Recently I was asked by a good friend for the most concise and cogent summation of “what we believe” that he could in turn share with someone that he cares deeply about.
The more I thought about it, the more I was intrigued at the prospect of finding or authoring such a summation. Eschewing all one-size-fits-all labels like conservative, libertarian, Republican, etc., maybe it’s best to label this worldview as The Liberty Minded Man.
I posed the question to a handful of people that I respect and whose views are well within the sphere of what I had in mind when I coined the phrase The Liberty Minded Man. One of those people is libertarian journalist Vin Suprynowicz who mildly challenged me on the need to avoid the label of libertarian. My answer is that far too many people think they know what a specific label means, when in fact they do not. And if the basic premise is to define a worldview, then jettisoning preconceptions that are likely erroneous anyway seems to be the best way to start.
The Liberty Minded Man (let’s call him LM2 in the interest of saving keystrokes) is an avowed individualist who despises being controlled by others. He’s not averse to working with others in pursuit of his goals, but he generally chaffs at arbitrary control; particularly of the sort exercised by government bureaucrats of every stripe! A trip to the Driver’s License agency is a pretty painful experience for the average LM2. On the subject of government, the LM2 firmly believes the old truism that “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Can anyone deny that government’s main purpose (in actuality, NOT theory) is to grow more government? The LM2 looks to the Founders and Signers and generally agrees with their view that government should serve the people, and not the reverse.
Today the US government purports to serve the people, but that is nothing more than a thinly veiled illusion that is easily digested by the legions of benefactors of wealth redistribution. Doubt that? Then the next time you find yourself in front of one of the tax feeders that exercises some bit of authority over your life, try voicing the view that they work for you. Watch the reaction you get. I promise you it won’t result in a positive outcome. If you honestly and sincerely want to discover the degree to which you have become enslaved to the growing government colossus, then read a book by James Bovard entitled Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty. You can NOT come away from reading that book without a sharply defined sense of being robbed of your liberties!
So the first defining characteristic of the LM2 is a mistrust and generally dim view of government – ALL government. ...
Read it all here.
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