The logic of the new left.
So sorry about the long break. Though visiting my Mother was a great thing, her technology is somewhat wanting. I suppose I am spoiled with my equipment and services so that I have temper tantrums when I have to spend three or four times the effort, time, and concentration to get her equipment to allow me to blog. Yes, I sat in a corner of her living room and braindeaded myself with television. Boy did I show 'em. :) Honestly it was a little frustrating, so I backed away. But now I am home, it's time to get it going again!
The logic the new left (libertarians in particular) is providing is quite often in the same direction as that of the old left. The old left, the hard-core democrats like Ted Kennedy, Schummer, Feinstein, and their ilk, is in a smoking ruin (looks something like the remnants of the Twin Towers, in political terms). The new left is actually principled, though still lame. They want an end to the War on Drugs, the smart (techy) War on Terrorism (for our own sake you know), they support pornography, prostitution, abortion, and many other things that are just as out there as the old left.
They posit their ideas in an idyllic though logical manner. They invoke these ideals as Constitutional and logical. They are working hard to "educate" the right (republicans) but are ending up just becoming the new left. They haven't learned why American academics has turned into a failure. It's because using eloquent logic that doesn't work will only be appreciated by other idiots. That logic itself is rather weak, no matter how pretty it looks, since it hasn't been able to prove the simplest of ideas, such as the idea that 1 + 1 = 2. If they can't "prove" that, how can they honestly expect to help a complex society? The new left is falling right into the same pitfalls of the old left, and then rather than admitting they are wrong they are losing their principles to keep their "truths".
Honestly, there is no perfect political organization except churches which remain faithful and then only as that applies to heavenly things. Any group with it's eyes and ears based in fleshly designs is less than ideal. However, of the choices available, the best political operations are the ones conducted for, by, and of the people. Democrats have kept blacks as slaves of men or slaves of state while Republicans have offered blacks a simple sink or swim freedom. Which is best is easy to see but seems difficult for a race to embrace. Democrats want to offer you whatever you want, Republicans want to offer you a chance to be more than you thought you could be and tying responsibility to reward or punishment. Again, it's easy to see which is better but this time a whole nation of people seems too lazy to work for a win and live within the constraints of doing no harm to others in the quest for wants and needs. The new left is, in this way, only slightly different from the old left.
The logic the new left (libertarians in particular) is providing is quite often in the same direction as that of the old left. The old left, the hard-core democrats like Ted Kennedy, Schummer, Feinstein, and their ilk, is in a smoking ruin (looks something like the remnants of the Twin Towers, in political terms). The new left is actually principled, though still lame. They want an end to the War on Drugs, the smart (techy) War on Terrorism (for our own sake you know), they support pornography, prostitution, abortion, and many other things that are just as out there as the old left.
They posit their ideas in an idyllic though logical manner. They invoke these ideals as Constitutional and logical. They are working hard to "educate" the right (republicans) but are ending up just becoming the new left. They haven't learned why American academics has turned into a failure. It's because using eloquent logic that doesn't work will only be appreciated by other idiots. That logic itself is rather weak, no matter how pretty it looks, since it hasn't been able to prove the simplest of ideas, such as the idea that 1 + 1 = 2. If they can't "prove" that, how can they honestly expect to help a complex society? The new left is falling right into the same pitfalls of the old left, and then rather than admitting they are wrong they are losing their principles to keep their "truths".
Honestly, there is no perfect political organization except churches which remain faithful and then only as that applies to heavenly things. Any group with it's eyes and ears based in fleshly designs is less than ideal. However, of the choices available, the best political operations are the ones conducted for, by, and of the people. Democrats have kept blacks as slaves of men or slaves of state while Republicans have offered blacks a simple sink or swim freedom. Which is best is easy to see but seems difficult for a race to embrace. Democrats want to offer you whatever you want, Republicans want to offer you a chance to be more than you thought you could be and tying responsibility to reward or punishment. Again, it's easy to see which is better but this time a whole nation of people seems too lazy to work for a win and live within the constraints of doing no harm to others in the quest for wants and needs. The new left is, in this way, only slightly different from the old left.
posted by Doom at 6:02 PM
4 Comments:
Methinks your view of libertarians is way simplistic. You're only seeing one faction. Vox is a libertarian, and not at all like the 'left', old or new.
To quote myself again, from Bane's:
adherents of an ideology rarely agree on everything.
it is every citizen's responsibility to consider every issue, rather than blindly following a political party-line. Nevertheless, those who have brains will overwhelmingly agree with conservatism or libertarianism, or some combination thereof.
Not all libertarians oppose the war in Iraq. I am one. Eric S. Raymond is a much more famous one.
And to quote Wikipedia:
Historically, libertarianism grew out of a tradition referred to as classical liberalism in the nineteenth century.
The logic of the new left.
There is nothing new under the sun. The NEW left is really the same as the old left. They are defined by their policies which have always been and continue to be the abrogration of our rights and complete submission to the state (run by them for our own good of course).
Libertarianism is not leftist as currently defined. Libertarianism does not support pornography, prostitution, abortion, etc., they simply posit that it is no business of the government. I happen to believe the libertarian stance on abortion is wrong because abortion is murder and that comes under the proper perview of the state. As Kiwi said, many libertarians disagree on some basic tenents. I suppose I'm mostly in line with Vox from what I can see. I supported the actions in Afghanistan but I don't support the Iraq war either. It was wrong headed from the start.
Any group with it's eyes and ears based in fleshly designs is less than ideal.
Agreed.
Republicans have offered blacks a simple sink or swim freedom. Which is best is easy to see but seems difficult for a race to embrace.
All the while, continually make ALL of us serfs through confiscatory taxation, burdensome regulation, etc. The Repubiclan train is heading toward the cliff and the bridge is out. It's just going to take a little longer than the Democrat train. The libertarian train would come to a complete stop and let people choose which train they wanted to be on. There is no question however that the Republicans are superior to the Democrats on race issues.
Libertarians are left wing?
I thought it was the opposite.
Pablo,
I appologize for the delay in response.
What you will find is that Libertarians have both left and right wing factions. Actually all parties do, it's just a matter of how politicially central the mass of the party is. Republicans tend right, democrats tend left, and Libertarians seem to be centrist, perhaps slightly to the left in their ends if not always their means. For example, the legalizing of drugs for them (mostly) is principled because it's means of allowing that is based on the Constitution (though they do have true anarchists in there who don't believe in government at all).
One of the interesting things about Libertarians is that they have the reasoning and applications that are based in the right and left of politics, often mixing them up (i.e. they hold a typically leftist position while using a conservative principle to support that position).
I am a conservative-republican-libertarian myself. The reason I am republican first is because I am not sure I have faith in the LB idealism should it become practice and because I don't see LB politicians as truly viable candidates. Voting for principle is good if it does no harm, John Kerry getting in office would have been a harm, a great one while we are at war.
I love the LB party intellectually though. It is fun to watch and work. And, in general, I respect it so long as it does no harm.
I tried to explain. Do you understand?
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