Jan 15
8712396
Those wishing to find Andrew Ian Dodge’s libertarian posts need only go over to Samizdata.blogspot.com Any overflow of his musings on liberty will be posted here. One such can be found below.
It was interesting to read Johnny Student’s excellent post, on Samizdata.blogspot.com, on the God-mandated aspect to the left’s belief in big government. The statist right pursues its aim with the same messianic zest. There are few Republicans who are for “less government” despite Republican manifesto. It is more common for Republicans of all ilks to be for “different government.”
Their aim is to use the power of the government to impose their mostly Christian viewpoint on the country. It is not uncommon in heated debates both on and offline to be called “godless” when outing oneself as a libertarian. In some cases, it is possible to find oneself describe as a libertine or worse. In many cases it is necessary to declare yourself a “Christian” and a libertarian before engaging in discussion with the pious right.
Anyone interested in this sort of discussion may visit www.asmainegoes.com which has been the scene of many a raucous argument of the lack of morality and debatable “goodness” of those who call themselves libertarians. This argument usually begins with the pious ones trying to imply that libertarians are somehow cryto-anarchists who wish to overthrow all laws. It is never clear whether the laws meant are the heavenly or the earthly bound.
After being at the centre of many such discussions I have come to doubt whether it is possible to both a good Christian and a good libertarian. There are of course several sites dedicated to this discussion, one of which is www.self-gov.org/christian/, but I have yet to be convinced. Is not Christianity morally, ecumenically and practically intrusive by its very nature? Is this impression merely based on the religion’s implementation by its adherents.
Natural law can be seen as an earthly challenge to “heavenly” religion-derived law . Often it is claimed that the law in the US and the UK is derived from the Judeo-Christian tradition. So what does that make proponents of natural law? Of for that matter those us who wish to limit the scope of law and government to its absolute minumum?
Is there any co-incidence that many of the US’ founding fathers were in fact deists not “Christians” and that many of those who have spent the last 200+ years ignoring the limited government ideals of the founding documents of the country were believers?
Are libertarians truely the spawn of the devil sent to try the beliefs of statists as they go about doing God’s work?
