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0 pointsrevscat9y ago0 comments

And is the fundamental belief of libertarians: that governments can do nothing right, either morally or pragmatically.

0 comments

That's not accurate. They seem more concerned that every bit of power given to government to do something right will eventually be used to do something wrong.

RHSeeger9y ago

To be fair, there's a long and repeated history in the US of

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GOV: We know this law is overreaching, but we promise we'll only use it the "right" way.

... 2 years goes by ...

GOV: If you don't <plead guilty | accept this plea bargain>, we'll tack on a charge of breaking <this law that is overreaching>, even though you didn't violate what it's supposed to be about, and add 20 years to your sentence.

----

It's seen over and over. The US citizen's distrust of government getting more power than it absolutely needs isn't paranoid, it's based on the actions of the government.

notahacker9y ago

Conversely, and more relevantly to regulations on self-regulating cars, there's a long and repeated history of

GROUP: The regulation is anti-business, anti-freedom and massively outdated. We should sweep it all away and deregulate this sector as much as possible. The market will take care of the bad companies.

...2 years goes by...

GROUP: Do you know how important it is that this industry survives? Please give us some money to fix it. And some of the behaviour of some companies in our industry is unethical and dangerous and really should be stopped. Why didn't you step in earlier?

nommm-nommm9y ago

That's exactly what the libertarians on HN post. I seriously hope it's a very vocal minority though.

tomp9y ago

I'm (mostly) a libertarian, and I disagree. I think the government is fundamental at keeping the society sane, secure and organized.

jotato9y ago

I agree. I find my self leaning libertarian as of the last few years. To me it isn't about no regulation; just no "nanny" regulation

opo9y ago

No that is simply not true. Just because someone doesn't think that the war on drugs is a good idea or that prostitution should not be criminalized, etc. doesn't mean they think "governments can do nothing right"

libertarians != anarchists

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

travoc9y ago

That's not accurate. They seem more concerned that every bit of power given to government to do something right will eventually be used to do something wrong.

RHSeeger9y ago

To be fair, there's a long and repeated history in the US of

----

GOV: We know this law is overreaching, but we promise we'll only use it the "right" way.

... 2 years goes by ...

----

It's seen over and over. The US citizen's distrust of government getting more power than it absolutely needs isn't paranoid, it's based on the actions of the government.

notahacker9y ago

Conversely, and more relevantly to regulations on self-regulating cars, there's a long and repeated history of

...2 years goes by...

nommm-nommm9y ago

That's exactly what the libertarians on HN post. I seriously hope it's a very vocal minority though.

tomp9y ago

I'm (mostly) a libertarian, and I disagree. I think the government is fundamental at keeping the society sane, secure and organized.

jotato9y ago

I agree. I find my self leaning libertarian as of the last few years. To me it isn't about no regulation; just no "nanny" regulation

opo9y ago

libertarians != anarchists

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse