rgvdh (02/24/83)
Yes, some versions of socialist theory (and practice) are interested
in what the individual owes society, but not at all in the rights
of the individual. On the other hand, quite a few (though certainly
not all) of the people who call themselves libertarians (notably the
people who publish Ergo at M.I.T.) spend all their time worrying about
the rights of the individual and deny that the individual has any
responsibility to society as a whole. While I have no philosophical
basis for this assertion, just a gut feeling, I believe that people have
a responsibility to put as much useful work into society as was put
into their education and raising. On the other hand, it is not at all
obvious that the government should get to define "useful" (all too
frequently in a manner convenient to private interests). And I am
not convinced that human nature is such that fear of punishment
or unemployment is required to make people do this work (though it
would take a culture rather different from ours).
I consider both "socialism", defined as a demand that people
contribute to society, and that those incapable of taking care of
themselves be provided for, and "libertarianism", defined as the
demand that people be allowed to do what they want to do, to be
principles that are both useful to keep in mind when thinking
about specific issues, but which are bound to lead to disaster if
followed to extremes. Absolutes don't work well in the real world.