Political propagandists have always realized that gaining the higher ground in an ideological fight required capturing words that appealed to the people's hopes and dreams. George Orwell saw the particularly cynical turn this had taken in the 20th century when politicians claimed "war" to be "peace" and "ignorance" to be "strength."
No better or more important example of "up" claiming to be "down" exists in current political parlance than the Randians' capture of the word "libertarian." Liberty is fundamental to the American understanding of human rights. At its core, and consistent with its Roman origins, the word denotes a status that is the opposite of slavery, an ability to determine one's own direction in life, a freedom to fulfill one's potential. Given that meaning, who is not a libertarian?
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