The Mises Community
An online community for fans of Austrian economics and libertarianism, featuring forums, user blogs, and more.

Ideological "evolution" among libertarians

rated by 0 users
This post has 31 Replies | 9 Followers

Top 150 Contributor
Posts 251
Points 4,950

age 11-12 somewhat vague political ideas, clinton democrat. 13-15 platonic/imperialist/fascist/philosopher king, 16-now laissez-faireist.

  • | Post Points: 5
Top 50 Contributor
Male
Posts 599
Points 12,580

My first political thoughts emerged at about 12. Became a social democrat.

Made my way up to being a Leninist at about 16. Considered joining the socialist party, but hesitated.

Then, I discovered Alex Jones and "anti-NWO conservatism". For some reason, that seemed more logical than socialism, so I became a conservative, and a Ron Paul libertarian at around 17.

Finally, I arrived at mises.org and through countless debates with patient members, became an anarchist.

It's funny how we have so many former leftists here, but only rarely a fully educated libertarian turns to social democracy.


  • | Post Points: 35
Top 100 Contributor
Posts 294
Points 5,845

Sphairon:

My first political thoughts emerged at about 12. Became a social democrat.

Made my way up to being a Leninist at about 16. Considered joining the socialist party, but hesitated.

Then, I discovered Alex Jones and "anti-NWO conservatism". For some reason, that seemed more logical than socialism, so I became a conservative, and a Ron Paul libertarian at around 17.

Finally, I arrived at mises.org and through countless debates with patient members, became an anarchist.

It's funny how we have so many former leftists here, but only rarely a fully educated libertarian turns to social democracy.

That's the point, I think. Even if it's impossible to draw conclusions based con correlation numbers in social studies, I know that many socialists turned into a laissez-faire approach. I don't know many cases in which the opposite happened.

  • | Post Points: 5
Top 75 Contributor
Male
Posts 512
Points 9,510
Dondoolee replied on Sat, Aug 8 2009 12:56 PM

Laughing Man:

Dondoolee:
Socialist (15-17), Apolitical/Nhilistic (18-23), Constitutional Monarchist(24), Minarchist Hamiltonian(25-26), Libertarian(26), Stirnerite(26)

You're a follow of Max Stirner?

 

I tend to agree with him more than with most others I have read, all he really did was pretty much sum up the way I thought since I was about 17 anyway.

 Let us look then and see, how they manage their concerns- they for whose cause we are to labor, devote ourselves, and grow enthusiastic

 -Max Stirner, The Ego and His Own

  • | Post Points: 20
Top 10 Contributor
Male
Posts 2,802
Points 49,845
Moderator

Dondoolee:
I tend to agree with him more than with most others I have read, all he really did was pretty much sum up the way I thought since I was about 17 anyway.

Do you mind if I ask you a question on him?

'It is difficult to imagine any normal person wishing to meet Marx for a third time.' - Alexander Gray, The Socialist Tradition

  • | Post Points: 20
Top 10 Contributor
Male
Posts 7,643
Points 132,720
MVP
SystemAdministrator

Laughing Man:
Do you mind if I ask you a question on him?

Start a new thread or have a private conversation through your control panels.  Let's not get this completely off track with sidebar conversations and random comments throughout.  Thanks.

If you find something evil that wobbles, push it. - Gary North

  • | Post Points: 20
Top 75 Contributor
Male
Posts 512
Points 9,510

liberty student:

Laughing Man:
Do you mind if I ask you a question on him?

Start a new thread or have a private conversation through your control panels.  Let's not get this completely off track with sidebar conversations and random comments throughout.  Thanks.

 

good idea, just add a comment on my page.

 Let us look then and see, how they manage their concerns- they for whose cause we are to labor, devote ourselves, and grow enthusiastic

 -Max Stirner, The Ego and His Own

  • | Post Points: 5
Not Ranked
Male
Posts 11
Points 130

Apolitical (Teens) -> Neo-Con (Sept 11 2001 - 2007) -> Strict US Constituionalist  mostly from Ron Paul. (2008-2009) -> Minarchist and flirting with ancap, thanks to Mises.org (Present).

I still have a lot of reading to do but I'm becoming more and more convinced every day that the state is unnecessary, I just have yet to fully reconcile all issues with this assertion.

  • | Post Points: 20
Top 200 Contributor
Male
Posts 151
Points 3,180

social democrat 20002-2007 ( I liked John Kerry)

paleo-conservative or constitutionalist 2007- early 2008 (because of Dr. Paul)

libertarian minarchist early 2008 - late 2008 (Cato institute)

radical minarchist (think Ayn Rand) late 2008 - early 2009 (Rothbard came along, and I flirted with an-cap without converting)

anarcho-capitalist or voluntaryist early 2009 - present

Most of my time as a self-styled 'radical' minarchist was spent knowing that anarcho-capitalist arguments were more logically and intellectually consistent, but I refused to accept this because it made me uncomfortable. It was earlier this year that I finally decided to solidify the change.

 

"Constitution worship is our most extended public political ritual, frequently supervised as often by mountebanks as by the sincere"
-James J Martin

  • | Post Points: 5
Top 500 Contributor
Posts 67
Points 1,250
Avram replied on Sat, Aug 8 2009 10:27 PM

Communist, Democrat, Conservative, Fascist, Ron Paul, For a New Liberty Rothbardian

 

I do not think Anarchocapitalism will ever come around in our time or any time soon. But as an ideal I have found it the most inspiring to date. Somehow though I have a fear that as Rothbard put it, if there was a button, and I pressed it, we would get war of all against all and the rise of the state again. I know there has been a lot of work saying how this shouldn't be. But its what happened, we have states even though civilization and man were born free.

 

When it comes to matters of practical politics I lean towards a friedmanite sort of libertarian. Get some taxes cut while I'm alive, get rid of some silly government programs and regulations here and there.

Drip away at the state with in reason. No hiccups. Just slowly wear away the rock sorta thing

  • | Post Points: 20
Top 75 Contributor
Posts 410
Points 8,530

Sphairon:
but only rarely a fully educated libertarian turns to social democracy.

Ya rarely. i think Hayek did turn more interventionist as he got older, so did Robert Nozick

do we get free cheezeburger in socielism?

  • | Post Points: 5
Top 100 Contributor
Posts 294
Points 5,845

Avram:

Communist, Democrat, Conservative, Fascist, Ron Paul, For a New Liberty Rothbardian

Wow.

  • | Post Points: 5
Page 2 of 2 (32 items) < Previous 1 2 | RSS

Ludwig von Mises Institute | 518 West Magnolia Avenue | Auburn, Alabama 36832-4528

Phone: 334.321.2100 · Fax: 334.321.2119

contact@Mises.org | webmaster | AOL-IM MainMises

Mises.org sitemap