fagin%ji.Berkeley.EDU@UCBVAX.BERKELEY.EDU (10/03/86)
Richard Cowan recently posted a short but careful attack on libertarianism. He writes: > Libertarianism seems suspect. Why do I say this? Because several > recent messages have labeled both left-wing and right-wing views as > "libertarian." How could this be so? This is interesting. Since some left-wing and some right-wing views can be considered libertarian, Richard sees a dilemna, and wants to know how such a thing can happen. Isn't it just possible that left-wing and right-wing views aren't even remotely consistent? That the left defends civil liberties while trampling over economic ones, while the right merely does the opposite? Richard should consider this possiblity, since it's the correct one. > The reason I object to the emphasis on government is that public > policy is really not determined by "the government." ... > Chomsky is saying that it's the other way around. The government is > controlled by the political process, a process greatly influenced by > economic interests.... There is doubtless a great deal of truth in this. It makes a compelling argument for a constitutional amendment forbidding government from intervening in the economic affairs of its citizens. The only way that large economic institutions can create a "public policy" is through the power of government, which can pass laws and enforce them coercively. Take this away, and corporations are left only with the power to trade. > Accepting this view, the question one should ask is not whether > government is inherently good or bad, but rather, "Who runs the > government?" and "Who does it serve?" Government is *always* run by people with power. All governments benefit those who are politically concentrated and harm those who are not. There is simply no way to have nice, well-intentioned, altruistic people run the government so that it serves everyone and we all live happily every after. Such beliefs are sheer fantasy. Richard asks "Who runs the government?" with the implication that other answers are possible besides "the powerful". He asks "Who does it serve?" with the implication that other answers are possible besides "the powerful". I believe he is wrong on both counts. Noam Chomsky, historian Gabriel Kolko, and others might argue: "Sauron has the One Ring and is using it to make our lives miserable. We, the forces of good, must wrest it from his hand and use its power to enhance our lives". Libertarians would reply "The power of the One Ring is too dangerous for any to wield. Far better to cast it into the fires of Mt. Doom and leave the inhabitants of Middle Earth to fend for themselves". --Barry -------