Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!hou3c!hocda!houxm!houxz!vax135!floyd!cmcl2!seismo!hao!hplabs!sdcrdcf!sdcsvax!dcdwest!ittvax!decvax!mcnc!ecsvax!dgary From: dgary@ecsvax.UUCP Newsgroups: net.philosophy Subject: Re: Whither Are We Drifting? Message-ID: <2710@ecsvax.UUCP> Date: Mon, 11-Jun-84 21:52:38 EDT Article-I.D.: ecsvax.2710 Posted: Mon Jun 11 21:52:38 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 14-Jun-84 23:47:41 EDT References: denelcor.471 Lines: 46 >From: neal@denelcor.UUCP Sat Jun 9 15:49:17 1984 ... >there are two (very closely connected) reasons that I'm a libertarian. > > 1. I think I can do a better job of running my life than some >Washington bureaucrat. > > 2. As a productive member of society, I very much resent the >government(s) punishing productivity and rewarding non-productivity (or >even bad luck). I'd call myself a 'Libertarian' except that Libertarians focus on the evils of government the way some religious conservatives latch onto sex. It is certainly true that the government can inhibit my liberty, but it is also true that my freedom is endangered by labor unions, businesses, and even public attitudes. I don't restrict myself to matters of physical force (almost all Libertarians contend the government at least should prevent criminal use of force). The 64 Civil Rights Act, for example, was a case of government intervention that increased my liberty. So is this state's Right to Work Law that prohibits 'union shops'. You can probably think of other examples. Something that can inhibit my liberty is 'bad luck' and it seems rather cold to me to suggest that people suffering through no fault of their own should be allowed to starve. My grandmother may have been 'unproductive' in her declining years, but she needed the government assistance she received. The rest of the family was 'productive' but could not spare enough extra to help her out. If your family or friends have never had a similar experience, you have been fortunate, indeed. In connection with another posting on the same subject: I'm surprised that people take seriously the 'philosophy' of Any Rand. It seems to me any serious adherent of libertarian thought would strive to vigorously disassociate him/herself from Rand's writing. But, then again, there are people who take Scientology very seriously, too... (Any Velikovskians out there??) :-) :-) :-) :-) D Gary Grady Duke University Computation Center, Durham, NC 27706 (919) 684-4146 USENET: {decvax,ihnp4,akgua,etc.}!mcnc!ecsvax!dgary