Moggs take on Libertarian ideas

Just to avoid confusion I should point out that this is a guest post by Moggs T, though I have published it. I really appreciate the work that has gone into it. Phil A (Ed.)

This Piece is a bit of a departure. I never really wrote anything just political before. I actually contribute to the Nobody Important blog (free advertising ^_^ why not go visit it and check it out).

But I promised to write this for Critical Faculty Dojo and I am not sure we should do raw politics on ours, so here it is. It is quite a serious post, but not what I would call one of my Hard Hat (controversial) posts.... I hope.

Just to explain the back story to this...

I don't know if any of you serious types have heard of Second life. It is an on-line M.U.D. (Multi User Dungeon). A 'game' that lots of people can play at once and interact, though SL is maybe a bit more than just a game as it is used for business conferencing and such also.

Anyway. I am one of those SL avatars, so is the guy who's Blog this is, and also JMB who administers the blog I usually post on.

That's how we know one another, I met them both in SL, I wasn't into blogging till they introduced me to it, both of them being members of the Blogpower group. The Blogpower group met up on SL, I think that's why the joined it, became interested and stayed.

You can do lots of stuff in SL, like shop ^_^ for instance. I like to do that. Or make a simulation of Tudor England. The sky is the limit. One of the things you do most everywhere is chat. On and off I spend a fair bit of time chatting. One of the subjects that came up was politics.

This Post is about Libertarian ideas. The reason I am posting here is I figure I owe a debt of gratitude to the sites creator. Without whom I would probably never have herd of Libertarian thought. And somehow it's like a breath of fresh air.

So anyway, on with the post. For years I could not work out where I fitted in politically. I would agree with bits of various platforms with reservation and really not be able to stand other bits. Trying to mentally pigeon hole myself had me rushing to and fro over the whole political spectrum. Never satisfied that I had figured it out right. A sort of mostly Liberal, Centerist Left/Right wing schizophrenic ^_^.

I wonder if that is one of the reasons for the popularity of single issue campaigns, because maybe other people feel like that.

When I had Libertarian ideas explained and laid out to me I suddenly realised. Hey! This is me! Like a cartoon light bulb over my head.

I realised that mostly the bits of various political parties I had agreed with were the Libertarian bits.

There are only a few basic concepts to it. It is simple really, but if you apply them, then it makes everything simple by comparison. It is almost a philosophy, a way of thinking, used right a tool for thinking.

So what is it?

Well firstly it holds that: You (and everyone else) own your own body and your own time. No one else does, just you. You are responsible for it and only you can be responsible for it.

It holds that you should not initiate force against others.

It also says that legitimate exchange of labour (your time/effort) and property (exchanged for labour or freely given to you) can only be by voluntary mutual consent.

It says you have a right to defend yourself against force or fraud initiated by others.

If you judge stuff by these simple ideas then it is quite simple to see if they are legitimate or not.

If you think about them, then to succeed you need to cooperate and show enlightened self interest.

It is all set out better than I can here in this animation. I think it is great.

I know that some people say Libertarianism is Anarchy, or Right Wing, or sometimes Left wing, or selfish.

I don't think it is any of them. You can act collectively and be Libertarian. Libertarianism is opposed to Authoritarianism. Where someone or group seeks to impose their will/ideas on others using force. The Nanny state “I know better than you, and you will do it my way for your own good” way of thinking.

To my mind Practical Libertarianism is opposed to the State having a hand in everything, telling us what to do and how to do it and in favour of a smaller state doing the essentials and doing them right. It is for Personal responsibility, Consideration for others, laws and the necessary infrastructure that can be understood by all and that protect people against violence theft and intimidation and fraud. Laws that allow for protect and do not interfere with the free exchange of people's property and labour.