Why I am no longer a libertarian

I’ve considered myself a libertarian since before even learning what the word meant, as a teenager if I remember correctly. I’ve never, ever seen the logic in prohibiting consensual activity where there is no clear, self-identifying victim. I’ve never been a fan of anyone forcing their will upon another unless that person “started it” by forcing their will upon another and thereby violating the golden rule in the first place. And, of course, I’ve voted for Libertarian Party candidates and met with Libertarian activists.

But I will no longer call myself a libertarian.

The typical American, upon hearing the term will either not know what the political philosophy means (or what the party stands for), or they will dismiss the philosophy (or party) as being irrelevant. At the very least, they will dismiss it as being of little relevance.

And, keep in mind that politics pertains to government and that government, boiled down, is power and force. So, another way of saying that a political movement is of little relevance is to say that it is weak. And another way of saying that a movement is weak is to say that it is harmless.

Now I know some of you may be saying “Well, I want a harmless government. I want a weak government.” Well, so do I. I want as little government as possible, probably less government than you do. However, you’re not going to get a weaker, more harmless government by giving it an example to follow. You ain’t gonna get the bully to stop bullying by showing him just how cool it is to be a you-know-what.

And I know some of you may be saying that it’s a sell-out move to abandon a political philosopy in such a way, but I’m not abandoning the political philosophy. I still agree with its tenets as much as I always have, 100%. My issue is with what the word has come to mean. Just as the word “gay,” once upon a time meant “happy,” so too has the word libertarian been co-opted, from my vantage point anyway.

The biggest voices espousing libertarianism, I have discovered, seem to have an aversion to the idea that violence is an effective and necessary tool.

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