By: Bjørn Stærk

Bjørn Stærk — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 21:37:15 +0000

That's interesting - a bit surprising, since I place you on the left, but then again maybe not. The most valuable contribution of libertarians is to be skeptical of well-intended government intervention. Social democratic politics is often short-sighted. It treats a symptom, but doesn't think about the indirect consequences. Hazlitt made that point very well. And Hayek made the important point that no one person has a full picture of the economy. So why are everyone so confident about their policies? A little humility would be useful. This also applies to libertarians - how do they know that a minimal state would _work_? Objectivism is marginal as a movement, but as a cultural phenomenon Ayn Rand is a small but persistent presence. There's a certain kind of bright teenager who is attracted to her. Few of them make Objectivism their permanent worldview, but Rand is popular enough to be influential. I've never read Rand myself, for me it began with Heinlein. I still like him. He wasn't so concerned with theory, what inspired me was his thoughts on how to live like a free person. I would sum it up as self-reliant tolerance.

By: palode

palode — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 20:38:33 +0000

I've been inspired by libertarian thinkers since I was 14, I think. At about twenty I realized that dogmatic liberatarianism can turn you into a real asshole. Now I don't know if my stance belongs to any -ism at all. And I don't care.And I'm calm enough to see that the alternative to a big state is not almost no state. It's scalable.I've heard objectivism is really marginal in Norway, although I'm not quite sure. There's a political Randism-party called DLF, but they got something like 300 votes last election.

Comments on: No moral right to rule us

By: Bjørn Stærk

By: palode