On Thursday, I somehow stumbled onto the site of The Two Percent Company (hereinafter “2%Co”), “an informal group of folks who are concerned about the current direction of our country and our world.” Maybe I followed a mysterious link, maybe I was searching for something else; at any rate, the page I found was a critique of the Libertarian Party’s platform. (2%Co rightly point out that the LP contradicts itself on family matters, a subject from which I recuse myself, as I’m unlikely ever to be a father.)
On several points, 2%Co said in effect “this is just plain stupid” without giving any hint of argument. So I wrote:
Have you ever tried *asking* a libertarian why they don’t expect disaster to result from implementing their platform? Or do you just assume that none of them have ever thought beyond the sound-bite?
2%Co’s reply said in part,
Assuming for a moment that you are a Libertarian (we could be wrong, since you haven’t told us that you are), . . . .
I gave a summary of my history with the Party (1990-6), adding:
On principle I’m an anarchist, because otherwise I’d advocate coercing others to actively support (at least through taxes) schemes that they may find repugnant, and that revolts me. But in practice I imagine I’d be comfortable with a “meso-libertarian” regime.
Their mail also led me indirectly to their blog entry on the same subject, and I posted four brief comments there. Rather than respond to my specific remarks on gun control, medicine, devolution, neutrality, immigration and transportation, 2%Co chose to make an issue of my anarchism (which I had not mentioned there); and like an ass I took the bait. In an attempt to bring that thread back on topic, I’ll confine further remarks on anarchism to my own blog. Most of you will likely find it dreary reading. Continue reading