No other country, with no other citizenry, has seen the productive capabilities of the diverse masses expand the livelihood of the common person more than America. It’s true. Not just in our country, but in others, too.
One can debate the mysteries of the free market. No system is perfect, but Adam Smith’s invisible hand in his well-known book “The Wealth of Nations” has come into question. If we truly believe that individuals, acting in their own self-interest, produce the greatest output and reward for others, why are we preventing this mechanism from occurring?
With all due respect to my colleagues recently vying for either the Republican or Democratic Party, it’s becoming increasingly apparent there is very little difference between the two.
The millennial generation is attracted to one philosophy in particular: libertarianism. Interestingly, most Americans believe in fiscal responsibility and social disengagement. In most circumstances, the libertarian movement shares these values. Our tenets require freedom and preservation of property rights. Libertarian principles could fix or reduce a majority of our problems: human rights, monetary policy, education, health care, poverty, foreign policy, immigration, environmental concerns, et al.
But by all means, after reading this article, don’t continue to say, “That was a very well-laid out, rational point, but I will still hold to my emotional opinion based on no facts or evidence.”
Whatever is thrown at our views, it’s no coincidence the main arguments are emotional when the establishment wants to remain in control — freedom and liberty elicit an odd reaction from those in power. But those reluctant voices wondering whether it’s okay to grant us more freedom, allowing us the ability to choose our path through life, have no fear.
It’s not as if Americans, once granted their freedom from our nanny, will immediately seek out orgies, defraud the masses and smoke crack or meth. This doesn’t mean that you have to accept it — just don’t use force or coercion to prevent someone’s right to live their own life, their own way.
That means religious folks get together and live their code, atheists or agnostics come together in the community to live by their beliefs, and different political factions live their lives. In all, if people are to live amicably, they must use the nonaggression principle. That is, not using force against someone if it doesn’t harm you or others in any way. Or, alternatively, using force to prevent someone only because his or her actions initiate force against another.
We’ve never seen a libertarian system — only socialism, democracy, communism and anything in between. It’s hard for critics to throw substantive arguments of failures our way.
Republicans “preach” fiscal conservatism but hypocritically practice it. We use government to prop up corporate interest or crony capitalism. Democrats feel this is unfair, so they use government to regulate it (health care, insurance, financial services, etc.). What the parties don’t realize is both are one and the same.
Corporations use government to pass measures that help them most, making competition harder and more expensive to enter their industry, seeking bailouts for poor decision-making and more corporate welfare. Anyone else notice the “too big to fail institutions” are bigger than ever, thanks to Dodd-Frank? Democrats take advantage of this, blaming corporations for bad outcomes to further more regulations. This failed cycle helplessly continues.
But that cycle hurts only the same people our two parties are there to serve — the majority of hardworking Americans — the upper, middle and lower classes that aren’t involved in that racket. Preventing income mobility, increasing poverty and an overall devaluation of personal and property rights. Reducing economic incentives for entrepreneurship and risk-taking. Preventing folks from pursuing their self-interest to better their lives, their communities and perhaps the employees they hire.
Entrepreneurialism is the ability to pursue your own economic self-interest, but doing it honestly. Self-seeking and self-servicing politicians don’t uphold this principle. They distort the free market name to crony capitalism or progressive government-regulated economies.
Libertarians understand human nature, evil included, but preach and practice the principles that I believe could enable America to become, not the land of old, but a new more perfect Union. Not perfect, for there is no utopia, as no system ever brings. This type of intellectual debate is sorely needed. But intellectuals on both sides interestingly dismiss logic for emotional and illogical positions.
My favorite dialogue from progressives: “If socialism is discredited by the failure of communist regimes in the real world, why isn’t libertarianism discredited by the absence of any libertarian regimes in the real world? Communism was tried and failed. Libertarianism has never even been tried.” What an odd standard indeed. You know what else is a complete failure? Time travel. After all, it’s never succeeded anywhere!
Fear not, leftist, we share similar causes in social issues, noninterventionism, discrimination and a list of appropriate government intrusions through coercion, but insist upon exercising minimalism, consistent with personal liberty and responsibility.
My favorite dialogue from conservatives: “We want government out of our lives and businesses, yet we want it in all the things we disagree with.” Certainly duplicitous. Not to mention our state receives the highest number of federal dollars as percentage of general revenue, or 49 percent of our budget. We’ll take those federal dollars faster than anyone (somehow it’s okay to build a brand-new campus building named after a senator, but not to expand medical care — both I oppose). Of course it wouldn’t change with Democratic control, but at least they actually believe the government can spend your own money better than you.
I hope we could reject the extremes for logic — logic and intellectualism breed common sense, not emotional fantasies. After all, it seems conservatives want government to be your daddy, progressives wish it to be your mommy, but Libertarians just want government to treat you like an adult. Libertarians at least have the perspicacity sufficient to understand the modern conundrums of our day — if anything, give us that.
Cory Ferraez is a third-year law student from Columbus.
