Conservatives, Liberals and the Libertarian Solution

The Left and The Right are locked in a power struggle over who will wield the power of government and to whose benefit and whose detriment. They are opposites only in that they oppose the other’s ends, but not necessarily the means. Yet within each blanket category, right and left, there are many different sorts. As many, surely, as there are people. A good portion of The Right, and a good portion of The Left, are interested not so much in imposing their will on others, but in defending themselves from such impositions. They fall in with those who desire similar ends even if they don’t necessarily approve of the means, or have not ever been presented with a viable option. It is this sort of person who will be open to our message, because the libertarian solution doesn’t just solve problems, it makes many of the ones caused by these government power struggles disappear entirely.

Consider the conservative position on gay marriage. A man or woman may align himself with conservatives because he personally opposes gay marriage, or because he wants to impose his or her choice on everyone else. For the one who only personally opposes it, he may find using government power to make a blanket rule for everyone somewhat distasteful. But he also may see it as a necessary evil to fight off the imposition of gay acceptance by the liberals.

How would such a person respond to the libertarian solution? I think very positively, but we must have it clear in our minds what the libertarian position is. I think it safe to say that most libertarians are personally in favor of gay marriage. That is all well and good, but remember that the actual libertarian position is neither in favor nor against. It is pro-choice for the individual. As John Doe I personally favor gay marriage, but as a libertarian I favor choice.

Too often libertarians are seen as being left on some issues and right on others. This really is not accurate. Libertarians are pro-choice. It is quite conceivable that a libertarian could be opposed to gay marriages, but so long as he were willing to tolerate the peaceful choices of others, he would be neither left nor right: he would be libertarian.

So how does one approach the conservative who wants government to oppose liberalism and impose this on everyone? One must start with more basic, philosophical approaches, because that is where the problem lies. But where does a libertarian begin with a conservative who does not necessarily want government controlling things, but fears that if he doesn’t use government power for his purposes some liberal will?

This is much easier to do. This type of conservative probably feels threatened by things he doesn’t agree with, and he has every right to disagree with gay marriage. The libertarian position, it must be emphasized for his benefit, is not pro gay marriage. Neither is it against gay marriage. The libertarian position means that you have the right to decide for yourself and your family what is right and wrong, and no one can impose their values on you. The libertarian solution, then, means that you give up any attempt to prohibit a gay lifestyle with the understanding that no gay lifestyle will be forced upon you or your children, nor will acceptance of this lifestyle be forced upon you. No government will ever pressure your church to change its beliefs, and you are allowed to disagree with, find fault with or just downright be disgusted by whatever you want. Such an argument would, I think, allay many fears that a conservative might have. Once he does not feel threatened by a certain lifestyle, it becomes easier for him to tolerate it.

And the same is true for liberals. There are liberals who want to enforce an agenda on everyone else. With respect to the gay lifestyle, they are not satisfied with tolerance but wish to force acceptance. But then there are liberals who are fine with the gay lifestyle but may not necessarily want to force it on everyone else. Like the reluctant conservative, they fight to control government out of a fear that the conservative lifestyle will be forced down their throats.

The approach to them is similar. It must be explained that the libertarian position is neither pro nor anti gay marriage, or gay rights. It is pro choice. No religious agenda must ever be allowed to be imposed on people. In exchange for the right of gays to live their lifestyle, the libertarian solution simply requires that you respect the right of conservatives to personally oppose and disagree with it.

This sort of balanced reasoning I have found to be very effective in making libertarian ideas popular, both with The Right and The Left. For those more reasonable liberals and conservatives, they may find that their personal lifestyle is one or another, but that their actual political position is libertarian, because the libertarian position doesn’t just solve a problem: it makes it disappear.

This happens on more than just the gay marriage issue. Consider how many disputes there are as to how the schools should be run. Should kids be allowed to have cell phones in school? Conservatives may be right in saying that it is a bad idea for education’s sake, but liberals are equally correct in pointing out that government has no right to make that decision. The problem is that government is involved in education in the first place. The libertarian solution, privatizing education, or the complete separation of Education and State, neatly resolves the issue by making it go away. If you don’t want cell phones in your school, then choose one that prohibits them.

The same is true for dress codes, speech codes, prayer in school, single sex vs. coed and just about anything else you can think of. Conservatives seem to favor common sense - or at least traditional - teaching methods, while liberals are concerned about government imposing a narrow mindset. The libertarian solution can make both sides happy, so long as both sides are willing to be tolerant in exchange for being free and unmolested.

But it is of utmost importance that libertarians have their own ideas clear in their minds. We are not pro gay marriage ideologically, whatever we may be personally. We are not pro gun. We are not pro drug. We are not pro anything but choice and non-initiation of aggression. We would no more force someone to purchase a gun than we would prohibit the gun from being purchased. Once this is clearly understood, it is very easy for a libertarian to score some points with those of either side who would rather be left alone to live their lives as they see fit.

As for the totalitarians, that’s a different problem altogether.