As the author notes, every faction swung wildly except for moderates in both parties. A huge majority overall believe the government will use NSA surveillance data for purposes other than to fight terrorism. The author wonders whether a third party will coalesce out of the libertarians on the left and right.
8 comments:
Are there libertarians on the left? Certainly there are liberals with civil liberties concerns -- I have a fair amount of common ground with them, sometimes.
Don't you think? They're just worried about government intrusion into a different set of rights, or sometimes intrusion by Big Whatever that they don't trust this year. It's the one area where I often agree with liberals.
I just wonder if it's right to call that left-libertarian. The core value of a small government isn't present; they want a large and activist government, just one that is handcuffed in certain specific ways.
True -- I tend to use the word to describe not just small government enthusiasts but proponents of strong limitations on government power in a variety of situations, even if they (for whatever reason) support overweening government in others. Maybe it's just a question of whether they seem most exercised by the infringement of liberties (typically gay rights, abortion, marijuana and so on) or by the overwhelming need for a strong government to ensure that every single citizen has an above-average lifestyle. Conservatives, too, have this split, but on different subjects.
I'm not surprised at the Tea Party adjustment. In 2010, they were a one-issue collection of groupings focused on spending and Obamacare, with much of their Obamacare concern centered on spending.
In the interim, they've grown up some politically in that they've broadened their scope. But it's harder to coalesce around 4-5 issues than it is around 1, and they're feeling the effects of that.
Eric Hines
Grim, I've come across a few (very few) bloggers who are economic leftists but libertarian on social matters. Two of them are all in favor of voluntary communism and detest the current government with white heat. I've not read their work long enough, to see how they deal with some of the potential contradictions in their positions.
LittleRed1
Interesting, LR1.
Posting above about my old civic club reminds me: Our major political issue was the movement to convert our voluntary association to a mandatory one with lien foreclosure powers. When this essentially "limited government" issue sorted itself out in the neighborhood, which was about half Dem and half Rep, I never could see a party pattern to the factions. There were "country club" Republicans who were all for strict HOA control of unsightly cars on driveways, and there were "nanny state" Democrats who favored the same. The coalition that elected me was between libertarians in both parties.
Post a Comment