Given that the Libertarian Party has been in the hands of a right wing faction that likes Trump and is socially conservative, it wasn't obvious that the party would nominate an actual libertarian this time, and I was pessimistic. But the nominee picked Sunday, Chase Oliver, was the one backed by the Classical Liberal Caucus, the traditional libertarian group I generally agree with. Oliver has an official website where you can read his platform.
On Twitter, Jesse Walker wrote, "Look at that: There are still enough libertarians in the Libertarian Party to nominate an actual libertarian for the presidency. Congratulations to Chase Oliver."
Bonus libertarian content: Ayn Rand denies she wrote a blueprint for the Illuminati to take over the world.
If you can't access the X.com clip, you can watch Ayn Rand on the the old Phil Donahue show in 1979, and the bit with Ayn Rand being asked about the Illuminati appears at about 4:50.
4 comments:
His position on federal spending is to "educe Federal spending to pre-pandemic levels." That's a very weak goal for a Libertarian candidate.
-- Gary McGath (in case I get inadvertently anonymized again)
Tom. I’m curious what your definition of “libertarian” is. I stopped self-identifying as libertarian several years ago for reasons you allude to. It seemed to me then (and it seems more so now) that the label had been co-opted by social conservatives who don’t want to pay taxes. When you combine this with the media’s tendency to equate libertarianism with extreme conservatism it seems to me that the term has lost all meaning.
I first started identifying as libertarian in the late 70’s or early 80’s when I read Karl Hess’s book, Dear America. He and Murray Rothbard argue that libertarians are leftists, and that it’s only through an historical accident that they’ve become associated with the right. But I find that that association is still so firmly implanted in most people’s minds that I’ve stopped using the term completely.
As seen from Europe, modern North American libertarianism sure seems to mean "demented Randian with guns", and gets a possibly even worse rap than the war-mongering Trump-backing Republicans do...
There are of course local variations, in South America for example, they use chainsaws instead of guns.
But, like Van Scott, I'd be curious to see what would be Tom Jackson or Jesse Walker's definition of libertarianism, because I find it hard to believe that this would be what someone interested in RAW would stand for.
Guys, I agree that there's little agreement on what "libertarian" means these days.
Jesse will maybe explain what "libertarian" means to him, but for me it mainly seems to function as a way to feel that almost nobody on Earth agrees with me. For example, I favor letting lots of immigrants into the U.S. This was formerly the orthodox libertarian position, but these days the Libertarian Party seems dominated by Trump types who oppose immigration. And of course Democrats and Republicans compete to be the most anti-immigrant party.
I somehow manage to have the most unpopular opinion on any given issue. It's a gift!
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