Young Libertarians and Hippies: Close Political Cousins

I often find myself amused by the views of some libertarians.

Many libertarians cling to their version of freedom and liberty like a crack addict clings to his pipe. I often wonder if many libertarians hope for the demise of America just so their predictions can come true. I can see some libertarians 200 years from now, when America finally succumbs and is no longer the world power it is today, saying “see I told you so. We predicted this 200 years ago.”

Disagree with some libertarians and you will inevitably be called a statist, collectivist, Communist, socialist, or brainwashed sycophant. Many libertarians have found enough Communists in America and elements of the Communist Manifesto in American government that it is a wonder that Senator Joe McCarthy hasn't rolled over and jumped out of his grave.

Many libertarians like to present a view of America that amounts to cherry picking the best of times from several periods in history. Give them a dash of 19th century American economic policy, a pinch of medieval Iceland, a large dose of “free market” Hong Kong, the civil and social advancements of the late 20th century, e.g., women’s rights, end of Jim Crow, etc., a little more liberty from the early 21st century, e.g., same-sex marriage and the decriminalization of marijuana, the technological advances of the 20th century and the 21st century, e.g., the world wide web and wireless communication, and you have the beginning of their version of utopian America. Of course, there are the guns. Some libertarians have to “cling to their guns,” because nothing says freedom and liberty like a “well-armed militia.”

Then, of course, there is the issue of personal responsibility. Many libertarians view any “infringement” on their right to do whatever the heck they please, in their pursuit of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” as an affront to their civil liberties. The balance between personal freedom and public safety is not something they always seem overly concerned about because people are basically good and charitable neighbors. Natural law will take care of the “bad apples” and any attempt to codify that behavior amounts to a police state.

Like most people they hate taxes and any law they disagree with must be repealed, otherwise they are at best political prisoners and freedom fighters and at worst indentured servants or, worse yet, enemy captives in a hostile and foreign land. The rest of us are slaves. Some libertarians even advocate for the United States to have two currencies. There is a faction that feels the government should endorse multiple currencies and monetary policies. Think about that, if they can’t eliminate the Federal Reserve, a move that would certainly destabilize world markets, then they want the government to have multiple monetary policies and competing currencies, something that hasn’t happened since the 19th century. Imagine traveling from state to state or region to region and the value of your currency changing as you go from California to Nevada or New York to Texas. Travel down I-95 and maybe your dollar value changes two or three times. Maybe we’ll just all keep precious jewels in our trunk or satchels.

All that's left to do is fling open the borders, legalize all drugs, “bring the boys home,” and there you have the modern-day America. Free love, the government out of the way, and lots of drugs ... wait a minute ... some libertarians are just “hippies!”