Freedom From Thought: How high school history taught me to be a libertarian

N

NewsBoy

News Delivery
For me, it is a class that has demonstrated a truth that I now know all too well – the government is relentless in its self-gratifying publicity campaign, and will stop at nothing to promote itself, often at the expense of the truth. Its textbooks read as hagiographies, substituting thoughtful analysis for blind reverence. I'm not buying it

More at link...
 
Yeah, its all the fault of the government....

Even thought we use democracy and the people are in control of the governments actions.

Thus its all our own fault, for being unable to control government...
 
"As I libertarian, I support freedom, both economic and social, and oppose any restrictions on them. Seeing as it has historically been the government who has taken away liberty through its expansion, historians who portray such growth in a favorable light are inserting their own anti-freedom beliefs."

This reads like old-time Marxists ranting...

If you don't insist that any historical perspective on any government action is innately bad (irrelevant of analysis of actual effects of government action), you are inserting your 'own anti-freedom beliefs' and your history reads as 'hagiographies, substituting thoughtful analysis for blind reverence.'

Libertarians pretend to be aloof independent thinkers, but this chap is simply an idealogue, replacing Marxist egalitarian ideas with other idealist notions such as 'freedom', replacing the irrational premise that 'all wealth is wrong' with the irrational premise 'all government action is wrong'.
 
AnyOldIron said:
"As I libertarian, I support freedom, both economic and social, and oppose any restrictions on them. Seeing as it has historically been the government who has taken away liberty through its expansion, historians who portray such growth in a favorable light are inserting their own anti-freedom beliefs."

This reads like old-time Marxists ranting...

If you don't insist that any historical perspective on any government action is innately bad (irrelevant of analysis of actual effects of government action), you are inserting your 'own anti-freedom beliefs' and your history reads as 'hagiographies, substituting thoughtful analysis for blind reverence.'

Libertarians pretend to be aloof independent thinkers, but this chap is simply an idealogue, replacing Marxist egalitarian ideas with other idealist notions such as 'freedom', replacing the irrational premise that 'all wealth is wrong' with the irrational premise 'all government action is wrong'.
Click to expand...
Just so. And I should know: I went through a Libertarian, even Objectivist, phase just as I went through a strict Marxist one. In fact, if you go down to a gathering of your local Socialist Workers Party or Peace and Freedom Party, I'll bet you'll find a fair smattering of converted Libertarians. The converse is also true, naturally.

The desire for absolute answers can be immensely strong. Sometimes, it doesn't even matter exactly what the "answers" are.
 
Absolute answers in politics and government are extremely rare. thus the continued search by many who have not yet come to that realization.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top