So these days it seems like every loudmouth in the right wing is a self styled Libertarian. The most adamant debaters we’ve had on Red State Vs. Blue State were “Libertarians” which they insisted were vastly different than regular Republicans, even if they don’t disagree on anything except possibly the legalization of marijuana, and some Libertarians don’t believe in that and some regular Republicans (or “Republican Classic” as maybe they should be branded) do believe in it.
Libertarians insist that THEY are the only advocates for “true” freedom (which sounds like a cult) but Republicans say the same damn thing. They both believe that taxes and any kind of government regulations are tyranny and pure capitalism is the only way to achieve “true” freedom. Or as Bertrand Russell correctly put it “Advocates of capitalism are very apt to appeal to the sacred principles of liberty, which are embodied in one maxim: The fortunate must not be restrained in the exercise of tyranny over the unfortunate.”
It really just seems like the big difference is that regular Republicans–whether they’re high school principals or housewives or farmers–are pretty quiet. They really only like to talk about politics around like-minded people and don’t look to have conversations with people who disagree (I guess it’s very hard to prove things that aren’t true, so they avoid people that call things untrue). By contrast, a Libertarian will go anywhere, anytime and argue with people who disagree, people who agree, and even people that really and truly don’t care. Increasingly, it seems like a Libertarian is just a Republican that never shuts up.
The great lie about Libertarianism is that there’s really any difference between that and where the Republican Party is today. They pretend that Libertarianism (supposed to mean socially liberal and fiscally conservative) is much more secular than a modern Republican, but that isn’t really true when you actually talk to a Libertarian. I’m hard pressed to find ANY that are pro-choice and I have met exactly one who is an atheist. They are just as religious as regular Republicans, and even the Godfather himself (Ron Paul) uses evangelical rhetoric that makes George W. Bush look agnostic.
And that brings up the second great lie of Libertarianism: that it’s something the majority of Americans really want. Libertarians sell it on this hook of “We’re social liberals and fiscal conservatives. What America is!” Wrong. If you were to really ask everyone, I guess the people that control both parties might be shocked to find out most of America isn’t Libertarian, it’s Communitarian (socially conservative, economically liberal).
The majority of Republican voters don’t give two shits about fiscal conservatism: they want to stop gay marriage, illegal immigration, and abortions. And that’s equally true for most red and purple state Dems that are more drawn to protecting liberal economics than really care about the fight for gay marriage. I have to admit I myself have worried more about the downfall of unions, social security, medicare, and the progressive tax system than I have worried that transgendered Terry-turned-Jill can’t marry.
Libertarians say “We started as a Libertarian nation before all the taxes and regulations took over.” Wrong again. America was founded by religious nuts looking to set up a cult/colony of religious freedom and it spiraled into a nation. They cared more about moral right and everyone pitching in to build a community than they did dodging King James’s tax code (at least initially) or having a ready made capitalist class system. They weren’t Libertarian, they were Communitarian, and I would argue that that’s what most of America still is, even if there’s increasingly few voices to represent that.