Ye Olde Libertarian Pub

ooh ooh, count me in!

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The Tree remembers. The Axe forgets. -- African Proverb

"If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." --Emma Goldman

"Charity is no substitute for justice withheld."
-- Saint Augustine

"Forgiveness is primarily for our own sake, so that we no longer carry the burden of resentment. But to forgive does not mean we will allow injustice again."
--Jack Kornfield

"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."
--Archbishop Desmond Tutu

You know, the thing I love about Libertarianism is that people of all stripes can come together and agree on most of it, because there really are no "theological" underpinings to being libertarian in principle. It supports all creeds, yet caters to none. Atheistic libertarians can fight side by side with Catholic (even Catholics and Calvinists can peacefully work together ) libertarians and not point fingers at each other. Its awesome.

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I'm more of a minarchist.

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Some of the most successful relationships are based on lies and deceit. Since that's where they usually end up anyway, it's a logical place to start.
---Yuri Orlov

"Eating fried chicken with his regicidal friends..."

The only problem with an honest buck is they're so hard to make - the margins are too low, too many people are doin' it.
---Yuri Orlov

Ya, me too.

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Question:

I would describe myself as a social libertarian who has moved to the left on fiscal issues, esp. jobs and the complete failure of trickle-down neo-con BS.

Can I participate here or no?

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On the social issues, sure, on the fiscal issues, one of the cornerstones of libertarianism is minimal government (minarchism). It isn't a "neo-con" thing, because libertarians don't espouse large standing armies (because large, standing armies can be used by the government to enforse policy. We also don't endorse social entitlement programs, believing that charities are much better suited for taking care of social problems than government. Essentially, it holds the premise elucidated by Jefferson, "A government that is big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take everything you have."

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Left on fiscal issues means bigger government and less individual liberty. Forced wealth redistribution is not an idea that matches up well with libertarianism.

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Ecclesiastes 10:2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.

That and "constitutional" libertarians, such as myself, understand that the Constitution promises the pursuit of happiness, not the guarantee of it. A free market economy with a minarchist government brings out the best in a morally grounded society. It demands people to take risks and compete. Competition makes the good, great. Socialism and the removal of competition does the reverse, it makes the great good and equally distributes misery.

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Well this is the place for me then.
When I was younger I voted more left, as I grew in knowledge and experience I moved more to the right.

Now I find myself solidly Libertarian.
This current American administration, with it's cult-of-personality, power grabs, lunatic spending, massive build up of government is disgusting.
That's why I enjoy pokin' at the Dems right now.
Blind faith in some Obamessiah is frightening in it's implications.
Waiting for the "shave-tattoo-exterminate" portion of policy.

We have Catholic and Calvinist libertarians, now let's add a Pentecostal libertarian to the mix.

Member of the Libertarian Party since 1972, the first year I could vote, the year John Hospers and Tonie Nathan were the LP candidates.

I'm probably more of a Goldwater conservative than a real libertarian, but OTOH Goldwater was more a libertarian than a conservative anyway, and was the closest thing to a real libertarian nominee the Republicans had since Calvin Coolidge.

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