Rand is a Republican who comes from a libetarian perspective. He believes that the portions of our Civil Rights laws that affect businesses should be rolled back. In short, public institutions should not be allowed to discriminate; but private businesses may. He declares that he would not support businesses that would discriminate, but they should lose in the market place rather than being forced to capitulate by the government.
I have to say that, on paper, that idea has some merit with me. I hate the idea of a government body dictating individual morality.
But this idea fails for me when executed practically. We have ALREADY SEEN the result of businesses being allowed to dictate personal choice in this. It ends up forcing minorities into an underclass. This is where most libertarianism drops the ball. In trumpeting individualism, they tend to ignore the collective consequences of the choices made by those individuals. We do not simply have individual morality, we have a collective/national morality. It seems to me, the only way pure libertarianism can play out is if one takes the S.S. Minnow to Gilligan's Island - and then off the other castaways.
300,000,000 people cannot simply do their own thing.
3 comments:
I have a similar sentiment to yours. But, I also know that true libertarianism will ultimately lead to anarchy.
Rand Paul would let blacks eat at his restaurant but I have no doubt, other people following Paul's viewpoint wouldn't.
Man requires government as long as he lives in a social environment with others.
**But this idea fails for me when executed practically. We have ALREADY SEEN the result of businesses being allowed to dictate personal choice in this. **
The other way that this fails for me in a practical matter is that it seems to be based on the idea that the business and consumer have an equal amount of power. And that is absolutely not true. Think of how many politicians pass and fight for laws that benefit large businesses, because the businesses are the ones that give them the campaign money. The middle-class, the poor ... there isn't a large focal point for them.
Bruce - You are absolutely right.
OSS - Yeah, when one looks at the growth of wealth between the rich and the middle class over the past 30 years, it stuns me that so many with in the middle class continue to blindly support a pro-business political viewpoint (emphasis on blindly)
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