We're All libertarians Now
The authoritarian mask has been discarded completely
We’ve all seen those sorry souls. Mostly friendless and alone, muttering to themselves about problems only they seem to see, maybe drunk or high, often suffering from poor hygiene. What sad turns have their lives taken that they’d end up like this, outcast and on the fringe of society?
No, I’m not talking about these people
I’m talking about these people
As long as I can remember, libertarians have been on the fringe of political discourse, focusing on issues nobody seems to care about. In the 1970s they were talking about legalizing gay marriage. In the 1980s instead of “Just Saying No”, they demanded we end the drug war. In 2005 when most of the country was still seeing red from 9/11, libertarians were talking about ending the wars and the dangers of the USA PATRIOT Act. They could often be seen defending ‘scoundrels’, like when Alex Jones was kicked out of polite society, muttering about how it wouldn’t stop there.
But time is a funny thing, and politics are fluid - they’re based on the values of the people at any particular moment. These ‘fringe’ positions of yesterday are today’s mainstream thoughts. The libertarian arguments didn’t change, the politics of the people changed and became more libertarian. In this way, libertarians are often on the fringe because the mainstream hasn’t yet found their way to the libertarian position.
After all, when things are going well, who has time to sit around talking about the dangers of growing government? Why should we spend time thinking about monetary policy? We’ve got real shit to worry about. Just trust that the government is looking out for you.
But sooner or later the reality of the situation is too powerful to look past. The behemoth federal government is sticking its nose in so many places you can no longer ignore them. Suddenly what the idiot politicians say can ruin your life. When this happens, the political battle shifts as well. Suddenly regular people see the need to protect free speech and start speaking out about the dangers of government directing private companies to do their bidding. (There’s a word for that!) In this way, the underlying battle lines crystalize.
And as the ‘leaders’ become more authoritarian, cracking down on all dissent, the proper response is for the people to become more libertarian. Take a listen to runnin’ Justin during his press conference yesterday.
Because the only tool in the government bag is force, Trudeau threatens the protestors (and supporters) any way he can. He’ll take away their licenses. He won’t let them go to the USA. He’ll ‘monitor’ their bank accounts. And ‘all options are on the table’ to remove the protestors — even as he claims he’s not controlling the police.
It’s ESPECIALLY hilarious to hear him say the border CANNOT STAY CLOSED, after he forcefully shut it down for over a year. And NOW he’s super concerned about the well-being of Ottawans, even as they continue to suffer under covid rules. He stresses over and over that “now you’re breaking laws” if you continue to protest. I happen to have some pictures of lawbreakers right here:
Surely you don’t want to end up like any of those law-breakers, do you?
And set against pictures like this
Regular people wonder why there’s such a huge disparity in the government’s approach to the different protests. (The answer, of course, is politics. Always.) So in this case, the government will call protestors names. They will threaten protestors with arrest and loss of livelihood. They will monitor bank accounts. They will blame Americans! What they won’t do is talk to the protestors, lift the restrictions that aren’t doing any good anyway, or even set out a logical argument for the continuation of said restrictions. That stuff doesn’t MATTER anymore. You will do what we say because we tell you to. (Spoken in libertarian circles as “Fuck you, that’s why”) Authoritarians gonna authoritarian, and so that’s what Justin does. The mask is off.
Side note: Although I’ve been on my fair share of ‘subversive’ lists in my day, I do believe this is the first time I’ve been responsible for chaos in Canada! Ironically I only donated after GoFundMe froze the cash because FUCK YOU I WON’T DO WHAT YOU TELL ME!!
After this huge push of authoritarianism, how do the people respond?
Like a bunch of libertarians, coming together to stand against a power-mad government. Singing, waving flags, and getting along. Daring the police to come and snatch their Canadian flags and pop their bouncy houses, knowing that if the police actually do it, the government will look even worse than it does now.
The authoritarians have overplayed their hand. They pushed too far too fast, and the upcoming backlash will be historic. Now that the mask is off, the authoritarian bullies are easy to identify. Next comes flushing them out of the halls of power and ushering in a new class of leadership that understands why freedom is important. Then comes the difficult task of wrestling back said freedom so we can make our own decisions.
Maybe once that is done, libertarians can once again be relegated to the fringe of political discourse. Until the next time the authoritarians start winning, of course.
Many of you will note that throughout the article (and title) I used little-l libertarian instead of big-l Libertarian. This is because, though the Libertarian Party might be the best vote in specific races, often we'll be forced to choose the most libertarian Republican (or Democrat!) running. The Libertarian Party is not the answer. The answer is libertarian policies coming from politicians of all parties.
I should’ve known “authoritarians vs libertarians” was Orwell.
In any case, that thought was part of my latest musing on my Substack. Thank you for it.