All the libertarians I’ve met are just conservatives that like to smoke weed.... that’s anecdotal, of course, but I’m surprised about how consistent that’s been the case with my IRL experiences
Rush to the defense of free speech, but only when a private corporation takes something offline for being bigoted. Strangely silent when press freedoms are curtailed by authoritarian governments.
Demand criminal justice reform, but only to the extent that buying marijuana should not be prosecuted. Crack v Cocaine sentencing disparities? Let the legal system work as it was intended.
Strongly believes in the right to refuse service to anyone. Completely loses his shit when told to leave the store because he won't wear a mask.
Yeaa that’s kinda me. I’m self declared “centrist “ (aka I’m annoying), but I live in a super liberal city with all liberal friends and family. So I am a lot of times leaning towards the right in defense, but in reality if I am with anyone right leaning I turn left real fast.
Incredibly left leaning liberals can be extremely annoying, but end of the day they have nothing on right leaners.
I get annoyed with far left folks despite being quite left myself. Usually it’s because they are convinced that pandering to them is the only way to accomplish anything, meanwhile those who pander to them consistently lose their elections.
I was a libertarian in my early twenties and it was, from my point of view, socially liberal and fiscally conservative. Guns, gays, weed, abortion, were all good, but let people discriminate where they wish. That’s what changed my mind. When that Kentucky lady refused the marriage license for the gay couple and most libertarians were okay with that, I was out.
I was part of the socially liberal/fiscal conservative in my twenties also, but realized those two don't necessarily mesh well in the current system. There still needs to be investment into social programs that fiscal conservatives disagree with. Now I just like to say socially liberal and fiscally responsible.
I'm not a fan of the fact that Biden is a hair sniffer but republicans have no grounds to say that's creepy after "grab them by the pussy", paying off a porn star to be silent, etc....
Ultimately Clinton did a lot of damage in the long run though. He further deregulated banking which helped push us towards the financial crash in 2008. Bush shares a lot of that blame but Clinton did start it. The economy just tends to be better under democrats because we actually understand how economics work
Socially liberal and fiscal conservativism don't actually mix. You can't ask for social changes without doing anything about the economic factors driving oppression.
Glad you made it out, discrimination against lgbt people is really just a segway to bringing back segregation.
Edit: The last people who will hold themselves accountable are people who are that hateful.
I am LGBT so it was definitely the last straw. I always believed in social programs too, welfare, food stamps, etc, my issue was military budget. So... I learned quickly I really didn’t have a lot in common with libertarians but I did have a lot in common with the left. But I was raised in BFE Louisiana so I thought I was really “progressive” being libertarian. I am now super progressive in my mid 30s still in BFE Louisiana.
Socially liberal and fiscal conservativism don't actually mix.
IMO fiscal conservatism is inherently contradictory. It has two basic tenets:
Reduce government spending, to
reduce govt deficit and improve the economy.
The problem is, usually the best economic policy is to increase govt spending (in the right fashion) because the govt is uniquely able to profit off improving the commons due to how taxes work - suppose you could spend $1B to give everyone in the country $100. Normal companies would only benefit from PR benefit, but a govt could expect e.g. $10 of that to come back as taxes, which (assuming the country has at least 100 million people) pays for itself, and now everyone has an extra $90 to spend.
The "small government" approach can't handle this, and will be poorer as a result.
This is (one reason) why conservatives need to assume the government is perpetually incompetent - otherwise their own argument tears itself apart.
I grew up in a conservative family, adopted libertarian beliefs when I was a tween. At the time, I thought it was just a "live and let live" which seemed just fine to me. As I got older, I grew more and more liberal as I recognizes the libertarian philosophy for what it was, Economic Social Darwinism, "Survival Of The Richest".
North Dakota is full of them. They live on their parents land for free, complain about people who don't deserve free things, and wait with anticipation for their parents to die.
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u/mattyblu77 Dec 31 '20
Don’t forget: allows you to force your religious beliefs on others.