this post was submitted on 21 Sep 2023
1537 points (91.9% liked)

Memes

45522 readers
1242 users here now

Rules:

  1. Be civil and nice.
  2. Try not to excessively repost, as a rule of thumb, wait at least 2 months to do it if you have to.

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
 
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 112 points 1 year ago (83 children)

The only way for libertarianism to work is if every human had only good intentions. Since that’s simply never going to happen libertarianism will never work. Just my opinion feel free to disagree.

[–] [email protected] 58 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Libertarianism is a theory espoused to those with good intentions by people that have bad intentions.

It doesn’t work for almost anyone. But it super works for some. That’s the point.

load more comments (5 replies)
load more comments (82 replies)
[–] [email protected] 83 points 1 year ago (5 children)

The difference is that they think that gatekeeping poor people from services in order to bring costs down for everyone else is valid. I've seen libertarians argue that the solution to tuition and healthcare being expensive is to stop helping poor people, because that will drive demand down and lower prices for people who can already afford it. I've seen libertarians argue that the solution to people scalping groceries is to let grocery stores price gouge. Their solutions only ever involve helping people who don't need help at the expense of people who do. Libertarianism is "me, me, me right now now now" dressed up in fancy language. It's the political philosophy of a tumor.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 year ago

"It's the political philosophy of a tumor." Fantastic analogy!

[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Libertarianism is a great system if you're using it as a backdrop for a cyberpunk dystopia.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 50 points 1 year ago (2 children)

“We live in a society” - the jonkler

“Not if I can help it” - libertarians

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 year ago (2 children)

As far as I can tell, the ones with money want a free hand to do whatever they want to others without repercussion, and the ones without money are willfully drinking the Kool Aid and being led around by the nose philosophically.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 year ago

You ever hear a libertarian complain about flying? Fascinating one-person debate about airlines and deregulation.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Being Libertarian means never having to admit you’re a Republican

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Libertarians are just Republicans that want to smoke weed.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago

Be fair. Some of them are republicans who are more open about not wanting age of consent to be a thing.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Typically they argue the government is the cause of the problems (which is frequently correct) and the solution is to remove regulations that create the inefficiencies (which rarely goes to plan and frequently involves enriching them).

It's clownish just for different reasons than the meme suggests.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Their solution to an inefficient fly swatter is to get rid of it, spread honey over every surface, and offer to sell their services as an exterminator.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Most "libertarians" are this dumb, but the old school ones at least attribute the problems to uneven regulation rigged in favor of the ruling class, which does jive with my understanding of what is wrong with the financial system. That being said, libertarianism wouldn't work even if they did get shit straight.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago

The vast majority of libertarians are (in my experience) just conservatives that want to smoke weed. They believe a lot of the same awful shit. The rest of them have deluded themselves into thinking that a libertarian society is viable when it is laughably not. They generally consider themselves to be way more capable and independent than reality can support.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (7 children)

Many years ago a bunch got together and essentially took over a town. Several years later the town got over ran by bears because no one wanted to handle trash properly.

load more comments (7 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Believing Libertarians argue in good faith. 🤡

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago

Thats cause if they argue in good faith they wont be Libertarians for long.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)

How is it that free market's modus operandi seem to be attempting suicide every few years?

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago (2 children)

It's not free enough!!!!

No joke, though, there are people who think that letting things hit the wall as fast and hard as possible is desirable. It's called accelerationism.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago (6 children)

North America has never been a free market. Even since the days of Sumer have there been regulations on commerce. We will never have a free market.

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I've seen them claim that a natural monopoly cannot exist and that monopolies we see today are all enforced by government regulation.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago

i thought being a libertarian was cool when i was 20 and wanted to smoke weed but didn't know how to get any

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I kept reading that as librarian

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Zoning codes that restrict density are the opposite of a free market.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (13 children)

I’m sorry but anyone who thinks we’re actually in a free capitalist system is delusional. The freedom is a lie they sell us to perpetuate the system.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

Free capitalism leads to this.

If you had more free capitalism it would just consolidate into neofeudalism faster.

load more comments (12 replies)
load more comments
view more: next ›