berman@ihuxm.UUCP (Andy Berman) (12/17/84)
---------------------------------- > I enjoy reading the discussions of >libertarianism, but I don't understand why so large a percentage of the >articles are devoted to it. > -------------------------------------------------------------- I've wondered about this myself. I think perhaps it has to do with the fact that many people with access to the net are in an economic strata (OK, "class" if you prefer) that correlates well with the laissez-faire ideology, which, after all,is the essence of libertarianism. (The marxists would say "the ideology of libertarianism matches their class interests") The net seems comprised of many CS students at large universities or people working in computer-related industries at white collar engineer or managerial levels. Unlike some more traditional industries, steel, auto, banking, etc, there is still some (albeit shrinking) chance for a small entrepeneur in the computer industry to become extremely wealthy. The culture of the industry abounds with stories of Apples taking on IBM. To folks with this perspective, the laissez-faire capitalist outlook of libertairianism is a wonderful ideology. It even contains an element of dislike for big business. Its opposition to government regulations seem to emanate from the dislike that every small businessperson feels to the endless government paperwork that burdens small business much more so than big business. It really seems like an example of the marxist concept that one's ideological outlook, and one's concept of morality is heavily influenced (and in some cases entirely determined) by one's class position in society. There are plenty of exceptions to this, but I think it does explain why the popularity of libertarianism seems great on the net, but is almost nil in the rest of society. Andy Berman