My friend, Charles Hope, and I have been having a great political discussion about Libertarianism for the past six months. I'm a relative new comer to this political philosophy, and Charles has been good enough to debate with me over emails. Plenty of links and books shared.
This video shows Craig Newmark, the founder of Craig's List, explaining his political stance. He says he's a "Libertarian Moderate", right of center. He admits that he made up this term and is searching for a label that fits his world view. Funny enough, he says that Markos Moulitsas of the ultra liberal Daily Kos calls himself a "Libertarian Democrat".
I tell Charles that many people on the "Left" probably lean more towards Libertarianism. We believe in free speech, separation of church and state, government out of our personal lives, self-responsibility. We start getting skeptical when the Freemarket is touted as a solution to all problems though. Too many rigged games on all sides. But like Craig says, "I just want to give people a break." I doubt he means welfare, but a system where everyone truly has equal access and are kept honest. I think Craig's List is a great example of a fair system: everyone has equal access to information, basic rules apply to everyone that help avoid/punish fraud, moderators track any problems and keep rules enforced, and all members of the community can help flag/police negative players. If I act fairly, I should be treated fairly.
(Today is also Day 1 of Videoblogging Month 2008 VloMo08)
Update: There is a a great podcast with Naomi Kelin on the LewRockwell Show here. She is considered an ultra liberal, but admits she's leaning more and more towards Libertarianism, especially on human rights. Lew and Naomi have a great conversation where they share how they got to this way of thinking. The economic worldview is the real key. What does a "Free Market" mean, and how would it really work in reality?
