I was recently reminded (as if I needed any reminding) that libertarians are — and are likely to remain — politically homeless.
the United States is for the moment left with two authoritarian populist parties and no political home for classical liberalism at all.
Nothing new for me. And (if I may paraphrase a classic) I won’t dominate the rap, Jack, ’cause I’ve got nothing new to say.
The problem is as old as this blog.
MORE: From this analysis of a recent “National Conservatism Conference”:
Anti-individualism seems to be the unifying theory of the ascendant political right. If government infringements on personal liberty are the price of achieving good outcomes, conservatives are more than happy to pay it.
For what it’s worth (obviously not much), I’m glad not to be a conservative.
Comments
6 responses to “Still politically homeless, after all these years”
what next move to a homeless shelter? Populism is about what is good for the many. libertarian conservatism which you call classical liberalism is for the very few. reagan used to call himself reaganhood because he steals from the poor to give to the rich. corporate democrats did this in a more sophisticated way. (clintonism) The peasants have gotten there pitch forks and are heading for the castle to end your creative destruction experiments.
Libertarianism is not only about individual freedom, it includes commitments to open borders, free trade, the blank slate, and the denial that nations (races) have common interests that should be protected against other nations.
Because of this, libertarians are in practice aligned with the financiers who have systematically de-industrialized the US (not important to free traders) and immiserated the American working class (no more important than Mexicans or Nigerians). They are also aligned with the likes of Ocasio-Cortez, at least with respect to open borders. On a number of issues, libertarians align with totalitarian socialists.
The blog Samizdata suffers from the same blindness.
So, I am a Trump populist.
If biden goes down in flames AOC will win in 2024 as she will be 35 by 2025.
Uniparty:
Anti-individualism seems to be the unifying theory of the ascendant political left. If government infringements on personal liberty are the price of achieving good outcomes, Liberals are more than happy to pay.
FIFY. Works for both sides. They both have that “My way or the highway” attitude.
Kathy in caveman times when you did something really bad like killing someone they didn’t kill you they sent you out of the cave and said don’t comeback you are now a libertarian individualist. The group (society) is more important then the individual. Alowing individualism to run amok is how trump got elected after clinton was bought off society can only afford 1% of the rich owning 90% of the wealth for a short period of tme (1929-2008) individualism can only be alowed up to the point it effects the group otherwise go move to a desert island if individualism is so important to you.
LOL.
BOW to the LEADER. No thanks.