Libertarians - Fighting for the Truth

In the battle of ideas, Austro-Libertarianism – either in spite or because of its logical consistency – is lumbered with several burdens that are not always shared with opposing philosophies. Some of these – such as the fact that libertarianism is not a complete moral philosophy and can look, at best, cold and emotionless, or, at worst, a recipe for rampant selfishness and egotism – we have examined elsewhere. Let us explore a few more of them and suggest reasons for how they can be overcome, or at least mitigated as much as possible.

The Collectivist Mentality

Perhaps the biggest problem we face is that the fundamental tenets of the modern, democratic state are thought to be beyond question. We are told that democracy is the best system of government, that voting means freedom, that politicians serve their people and “the nation”. Whichever moral or political debate happens to be filling the headlines, it is always a debate that takes place within the system rather that as an attempt t…