              • Forester@pawb.social
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                41 minutes ago

                You either like authority or you don’t. That’s binary. How much you like or dislike it is the spectrum.

            • silasmariner@programming.dev
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              18 minutes ago

              Any assertion in chart form must be true!

              Edit: ok now that I’m getting downvotes I feel I need to explain: the conventional usage of the word libertarian is not commensurate with it covering such a wide range of the political spectrum. Usually we mean people who favour mildly anarchistic views (minimal governmental institutions, low taxation, low intervention). Representing that niche as half of the political spectrum is highly disingenuous

          • Forester@pawb.social
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            4 hours ago

            Oh I’m fully aware. I’m not a socialist though. I still think capitalism is the best model for innovation it’s just the current system is geared to fuck the small mom and pop and only benefit massive conglomerations. If I was hypothetically in charge I would fully cut corporate welfare and redirect all of that directly to proper funding of essential services and safety nets and infrastructure. If your company requires government handout money to run, it should go under. That’s the capitalism I want to see.