Libertarianism has many things that are appealing to progressives and I wonder if that is what keeps the Republican party afloat as much as the evangelists now. I think they pull in people who would otherwise support progressive leftist candidates. I think of it as the old west mentality where we just want to do what we want to do with as little government interference as possible. On the surface it's as appealing as sweets to a kid.
When a Libertarian first discussed their views with me I found myself agreeing with many of his points. It left me searching for information on their views/opinions and I found myself leaning more and more towards Libertarian views/opinions. What really turned me from them as a party was environmentalism. I love the outdoors. I think what we are doing to our natural resources is a crime. (Well, I guess most of it is a crime, it is just not reported or punished like it should be.) ...
20 years later I look back and realize they really don't see a tree as much different than a human. They would just as quickly let a forest die as a community if the profit motive was there. They are social Darwinist's. Adapt or die.
Regulations and The New Deal are what keep me from ever going back to them. I hate regulations that are put in place to protect monopolies or special interests, which there are many, but there are so many regulations that keep us safe and protect us from those who would gladly profit at our expense. Saying market forces will keep corporations in line is a joke and only fools or the ignorant believe it. Just look how weak those forces are when it comes to banking or big energy.
I don't think the left contradicts the Libertarian worldview with effective tactics. It is like we have allowed them to dictate the points of reference that people use. We need to focus on their disregard for the land, water and air as well as their disregard for the aged or handicapped. We cannot use the same talking points to contradict the Libertarian worldview that we currently use to contradict the right. We need to focus on what the lack of government controls over banking and industry have already done. And we need to focus on the fact that many of these problems are because the industry oversees itself and/or has a revolving door with government which is really how the Libertarians see things working. Industry should regulate itself and market forces will keep everyone in line.
Thanks for reading my first diary. I look forward to reading any response people may have.