mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor) (06/19/85)
In commenting on the Sevener-Sykora "debate", alice!jj said: >I've argued that Libertarianism is a natural reaction to the >current trend away from personal responisibility. The reply I guess I missed that argument. But if it is true, the "natural" reaction seems wrong. In a Libertarian society, people would indeed HAVE to behave responsibly or the society would break down totally. But Libertarianism has nothing intrinsically to do with personal responsibility (or freedom). Over a period of several years, I spent a long time in Denmark, which is often pointed at as one of the more socialist countries of the Western world. One thing that struck me was how much MORE personal freedom the Danes have than we have in Canada or the US, and at the same time, how much more responsibly they behaved, both in consideration for each other and in consideration for the anonymous mass of people called the State. It is relatively rare, for example, to see Danes throw away beer cans or cigarette packages when a garbage can is nearby (or even when it isn't). It's also rare for a Dane to concern him/herself with someone else's sexual proclivities or costume. Danes may be free because they are responsible and therefore need few laws to restrain them, or they may be responsible because they are free and therefore must behave responsibly. But whichever way it is, this happens in a Socialist country, not a Libertarian one (as Libertarian has come to be understood on this net). -- Martin Taylor {allegra,linus,ihnp4,floyd,ubc-vision}!utzoo!dciem!mmt {uw-beaver,qucis,watmath}!utcsri!dciem!mmt
mms1646@acf4.UUCP (Michael M. Sykora) (06/20/85)
>/* mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor) / 6:33 pm Jun 18, 1985 */ >One thing that struck me was how much MORE personal >freedom the Danes have than we have in Canada or the US, and at the >same time, how much more responsibly they behaved, both in consideration >for each other and in consideration for the anonymous mass of people >called the State. In what way do Danes have "more personal freedom?" Please elaborate, perhaps with some examples. As for their greater sense of personal responsibility, if this is so then it may be due to cultural differences rather than political ones. >Martin Taylor Mike Sykora