I don't understand the difference between Libertarian and Anarchist
I don't understand the difference between Libertarian and Anarchist
Most of what I've seen sounds like Libertarians are actually anarchists who've been misinformed by the dominant culture about what anarchism really is.
What would you say is the reason you identify with libertarianism over anarchism?
Every anarchist I've ever discussed the matter with has embraced magical thinking as the mechanism for sustaining anarchist decision-making (e.g. rule by consensus) despite threats to the status quo (like an invading despot).
Libertarians, on the other hand, routinely seem to acknowledge that some public goods, e.g. national defense, must be handled by a state actor. Minarchy rather than anarchy.
Also in a radically anarchist state people would completely depend on themselves. As this is impractical they will eventually form connections and cooperate with each other more intensively which in turn obviously needs some rudimentary guidelines. And that's just the beginning of a small state.
I thought Libertarian was just an American thing for people who don't like the Republican candidate but don't want anyone messing with gun or equality laws.
Ther's non American libertarians but I think they're more common in the US
It's definitely more common in the US than elsewhere. Here in Spain where I live there is a Libertarian party but they are sort of a joke, more of a social club than anything else.
I think it's because the US is essentially the only extant country that was explicitly founded on the principles of individual liberty and that element of our culture still runs deep more than two centuries later. We'll see how much longer it survives but for the moment there is still a strong element of it in US culture.
For me, it's a matter of practicality. Because sure, I'd love a perfect system in which everything operates entirely on voluntary cooperation, feel free to toss in a spherical cow with zero air resistance as well. But I don't believe such a solution to be a practical option in reality, at least for the foreseeable future. Its basically a giant instance of the prisoners dillema, just at the scale of state militaries and nuclear weapons. And at that scale, I find it significantly more desirable to hedge our bets against bad actors than to rely on near universal acceptance of an ideal solution.
Is our current world system not the natural product of anarchy?
Anarchists are historically left. Libertarians are historically right. At least in USA.
Stop right there: Anarchism means that there is no state or anyone that has any competence over you. Libertarians on the other hand support a minimal state that is just there to protect the core rights. Anarchism therefore means in it's essence that you are responsible for managing and protecting your property all by yourself. However most Anarchists tend to accept some forms of deliberate power distribution.
I'd consider libertarians to want a small government that does very little, while anarchists want none.
A small government would make and enforce laws, have a military, and maybe do some other public goods (though not many).
Anarchism is absolute chaos. Without any sort of government, anything goes. Probably the first thing to happen is a few people seize power, and technically you don't have anarchism anymore, you have warlords.
While a small government wouldn't enforce build codes and wouldn't provide free Healthcare, it's a far cry from no government.
People have the inherent ability to work together by choice without an authority creating rules, we see it every day. Seems like we could choose to work together to defend each other
Anarchy in greek means "non-rule". It means, in essence, that no one has any authority over you or your property. So there can be no state and no courts or anything like that, because otherwise you would have to cede power and authority to someone else. In an absolute anarchist society, you would have to protect everything yourself.
But this is practically impossible so most anarchists tend to give away some competences to private companies, collectives or small governments which in the end is nothing else than libertarianism.
In that case, libertarianism sounds a little more stable, one government that is harder for a warlord to take over and that a company couldn't just buy. Anarchy seems more prone to falling into totalitarianism than libertarianism.
Aside from that, it sounds less like libertarians are actually anarchists, and more like anarchists are actually libertarians.
That said, I guess they're both asking "what's the smallest amount if government possible?".
Libertarianism is anarchy but with rules set forth by right-wing morons.
Most libertarians would consider themselves "Fiscally irresponsible and socially retarded".
Anarchists on the other hand would say something like "no gods no masters". For libertarians to match something like that, they would try but then break down and vote for Ron Paul.
Anarchists accept the world around them. Libertarians try to return to the gold standard, despite gold not carrying much value any more. Libertarianism wants to make america great again, since Libertarianism at its heart is a right wing religion.
People who claim to be libertarians are at a special place in life where they beleive the world can be changed for the better by giving everything to the ultra wealthy and leaving us to fend for scraps. Libertarianism isn't a legit political science.
This is just a TL;DR: for a better understanding of life as a libertarian, dig a hole and stick your head in it. After all, the only way to understand someone is to think like someone.
Libertarians, upon breaking their bones and being unable to afford treatment respond with "that's ok, it's the free market!" When the last doctor in their area refuses to treat them because they didn't make enough money. "Social programs are for losers!" The doctor nods and turns the libertarian out on the cold winter street. "The free market provides!" Mutters the libertarian.
Generally speaking, most libertarians aren't able to actually engage in debate, they instead just know "non libertarian bad", hence the downvotes without any rebuttle.
Please adhere to the rules here. Generally any types of posts are allowed if they stay constructive or add some value to the discusion. Your post is a primitive rant that contributes few and is just annoying. You were probably reported for this reason, which makes this a first warning. If you continue to behave in a similar manner, your post will be deleted consequently.
What did I tell ya? Libertarians: 'some gods, some masters'.
Anyway I was just answering OPs question, sport!
Brainless huh? Want to try addressing any of the points I raised or nah?
Dorks.
Why delete the comment when you can let the marketplace of ideas decide?
The answer is because the idea of libertarianism isn't worth much.
Baseless rant, sure if you don't know the meaning of words. Probably reported by a libertarian.
I kid! You wanna know something nice about libertarians? They always let you know who they are so you can have a chance to duck out of the conversation before the brain rot sets in. That's swell!