Monday Links

Wally Conger at out of step discusses left-libertarianism and its meaning. With the changing alignment of left and right in this country, I agree that personal psychology is becoming more important. Tolerance is becoming a defining trait of the left in the face of an increasingly authoritarian right. The future of libertarianism is reaching out to these leftists and educating them.

Psychopolitik comments on one of the flaws with liberalism in America, the assumption that you have a right to boss your neighbor around. In contrast to the first link, this one shows that there are still nanny-state holdouts in the left on several issues. Our work is cut out for us.

Political Wire is reporting that several soon to be released polls show the third party candidates in the race surging in support. This plays in with my observation that the country is swinging against the Republicans and not toward the Democrats.

Logan wrt to Wally Conger's endorsement of this point about "left libertarians":

This puts us, in most political lexicons, on the Left; since it is anarchist, it places us on the Far Left.”

While I do not identify as either a left or right libertarian, I do know I am not an anarchist. Indeed, libertarians are distinguished from anarchists in that the former agree that the state properly exists for some important purposes. Generally, I adhere to Hayek (with at least one impt point of disagreement). Hayek was not an anarchist.

Wally Conger and other left-libertarians are anarchists, but as Brad Spangler has noted before the minarchist/traditional libertarian position that does not go all the way to anarchism is the new pink. In the same way that the hard core Marxists would be a source of inspiration to the more moderate socialists, I look to the extremists in the left-libertarian movement to make sure I don't become too complacent with state authority.