2010-01-24

What The Libertarians Are Saying

About...where they currently stand in the age of Obama courtesy of Cato. You have to join to get the full document but there's enough there to make one ponder and research on their own.

At least they have a pulse in the States. Here in Canada, they're a non-starter. Which is a shame if you ask me.

About...Obama period. Gotta love NPR readers. The "where were they when?" crowd really are myopic. From the onset, different factions of conservatism (like Pat Buchanan) and libertarians (like CATO) were against big spending and foreign wars well before liberals and Democrats realized what hit them. Do people read and if they do, I think they may have to consult a doctor to stem the flow of memory loss.

And from a Canadian perspective and it coincides with my earlier point of Canadians not getting in touch with their inner-libertarian enough:

As I am regularly reminded when I discuss libertarianism with my fellow Canadians, this is a pretty good place to live. Canada scores better than or as good as most places on the planet in terms of political rights, civil liberties, and economic freedom. This is a fact, and I am grateful for it. But does that mean we shouldn't try to make life even better? Why are we so complacent, so ready to accept "pretty good" as good enough? Why are so many intelligent, educated people uninterested in even exploring what history's great thinkers have had to say about liberty? Few Canadians, I wager, have even heard of Benjamin Constant, for instance. A champion of individual freedom two centuries ago, he viewed political rights as a collective kind of freedom, present in the ancient world, which was "compatible with… the complete subjection of the individual to the authority of the community." Yes, Canada is a pretty good place to live, all things considered. When individuals are no longer subjected to the dictates of their fellows, free to live as they see fit and responsible for the consequences of their own actions, it will be a great place to live.
 And this is all I've been trying to point out on this blog. Canada can offer more - so much more.

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