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Libertarianism and small government in 2008
By: Steve Adcock | Submitted on: 02/07/08EDITORIAL - The recent success of establishment candidates like Republican John McCain and Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama prompts any Libertarian or true believer in small government and individual liberties to ponder how realistic returning our government back to its original constitutional foundations really is.
Libertarianism is a political philosophy that prioritizes the liberty of the people over the power and influence of the federal government. Individual liberties, under Libertarianism, are paramount to the surrounding culture and supersede the whim of the state. It is a live and let live philosophy that anyone living under the confines of terror or involuntary control crave every day of their lives.
Under a Libertarian form of government, every person owns their own lives, from the clothes that they wear, to the stocks they invest in, to the insurance coverage they choose or the car that they drive. Under no circumstances can the state intervene into the lives of the people unless the purpose is to protect the ability of someone else to live equally free. Infringing on the rights of someone else is prohibited by both the people and the government.
Clearly, and sadly, we don't live in a Libertarian society. Our government is not small, nor do we have the personal protections from government that we deserve. The influence of the government expands with each election cycle, our welfare state continues to grow to monstrous proportions, our foreign policy lingers on as a persistent drain on our military, budget and out of control deficit, and no politician seems prepared to deal with the mess.
Unconscionably, many of our politicians wish to continue pushing our problems forward. How can any liberty-loving American citizen expect our politicians to shrink the size of the government when the size of government is the very catalyst for their employment? The bigger the government becomes, the more resources are required to sustain it. The more problems that are created, the more bodies it takes to “correct” them. The more money the government spends, the more money the government needs.
The Libertarian movement has a variety of outlets established to further its cause, including this web site. Others include the Mises Institute and Cato Institute, among some others. These large and substantive entities provide a wealth of information from a variety of highly educated and notably experienced professionals with backgrounds in disciplines like economics, law and civics. The resources are freely available and knowledge is wide ranging. Why, then, do the principles of small government and individual liberties continue to get pushed aside as establishment candidates solidify their power and control in Washington D.C? Why do the people refuse to stop it?
Americans live in a welfare state where a certain class of people enjoy the receiving end of that government “generosity”, while others are on the giving (or paying) end of that generosity. Libertarian thought and ideas fail to gain mainstream momentum because the number of those receiving, unfortunately, are greater than those paying. The requisite incentive for the American people to start demanding real change in this nation does not exist. The will of those receiving government checks outweighs the will of those supporting the government, and that stands as the very driving force that leads any nation directly into a decline. The value of the dollar has dropped significantly. Our government's debt is out of control. The mortgage crisis continues.
According to a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll, the Congressional approval rating is at 22%. An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll puts it even lower, at 18%. President Bush's job approval rating typically waves between 29% and 34%, depending on the poll. Our nation is clearly not healthy. The people are not happy. There is ample reason for Libertarian ideals to finally move into the mainstream and quickly take over as the prevailing wisdom among the American people. But so far, it has not succeeded. We continue to vote for the very politicians that cause the majority of our problems. The Super Tuesday elections recently confirm how unwilling the American people are to reject the status-quo and start to embrace their own freedom and demand Congress mind their own business - their very well defined constitutional business, at that.
Libertarian's are chomping at the bit. Ron Paul, who ran as a Republican but leans Libertarian, immediately built one of the most successful online campaigns in recent history, but he failed to translate that into votes. Paul ran for president in 1988 as a Libertarian but lost handily to his establishment opponents. The people, clearly, are not ready for freedom.
Freedom cannot be forced upon a population. Freedom must be craved. The people must desire freedom before they will demand it. The demand simply is not there, and thus, the desire is falling well short of what the United States was built to support - that is, lovers of freedom and champions of liberty. Americans used to guard their independence like a female tiger would her young. However, slowly but surely, our politicians have implemented creative ways to usurp more and more of our ability to live without the control of the government. Social Security, Welfare, Medicare, Medicaid and the inevitable universal health care are all examples of the confiscation and embezzlement of the freedoms of the American people. But again, because the number of recipients outweighs the number of payers, the pilfering of freedoms in this nation have all subtlety succeeded.
Back in 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that local governments can force private property owners to sell their land to the government to make way for private economic development, even though the fifth amendment to the Constitution of the United States specifically states “...nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” Private development was never authorized as a means to take land from rightful private owners, but our robed magicians in the Supreme Court provided, once again, an expansion of the power of the state over the liberties of the American people.
The freedoms of the American people are being systematically and meticulously removed from our society, and the people are dull to the entire process. Until their own freedoms get removed, small government and Libertarian principles will always struggle to make significant headway within the United States. Too many people benefit from the removal of freedoms, and government enjoys sitting in the position of being the provider for those who will, ultimately, vote to continue the practice.
I will not stop fighting for individual liberties and a small constitutional government. I hope you will not either. Because if we stop, there may not be anyone behind us to pick up the slack. Nobody should fight for our freedoms more than us. Nobody should care about our freedoms more than us, and nobody should demand our freedoms more than us. If you don't stand up for your freedoms as an American and rights as a citizen, who will?
