Will the real libertarians please stand up?

Feb 11, 2010 at 6:04 PM

By Elliot Engstrom

Matthew Moran, a leftist columnist at my own Wake Forest University, wrote what I consider to be a fairly thoughtful column about libertarianism in the latest edition of our school newspaper. I'd be interested to hear the thoughts of this group on the subject. His article includes several ideas on libertarianism, which I will try to summarize with quotes below:

It’s because of my occasional sympathies with Libertarianism that I’m writing this article, both as a warning and as a question...
...Will the real Libertarians please stand up? Is a Left-Libertarian a better representation of the philosophy, or is Libertarianism simply a more intelligent sounding form of standard conservative Republican non-argument and nonsense? I know enough Libertarians on this campus to know that they are not all that way, but there seem to be a large and growing number of Republicans who don’t want to care about poor people and simply call themselves Libertarians, without renouncing their controlling social policies or penchant for war...
...By no means am I attempting to tell the people at YAL how to run their club or what to think. Selfishly, I suppose, I enjoy when you guys decide to work with conservative groups, the ensuing debacle makes the Left look good by comparison.
But I also respect a number of you and want opponents worthy of engagement; Republicans, especially the strangeness of “Reform Republicans,” faded into white noise long ago. I wouldn’t want the same to happen to Libertarianism.

Read the entire article here.

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This article is amazing. I'm so glad he wrote this following that debacle that was the College Republicans Student Town Hall. For the first time ever I actually agreed with everything in Matt's article. There is a BIG difference between building coalitions and being co-opted. At some point the Rep's need to suffer for their bankrupt ideas instead of ruining ours.

Submitted by Nathan Fox-Helser (not verified) on February 11, 2010.

On our campus we utilize both the left and right on issues we agree upon. The word libertarian has been skewed so much by others of political thought who simply do not understand what libertarianism is. To call Young Americans for Liberty a tool of the Republican Party is unjust. We have an allegiance towards libertarian principles and allying our selves with others in the political spectrum depending on the issues is pushing for the advancement of liberty. Even if this individual clings to be a "leftist-libertarian" which that word is totally skewed by many people who cling to be "Progressives" or some type of "Socialist" whom clearly do not understand their own ideology and the means to achieve their ends. But, if they do understand libertarianism ( in the broad sense) they would be open to the diversity of thought and the willingness of individuals coming from the so-called "left" or "right" to achieve a libertarian free-society. The complication of a free society being the absence of government or having a minimal government to protect our lives and our liberties are a fundamental argument libertarians can argue amongst themselves. And "Left" leaning libertarians and "Right" leaning libertarians can argue amongst themselves if property infringes on liberties as a fundamental argument. But to ever achieve a libertarian state which many so-called "leftist libertarians" don't understand is we cannot use coercion to gain our ends.(Excuse me for those people who are real leftist libertarians, but many people from what I've seen empirically are marxists amongst your ranks).