I already know this thread will garner much criticism from the lefties as well as the libbies, but I never was much for being non-controversial, so here goes...
First, let me say, my personal views are very much in line with Libertarianism. On almost every issue, I personally share their viewpoint, and can see where they are coming from. This alone, distinguishes them from the left, whom I often can't even rationalize. With Libertarians, I can see a strong and principled conviction of belief, and I can understand and even relate to that belief on a personal level. If the entire country were comprised of people who thought like myself and behaved as I do, I would be a staunch Libertarian, because I believe Libertarianism would work in that environment.
This brings me to why I think Libertarians are Pinheads. We live in a diverse and complicated society, full of people who certainly don't think or behave like Libertarians. They lack the same conviction of principle, they can't behave in a responsible manner. The 'personal freedoms' aspect of Libertarianism, depends on individuals behaving responsibly, without the need of government intervention. For instance, we could legalize dope, and most Libertarian types would act responsibly and not abuse it, but many people simply wouldn't. We would be inundated with those who made the 'personal choice' to fuck up their lives, and like it or not, we would be left holding the bag for their care and treatment. Now, a Libertarian would say, we wouldn't be left holding the bag, we'd just let these people deal with the consequences, but unless there is a way to eradicate Liberalism, that is not going to happen in the real world. There will always be some bleeding heart Liberal out there, pulling at our heart strings and collective social conscience, to provide care for these poor unfortunate souls. The same is true with a host of Libertarian issues.
Libertarians are pinheads for much the same reason as many Liberals are pinheads, they believe in a Utopian ideology of how life should be. Reality is, life is nowhere near what they would hope, and it won't ever be. Granted, if we could magically make people behave responsibly, Libertarianism would be an acceptable ideology across the board. Indeed, we could live without government restrictions on personal freedoms, we could enact a smaller more efficient government infrastructure, because the people would take care of their own needs, deal with their own consequences, and not need or require the government as much.
I believe many Libertarians fail to have the perspective of reality in society, and tend to look at Libertarianism in strictly a personal light. I say this because, I find Libertarianism appealing from a personal perspective. However, I understand we live in a diverse society, and not everyone is ethical or sane, and not everyone would be able to function in a Libertarian society. My personal preference for government has to give way to my sense of practicality and pragmatism, and what I believe will work to provide a functional society for the majority. So I must abandon Libertarian ideals of personal freedoms, and accept some level of governmental control, so that the people in society who are not responsible and need rules, boundaries and limitations, will have them.
There are certain things I believe our government should have control over, even though I may personal wish they didn't. Even though I may believe I am a better steward of my own choices than government, I can understand that not everyone is like me, and some people require this limitation to some degree, without it, they simply go out of control and I am left with the aftermath. To me, it's the difference between dreaming a Utopian dream, and accepting reality of the world we live in. Pinheads are people who have read a book or studied the pontifications of others, and have developed a viewpoint based on an idealistic concept, without factoring in reality. I have my own views and beliefs on a personal level, but I am also a big believer in reality, and I don't put much stock in ideological concepts. What works on paper, often doesn't work in practicality, that's just the way life is in the real world.
