Question for Helen Andrews. I enjoyed the recent panel session at ALSFC on Civil Society and Culture. I see a lot of merit in the argument that conservative beliefs are a natural fit with libertarian beliefs, but I want to ask about your argument that some left libertarians who call themselves individualists only gain their individualism by differentiating themselves from the majority, which in itself does not carry inherent value. I think thats an accurate description of many many people out there. But I myself would describe the trait that I see as very strong in some (not all) libertarians to be anti-authoritarianism, more than individualism. These people dont care about being or appearing to be part of a group, they just wont tolerate anyone telling them what to do. And of course such people will buck just as strongly against social shaming as against government laws. The conclusion which might be drawn if this contention is accepted is that, although there will always be conservatives aligned with libertarian thinking, there will equally always always be tension between conservative and anti-authoritarian schools of thought within any libertarian movement, and thats not a bad thing; it doesnt indicate the existence of a dispensable faction of faux hipster leftartarians. What do you say to all that? Obviously I would have asked you this during question time for the panel but other people wanting to ask questions seemed so much better prepared, I didnt bring palm cards let alone a power point pres for my question!
Posted on: Mon, 05 May 2014 11:07:55 +0000
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