Libertarianism is a political philosophy that prioritizes the liberty of the people over the power and influence of the federal government. Individual liberties, under Libertarianism, are paramount to the surrounding culture and supersede the whim of the state. It is a live and let live philosophy that anyone living under the confines of terror or involuntary control crave every day of their lives.
Under a Libertarian form of government, every person owns their own lives, from the clothes that they wear, to the stocks they invest in, to the insurance coverage they choose or the car that they drive. Under no circumstances can the state intervene into the lives of the people unless the purpose is to protect the ability of someone else to live equally free. Infringing on the rights of someone else is prohibited by both the people and the government.
Clearly, and sadly, we don't live in a Libertarian society. Our government is not small, nor do we have the personal protections from government that we deserve. The influence of the government expands with each election cycle, our welfare state continues to grow to monstrous proportions, our foreign policy lingers on as a persistent drain on our military, budget and out of control deficit, and no politician seems prepared to deal with the mess.
Unconscionably, many of our politicians wish to continue pushing our problems forward. How can any liberty-loving American citizen expect our politicians to shrink the size of the government when the size of government is the very catalyst for their employment? The bigger the government becomes, the more resources are required to sustain it. The more problems that are created, the more bodies it takes to “correct” them. The more money the government spends, the more money the government needs.
The Libertarian movement has a variety of outlets established to further its cause, including this web site. Others include the Mises Institute and Cato Institute, among some others. These large and substantive entities provide a wealth of information from a variety of highly educated and notably experienced professionals with backgrounds in disciplines like economics, law and civics. The resources are freely available and knowledge is wide ranging. Why, then, do the principles of small government and individual liberties continue to get pushed aside as establishment candidates solidify their power and control in Washington D.C? Why do the people refuse to stop it?
Americans live in a welfare state where a certain class of people enjoy the receiving end of that government “generosity”, while others are on the giving (or paying) end of that generosity. Libertarian thought and ideas fail to gain mainstream momentum because the number of those receiving, unfortunately, are greater than those paying. The requisite incentive for the American people to start demanding real change in this nation does not exist. The will of those receiving government checks outweighs the will of those supporting the government, and that stands as the very driving force that leads any nation directly into a decline. The value of the dollar has dropped significantly. Our government's debt is out of control. The mortgage crisis continues.
According to a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll, the Congressional approval rating is at 22%. An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll puts it even lower, at 18%. President Bush's job approval rating typically waves between 29% and 34%, depending on the poll. Our nation is clearly not healthy. The people are not happy. There is ample reason for Libertarian ideals to finally move into the mainstream and quickly take over as the prevailing wisdom among the American people. But so far, it has not succeeded. We continue to vote for the very politicians that cause the majority of our problems. The Super Tuesday elections recently confirm how unwilling the American people are to reject the status-quo and start to embrace their own freedom and demand Congress mind their own business - their very well defined constitutional business, at that.
Libertarian's are chomping at the bit. Ron Paul, who ran as a Republican but leans Libertarian, immediately built one of the most successful online campaigns in recent history, but he failed to translate that into votes. Paul ran for president in 1988 as a Libertarian but lost handily to his establishment opponents. The people, clearly, are not ready for freedom.
Freedom cannot be forced upon a population. Freedom must be craved. The people must desire freedom before they will demand it. The demand simply is not there, and thus, the desire is falling well short of what the United States was built to support - that is, lovers of freedom and champions of liberty. Americans used to guard their independence like a female tiger would her young. However, slowly but surely, our politicians have implemented creative ways to usurp more and more of our ability to live without the control of the government. Social Security, Welfare, Medicare, Medicaid and the inevitable universal health care are all examples of the confiscation and embezzlement of the freedoms of the American people. But again, because the number of recipients outweighs the number of payers, the pilfering of freedoms in this nation have all subtlety succeeded.
Back in 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that local governments can force private property owners to sell their land to the government to make way for private economic development, even though the fifth amendment to the Constitution of the United States specifically states “...nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” Private development was never authorized as a means to take land from rightful private owners, but our robed magicians in the Supreme Court provided, once again, an expansion of the power of the state over the liberties of the American people.
The freedoms of the American people are being systematically and meticulously removed from our society, and the people are dull to the entire process. Until their own freedoms get removed, small government and Libertarian principles will always struggle to make significant headway within the United States. Too many people benefit from the removal of freedoms, and government enjoys sitting in the position of being the provider for those who will, ultimately, vote to continue the practice.
I will not stop fighting for individual liberties and a small constitutional government. I hope you will not either. Because if we stop, there may not be anyone behind us to pick up the slack. Nobody should fight for our freedoms more than us. Nobody should care about our freedoms more than us, and nobody should demand our freedoms more than us. If you don't stand up for your freedoms as an American and rights as a citizen, who will?
Steve Adcock is the founder and developer of SmallGovTimes.com.
