Monkey Tale

Introduction

First of all, let me start off by saying I normally avoid the subject of politics. As an analytical thinker, I do not believe that science and politics are necessarily compatible subjects, with politics often getting in the way of good science. We can see evidence of this if we look at the previous Bush administration’s stance on the environment, even when the vast majority of the scientific community were shouting from the hilltops about global warming, Bush’s scientific advisory panel were in stark denial that it even existed. On the other hand, Bush’s opponents were of course using this as a counter attack on his policies in general, and it is clear to me that whatever the truth of the matter, you cannot trust someone with a political stance or motive. Another prime example is Al Gore. Is he really obsessed with saving the world, or has he merely picked up an emotive and galvanising issue that gets lot of media attention? Because he is a politician my thoughts are clouded by that very fact, and this is the very opposite of how one should treat scientific ideas.

Regardless, very recently I was introduced to the idea of Libertarianism by a close friend and the founder of a successful Libertarian website. Anyone interested in exploring Libertarianism should check it out, I have found it to be very informative, not just about politics but I have improved my knowledge of group dynamics from participating on their forums. A word of caution though: if you are anti-Libertarian or pro government, or even naive to the ideas that form Libertarianism then you may be in for a rough ride. The site is more suited for those that already have an established idea and open approval of Libertarian ideology.

The problem with me (and other non-Libertarians)

Well I think the main problem is ignorance. Before joining the website mentioned above I had very little idea about what libertarianism was about. Of course I had heard words such as Liberation and liberate and assumed it was something to do with that, but the details escaped me. Libertarianism is in fact all about personal freedom (liberty) and personal responsibility. Typically, Libertarians want to get rid of all forms of government and make the day to day decisions involved in running the country based on the personal thoughts of the individual: personal responsibility. Presumably, they believe that people are inherently good and are capable of making sound decisions that are going to benefit society at large.

Now the problem I have with all of this is I do not think people are inherently good. Oh, I like the idea of that optimistic philosophy, but the evidence of my past experiences disproves this notion, and strongly. I guess you could say that all of my experiences have only been from the viewpoint of someone that has been brought up in a government run society, and this is true. This may be the second problem I have. We are all so very used to being governed, even before parliament we had kings and queens telling us what to do and it is literally part of our culture. We are in a sense like cattle that have been domesticated, unable to completely think or fend for themselves. And as such, I guess we are opposed to getting rid of that rule and we assume that government and anarchy are mutually exclusive, for if we got rid of the decision makers our wives and daughters would be raped and we would be beaten slaves, right? Scenes from the movie Mad Max would become a reality and the very nature of society would fall apart. I doubt this very much, but things would certainly be different and people do not like change, especially domesticated people. Anyway, these are the main problems I have as a non-Libertarian.

The problem with Libertarians

Libertarians generally believe in getting rid of government completely, or having a very small state with much less control over the individual. Sometimes I feel like that too, and I know other people do. Gay Fawkes certainly thought that, a man who’s murder we still celebrate yearly. I guess this is one of the problems Libertarians have, and it relates strongly the problems non-Libertarians have as mentioned above. People are so very opposed to change, and the people in charge are so very keen to keep their power that I do not see it likely to happen any time soon.

Secondly, Libertarians want to abolish a lot of things that we take for granted and are emotionally attached to. For example, the majority of them want to get rid of the NHS, minimum wage, the police force, social services, the fire brigade, you name it, if its state run they want to get rid of it. In its place they would like the private sector to take over and they are generally strong advocates of capitalism, something that by principle many left-winged people are against. Services such as the NHS are very popular, with both main parties criticising their opponents for not supporting it financially to the degree that they claim they would, even though traditionally the Conservatives were against a state run health service. They realise that the vast majority of people are in favour of it, it is something we are generally proud of. We laugh at the Americans and their health insurance!

On the forum of the aforementioned website, I stated some viewpoints which were obviously contrasting that of the majority of the people on the site. I received various comments, nearly all were passionate, and some were too passionate for my liking, quite possibly because I was not in agreement with the ideas presented to me.  This, I believe is the main problem that anyone involved in subjects that are largely based on beliefs; be it politics or religion have: they are so very passionate about their beliefs that they will not always listen to opposing views and will attack you virulently should you engage them with opinions they do not share. This makes people with a different mode of thought act just as emotionally and miss the point completely, often reacting just as badly if not worst that the person “provoking” them. Needless to say, I left the website in a strop, something that I am not proud of, however I have learnt from. Most of all I have learnt about my own behaviour and I think if I were to join the website again I would approach things differently, more subtly perhaps, listening instead of speaking.

Additionally I felt there was a lack of logic in some of their arguments, and did not feel I was able to present my own viewpoint across to them effectively due to the difficultly in communication as mentioned above (on both parties). For example it occurred to me that no one on the minimum wage was asking for it to be dropped. The vast majority of people wishing to get rid of state run services are in the lucky position of being able to pay for private alternatives. I know as a young boy I depended heavily on such things and doubt very much I would be where I am today without the state-provided support that I received. I also find it ironic that they all claim to want individual decisions and responsibility and yet they seem to be singing from the exact same hymn sheet, word for word. There seemed to be a pro-Conservative view point from several of the people I spoke to, which seemed counter intuitive to me, and when I asked them to stop “lefty bashing” I was told “No can do” and that as someone that holds mostly left-wing ideas to heart I deserved it. This hostile stance does not welcome people into sharing a common ideology or seeing their version of reason, but although I understand it is in jest, I was not keen on the pro-conservative edge there appear to be, as previously I assumed Libertarianism as a Liberal thing. Although Libertarians claim to be distant from both main parties they do seem to share more in common with the old style conservatives, something I could never support.

The problem with Libertarianism

It is my personal opinion that the problem with Libertarianism is not the idea itself, which is a vast one at that, but an aggressive minority of the very people that are the driving force behind the movement, and their unwillingness to engage in frank and open discussion with those that do not share their ideology. These people are maybe too passionate, as is the case with any form of politics, especially when emotive subjects such as the NHS or the minimum wage are brought into play. The problem is even open minded people like myself (I like to think so anyway) need to be talked to carefully and calmly as we are just as emotive about said subjects. I believe if Libertarianism is to ever succeed, these people need to have a clear, effective strategy based on the known psychology of people they are trying to persuade. At the moment this does not seem to be the case from my very limited exposure to the subject.

The idea itself is of course is a huge one - and one that has not yet been tested in a modern setting which is another problem. These ideas are scary. What is being proposed by these people would change our very existence on a massive level, and fundamentally change society forever. Most people just want to watch TV and have a nice dinner when they get home from their 9-5. Most people don’t really care enough to do anything about global warming, the world-wide Aids epidemic, or even stop a robber from stealing a purse, so maybe it is a bit much to ask people to get rid of government. People have been talking about getting rid of the redundant Monarchy for decades, it’s all just talk I’m afraid as people are inherently apathetic. Those that are not tend to be perceived as petulant or other passionate by the majority and communication fails however you attempt it. These are just my own opinions of course and I would be fascinated to hear what others have to say on the matter.