How Fucked Up is the Libertarian Definition of Freedom?

http://notthesingularity.com/1649/ho...on-of-freedom/

HOW FUCKED UP IS THE LIBERTARIAN DEFINITION OF FREEDOM?

Very fucked up. So fucked up, that the right to pay no or low taxes and the right to own property are better indicators of essential freedom than a woman’s right to consent to having her body used as an incubator:

The Mercatus Center, a libertarian-oriented — and Koch brothers-affiliated — think tank based out of George Mason University (a public university, for whatever that’s worth), regularly releases its ranking of American states in terms of “Freedom.” Their definition of “freedom” largely adheres to the standard American libertarian conception of “liberty,” which is to say it is oriented almost entirely around private property ownership and low taxation. As a result, America’s freest state this year turns out to be North Dakota.

North Dakota has also been in the news for another reason recently. What was it, again? Oh, right, it passed the most restrictive antiabortion laws in the country. Including a law specifically aimed at shutting down the state’s lone abortion provider. It passed this law knowing it was unconstitutional.

The data Mercatus used, as far as I can tell, are largely from 2011. But these laws wouldn’t do a thing to change’s North Dakota’s ranking, because Mercatus doesn’t take reproductive rights into account at all. In fact, no issues specifically related to women’s rights are taken into account.

“So this is how the Mercatus Center defines freedom,” Pareene continues:

the right of people with money to keep it all, and for everyone else to fuck off. Almost any Liberty issue that wouldn’t concern a straight, white, male capitalist is wholly ignored.

Turns out, though (big surprise) that most Americans do not want to live that way:

I called North Dakota a “fucking shithole” on Twitter earlier, which was unfair of me, because while it is unreasonably, inhospitably freezing cold in much of the state for much of the year (and I say this as someone who grew up one state away) it is, on the whole, a reasonably pretty part of the country full of decent people (unless you are openly gay or transgendered or in need of an abortion obviously). … But there is a reason that fewer people live in all of North Dakota than in Detroit, and there is a reason why the population of North Dakota slowly declined from the 1920s through the end of the 20th century: Not that many people want to live there. …

New York and California, though, are both super-nice, even though we confiscate more money than North Dakota, and spend it on things like mass transportation (freedom from having to own cars!) and helping people without means get food and healthcare (freedom from dying!). …

It is a very obvious observation but it is still the case that Americans — and people everywhere else — have generally decided that they don’t mind a bit of taxation in exchange for a more humane and fairer society. This Mercatus Study, with its limited, self-serving definition of “freedom,” is like a mean-spirited parody of the sort of “libertarianism” that’s just a front for the interests of the wealthy and powerful.


Librarians Unite!!!

Yaaawwwwnnnnnn..... nope. Nothing to see here.

You're just moaning because NK hasn't targeted Kansas!

Yaaawwwwnnnnnn..... nope. Nothing to see here. Originally Posted by JD Barleycorn

more like this

Assup is a fucking idiot...

Yssup, you really seem to dislike Libertarianism, my new philosophy. Are you opposed to liberty?

Nope. not opposed to liberty. and I love justice and the the American Way. But I reject the bullshit of the ultra right wing isolationists who claim they live for it.

Did you read the story?

Nope. not opposed to liberty. and I love justice and the the American Way. But I reject the bullshit of the ultra right wing isolationists who claim they live for it.

Did you read the story? Originally Posted by Yssup Rider

I read the part you pasted.
What is the American Way - gay marriage, affirmative action, trillions in debt, and 50 million people on food stamps while we spend more money on education per student by thousands than South Korea yet they kick our butts on math and science tests?

That wasn't a story. It was bullshit. But it did read on Assup's very low comprehension scale, which explains a lot.

I read the part you pasted.
What is the American Way - gay marriage, affirmative action, trillions in debt, and 50 million people on food stamps while we spend more money on education per student by thousands than South Korea yet they kick our butts on math and science tests? Originally Posted by Jewish Lawyer

YOU NEVER WATCHED SUPERMAN, JL? Written by a nice landsman! About a champion for the downtrodden, like our people.

gay marriage, affirmative action does NOT equate with trillions in debt, so your point is debunked halfway through the sentence. why do South Korea kick our asses in,art and science? Maybe because cement head dipshits can't agree on what math and science are in America without consulting their televangelist.

You know this to be true.

Quit posing and embrace the true white light of logic, Spock. we're putting the band back together!

That wasn't a story. It was bullshit. But it did read on Assup's very low comprehension scale, which explains a lot. Originally Posted by CuteOldGuy

hoes on the other vagrant's foot now, Chicken Little.

You expect us to buy your blog posts hook line and sinker. Well chew on this one squeeze dick.

this far, Ive only heard insults. NO REFUTATiON.

so the conclusion this far is that you completely agree that I'm an asshole but more importantly that Libertarians Have a Fucked Up Definition of Freedom.

Thank you for playing. We want to send you home with the home version of Circle Jerk... A new game you can play with a slice of white bread and four of your closest buds.

Calling it bullshit IS refutation. There is nothing in the article remotely resembling the truth. In other words, it could have been written by you, Assup.

But not you, Unaliar. Too much truth and fact. Not to mention subject and predicate.

Please explain how the Librarian party has separated itself from the ownership of the Koch Brothers and is poised to make positive inroads into American society.

I'm waiting, Einstein. Fact is, you can't show one positive effect the national whining party has brought to the debate. NOT ONE!

The Fair Tax
Gay marriage (we were for it before it was cool)
Ending the drug war
Ending stupid foreign conflicts
Balancing the budget
Personal freedom and responsibility
End the Fed
End crony capitalism (fascism)
Protecting a person's right to be left alone
Ending foreign aid to countries that hate us, and even to those that like us
Protecting a woman's right to choose
Market based economic reforms
Breaking up the Unholy Trinity of Corporations, Defense & Government

You got nothin', Assup. Nothin' at all. You're in the corner now, Dipshit of the Year!

Calling it bullshit IS refutation. Originally Posted by CuteOldGuy

Noted.