The only way for libertarianism to work is if every human had only good intentions. Since that’s simply never going to happen libertarianism will never work. Just my opinion feel free to disagree.
this post was submitted on 21 Sep 2023
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Libertarianism is a theory espoused to those with good intentions by people that have bad intentions.
It doesn’t work for almost anyone. But it super works for some. That’s the point.
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The problem is that it doesn't work even if everyone has good intentions. It needs everyone to agree on what "good intentions" even means.
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Zoning for single-family housing is regulation and is done to boost landlord profits at the expense of working people.
The mortgage-interest tax deduction only benefits wealthier households, while giving nothing to poorer households who rent.
There are many regulations that artificially funnel money upward and would be improved by "deregulating" those parts. Deregulation doesn't have to mean removing safety procedures.
If the states and cities legalized dense housing then much poverty would be relieved.
Sure. I don't think anybody is arguing that there is any country that couldn't give their regulations a once-over and improve things by removing a few counter-productive ones here and there.
That's not what American style libertarians are actually arguing when they say they want deregulation though, is it?
That's generally the type of thing libertarians get upset about. Or shit like floral licensing or cracking down on people braiding hair (this is generally black people, obviously) or the bazillion other types of regulatory capture. Farm subsidies and ethanol mandates/fuel subsidies are also a shitshow.
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Exactly. It's stupid to be like libertarians and take a hardline stance on "regulations always bad!!" or "regulations always good!!". A regulation that bans building dense, walkable communities is bad and needs to be eliminated. Likewise, regulations that ban teachers from talking about the existence of gay people are also bad and need to be eliminated.
Just like we try to use regulations for good, many others use regulations for ill. It will always be context-specific specific whether we need more regulation or deregulation.
When actual libertarians get a chance to run a town, they don't start by eliminating zoning laws. This is the kind of thing that happens instead.
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You talk as if benefiting the ruling class was an unwanted consequence of these laws. It’s not. The markets need to be free for the rich to benefit but restricted for the rich to benefit. And maybe some crumbs will fall of the table and the poors will think that the rich are so generous.
You talk as if benefiting the ruling class was an unwanted consequence of these laws.
I never said that, what are you talking about?
These laws are intentionally designed to enrich the ruling class.
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That's the irony.
But Density means communism to them so they're suddenly fine with regulations and taxes that prop up an unsustainable suburban ponzi scheme because that's the lie sold about the American Dream.
When they see how unaffordable housing has become they say, "good, my house is more expensive."
The difference is that they think that gatekeeping poor people from services in order to bring costs down for everyone else is valid. I've seen libertarians argue that the solution to tuition and healthcare being expensive is to stop helping poor people, because that will drive demand down and lower prices for people who can already afford it. I've seen libertarians argue that the solution to people scalping groceries is to let grocery stores price gouge. Their solutions only ever involve helping people who don't need help at the expense of people who do. Libertarianism is "me, me, me right now now now" dressed up in fancy language. It's the political philosophy of a tumor.
Libertarianism is a great system if you're using it as a backdrop for a cyberpunk dystopia.
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"It's the political philosophy of a tumor." Fantastic analogy!
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“We live in a society” - the jonkler
“Not if I can help it” - libertarians
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As far as I can tell, the ones with money want a free hand to do whatever they want to others without repercussion, and the ones without money are willfully drinking the Kool Aid and being led around by the nose philosophically.
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You ever hear a libertarian complain about flying? Fascinating one-person debate about airlines and deregulation.
Being Libertarian means never having to admit you’re a Republican
Libertarians are just Republicans that want to smoke weed.
Be fair. Some of them are republicans who are more open about not wanting age of consent to be a thing.
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Typically they argue the government is the cause of the problems (which is frequently correct) and the solution is to remove regulations that create the inefficiencies (which rarely goes to plan and frequently involves enriching them).
It's clownish just for different reasons than the meme suggests.
Their solution to an inefficient fly swatter is to get rid of it, spread honey over every surface, and offer to sell their services as an exterminator.
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Most "libertarians" are this dumb, but the old school ones at least attribute the problems to uneven regulation rigged in favor of the ruling class, which does jive with my understanding of what is wrong with the financial system. That being said, libertarianism wouldn't work even if they did get shit straight.
The vast majority of libertarians are (in my experience) just conservatives that want to smoke weed. They believe a lot of the same awful shit. The rest of them have deluded themselves into thinking that a libertarian society is viable when it is laughably not. They generally consider themselves to be way more capable and independent than reality can support.
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North America has never been a free market. Even since the days of Sumer have there been regulations on commerce. We will never have a free market.
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How is it that free market's modus operandi seem to be attempting suicide every few years?
It's not free enough!!!!
No joke, though, there are people who think that letting things hit the wall as fast and hard as possible is desirable. It's called accelerationism.
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I've seen them claim that a natural monopoly cannot exist and that monopolies we see today are all enforced by government regulation.
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i thought being a libertarian was cool when i was 20 and wanted to smoke weed but didn't know how to get any
I’m sorry but anyone who thinks we’re actually in a free capitalist system is delusional. The freedom is a lie they sell us to perpetuate the system.
Free capitalism leads to this.
If you had more free capitalism it would just consolidate into neofeudalism faster.
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Zoning codes that restrict density are the opposite of a free market.
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