The Rise Of Libertarianism

When liberals aren't chanting the death knell of conservatism, they're on the offensive against libertarianism; a world view they seem unwilling to learn more about.

With people increasingly less engaged if not downright cynical about the present political narrative, they're now willing to explore libertarianism (its proponents claim direct lineage from classical liberalism). Both liberalism and conservatism dominate the political landscape and each has and had a vested interest in ganging up libertarianism and dismissing it as a group of disengaged and disenfranchised anarchists.

However, people are now discovering libertarianism is a little more complicated than first thought.

Liberals in the media are jumping all over Rand Paul's comments in a predictable reactionary "see? We told you so!" posture. As if liberal politicians don't make false, silly or flat out idiotic comments. Yet, despite the condescending tone, I can't help but feel liberalism is the one really on the ropes. The liberal message, so confident in its assumptions and models, has become stale. It no longer resonates with people who are willing to assess 50 years of liberal influence. Liberal over reach has arrived.

So liberals are trying to snatch the narrative. They do this by attaching (more like expropriating) words like "compassion" and "progressive" to their outlook. Which is why they're lashing out and trying to capture that same narrative positioning themselves as rational centrists and compassionate progressives. Damn the torpedoes and stay the course with FDR! Obama is very much in that mould.

Modern liberals claim they're natural descendants of the founding fathers yet they're completely out of synch with the liberalism of the Enlightenment. When I read the works of the great philosophes who inspired American political figures, I don't see any connection to modern liberalism. Instead, they chose a more socialist route. Which is why libertarianism is so alien to them.

By contrast new recruits to the libertarian ranks are likely to come from conservative circles because conservatives, strangely enough, do discuss certain principles shared with libertarians; such as military non-tanglements and fiscal responsibility, both a function of lesser and limited government - which is what the original American framers of the Constitution believed when they set up a Republic. Although, Hamilton believed in the power of the Federal state - but that's not the point of debate here.

If one posits the argument the GOP does none of those things, they be right. The GOP and Democratic party share the same statist outlook. That's why Bush and Obama aren't the yin and yang everyone was hoping for. They're yin and yin or yang and yang.

 It's the classical conservative element that's abandoning the GOP and possibly heading for other options more in line with their beliefs.

Options like the libertarian movement.