Vault 7 - Happening

[apeman]

Perhaps I have dug deep enough in this rich seam of defeat and despair. But in case I haven't, let's observe that the United States once had a healthy and functioning libertarian Constitution, with Ninth and Tenth Amendments that were anything but inkblots. 220 years later, we have... what we have now. Does this inspire you with great confidence in limited government as a durable and effective engineering principle? Suppose, by some miracle, libertarians elect Ron Paul, and he actually succeeds in reforming Washington and restoring the 1787 interpretation of the Constitution. And how many years would this last? Why would we expect different results on the second go?

[SuburbanFarmer]

That's a tough sell to the middle class, and a non-starter for the elites.
Grandma won't sign on, so that leaves young, angry, and poor people supporting it - along with some hardcore rednecks that can supply their own food.

Not likely to achieve political victory.

[SilverEagle]

That's a tough sell to the middle class, and a non-starter for the elites.
Grandma won't sign on, so that leaves young, angry, and poor people supporting it - along with some hardcore rednecks that can supply their own food.

Not likely to achieve political victory.

I sure it never will. Besides, we as a species are nowhere near ready for that and I don't think we ever will be but its my dream.

[apeman]

All schools of libertarianism, whether Rothbardian or Randian or (nearly-stillborn) Nozickian, rest on the idea of limited government. Note the intrinsic absurdity of this concept. If some government is limited by its own volition, it can abandon these limits at any time. (Historical experience suggests that the "sacred-document" trick is of extremely limited utility in preventing it from doing so.) If the government is limited by some external power, it is not a government in the usual sense of the word, and we should direct our attention to the limiting power.

[SuburbanFarmer]

All schools of libertarianism, whether Rothbardian or Randian or (nearly-stillborn) Nozickian, rest on the idea of limited government. Note the intrinsic absurdity of this concept. If some government is limited by its own volition, it can abandon these limits at any time. (Historical experience suggests that the "sacred-document" trick is of extremely limited utility in preventing it from doing so.) If the government is limited by some external power, it is not a government in the usual sense of the word, and we should direct our attention to the limiting power.

This is profound. Good post. Highly recommended for quoting and signatures.

[SuburbanFarmer]

That's a tough sell to the middle class, and a non-starter for the elites.
Grandma won't sign on, so that leaves young, angry, and poor people supporting it - along with some hardcore rednecks that can supply their own food.

Not likely to achieve political victory.

I sure it never will. Besides, we as a species are nowhere near ready for that and I don't think we ever will be but its my dream.

What exactly does your dream look like though? Where does Grandma get her medical care? How do the disabled and lame support themselves? What stops the elites from turning into warlords and enacting a feudal system?

[SilverEagle]

That's a tough sell to the middle class, and a non-starter for the elites.
Grandma won't sign on, so that leaves young, angry, and poor people supporting it - along with some hardcore rednecks that can supply their own food.

Not likely to achieve political victory.

I sure it never will. Besides, we as a species are nowhere near ready for that and I don't think we ever will be but its my dream.

What exactly does your dream look like though? Where does Grandma get her medical care? How do the disabled and lame support themselves? What stops the elites from turning into warlords and enacting a feudal system?

That's why I said we as a species are not ready and never will be.

[TheReal_ND]

Anarcho-capitalist or communist? Ancaps are ok. STICKMAN was with some ancaps at Berkeley.

[SilverEagle]

Anarcho-capitalist or communist? Ancaps are ok. STICKMAN was with some ancaps at Berkeley.

Anarcho-Capitalist

[apeman]

Our young people are protesting being exposed to conservative speakers on campus instead of massive unconstitutional spy efforts.

These people have a vote that counts just as much as mine.