Why Libertarianism is a Total ShamIn the United States, libertarianism is associated with those who strongly advocate a “free market” and believe the government should be minimized or possibly eliminated. Libertarians supposedly base all of their positions on liberty for each individual. They say that as the government shrinks, the individual will be made more free. They think capitalism is the best economic system because it supposedly allows the maximum freedom for every person. However, they fail to see a number of problems and contradictions in their “philosophy.” Here I will document how libertarianism is a sham and should not be taken seriously.
Libertarianism is a stolen word
The first problem with libertarianism is that so-called “libertarians” are not being honest with the history of the word they have stolen from real libertarians – from those who actually favor freedom. Traditionally, libertarianism has always been associated with anarchism, a political philosophy that opposes authority in all circumstances, in both the state and the economic spheres.
Le LibertaireThe word libertarian was first used in a political sense by the anarcho-communist Joseph Déjacque, who was the first to call himself a libertarian and ran a publication in France called Le Libertaire. At this time, a libertarian was a socialist who wanted to abolish both the state and capitalism. Sometimes they called themselves libertarian socialists to differentiate themselves from authoritarian/state socialists as exemplified by Lenin.
It was not until the mid-20th century that the word libertarian became associated with the ultra-right, which is what modern libertarianism represents. Murray Rothbard, the founder of so-called “anarcho-capitalism” (essentially an extreme form of modern libertarianism that calls for the dissolution of the state in favor of organizing society along purely capitalist grounds), was one of modern libertarianism’s primary thinkers. Indeed, he was one of the founders of the Libertarian Party and the Cato Institute.
Other writers, such as Milton Friedman (“I regard myself as a libertarian”), Robert Nozick (author of Anarchy, State, and Utopia), and David D. Friedman (“I am an anarchist”) began calling themselves “libertarians” or “anarchists” and published books arguing for a society based on capitalist principles while using these proud traditions as their guise, totally ignoring the fact that real libertarians and anarchists have always been both anti-state and anti-capitalist. When they use these words, they are basically being deceitful, pretending they are in favor of human freedom when in fact they are in favor of total tyranny – in the form of capitalism.
Libertarians are dedicated to total tyranny
Modern libertarians say they are in favor of freedom for the individual in every circumstance. It’s true that libertarians are ostensibly opposed to the power of the state. However, libertarians have no problem with private tyrannies known as corporations or other entities. They are just fine with that. The Libertarian Party of the United States “defends the right of individuals to form corporations.” Never mind the fact that corporations are legal entities sanctioned by the state.
What is a corporation? A corporation is a textbook example of a tyrannical institution. You have one person or a few people at the top, with layers of hierarchy beneath them. Orders flow downward and you have to obey those orders or you’re a out of a job. In other words, the exact opposite of liberty. Somehow “libertarians” fail to see this contradiction. Ayn Rand revealed her contempt for freedom:
Freedom, in a political context, means freedom from government coercion. It does not mean freedom from the landlord, or freedom from the employer, or freedom from the laws of nature which do not provide men with automatic prosperity. It means freedom from the coercive power of the state — and nothing else!
Libertarians want to privatize almost everything. They believe they have a right to appropriate whatever resources they find without regard to the larger community. This is antithetical to a free society, since it would inevitably lead to vast inequality. There would be a few rich guys at the top, with the mass of humanity working to enrich them further. Somehow all this is supposed to represent “freedom.” But any reasonable person can see that this is the opposite of freedom – in fact, it would mean slavery for the vast majority of humanity.
The “free market” will lead to annihilation
Libertarians like to think the free market is the best way to organize the economy. The theory goes that, free of government interference, every individual will rationally decide what is in their self-interest. This will apparently lead to a flowering of innovation and prosperity. Government is just getting in the way. This is not only totally wrong and flies in the face of real economic history, but a society organized along these lines would lead to total collapse.
First, no modern industrialized society got where they are today through free markets. They got there through state intervention and protectionism. As economist Ha-Joon Chang says:
Almost all of today’s rich countries used tariff protection and subsidies to develop their industries. Interestingly, Britain and the USA, the two countries that are supposed to have reached the summit of the world economy through their free-market, free-trade policy, are actually the ones that had most aggressively used protection and subsidies.
Second, libertarians fail to see that a society based on a free market cannot and would never truly exist. There is actually no such thing as a free market, because there would be nobody around to enforce the rules of that market. And a market without rules is a market that cannot exist. Libertarians like to say property rights are inherent to an individual’s existence. And who, exactly, is supposed to enforce an individual’s property rights? The government! The same libertarian who wants government out of his life is the same libertarian who will go to the powerful government to protect his property. You can’t have it both ways.
Furthermore, societies that do have a semi-market system, like our own, will, by definition, lead to total collapse. If every individual is going around rationally deciding what is in their self-interest, “externalities” build up and will eventually destroy the society. Two individuals coming to an agreement that is in their mutual self-interest might be good for them, but what about people who had no say in that transaction? As Noam Chomsky says:
So, for example, if one of you sells me a car, we may try to make a good deal for ourselves, but we don’t take into account in that transaction the effect of the transaction on others. Of course, there is an effect. It may feel like a small effect, but if it multiplies over a lot of people, it’s a huge effect: pollution, congestion, wasting time in traffic jams, all sorts of things. Those you don’t take into account — necessarily. That’s part of the market system.
Over time, these externalities add up, leading to the biggest externalities of all: financial collapses like in 2008 or the looming environmental catastrophe.
Libertarianism is a fundamentalist religion
The main problem with libertarianism is that it is simply a type of fundamentalist religion. It starts with its ideological beliefs first and then forces policies to fit that ideological belief structure, even if evidence runs strongly counter to the efficacy of those policies.
As I discussed above, libertarians strongly believe in a “free market.” Never mind that there are no examples of successful free market economies on the planet. Never mind that “free market” policies don’t work – unless your goal is to subjugate poor people and countries around the world. Never mind that societies based on “free market” principles will lead to total destruction.
With no evidence to support their claims, libertarians clearly have an unhealthy fixation on the “free market.” It is time to call out libertarianism for what it is – a cult-like religion using a stolen word, radically opposed to what it originally meant, the goal of which is some mythical society based on market principles, but in actuality will lead us all into the abyss.
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