>On Thu, 5 Nov 1998, Brett Knowlton wrote:
>
>>
>> I hate the way LP (that's Libertarian Party, not Lou Proyect) has
>> appropriated a perfectly good word and pressed it into the service of
their
>> non-libertarian (small-l), pro-business, and anti-government ideology.
>> Orwell would appreciate the irony.
>
>What makes you think the big "L"'s aren't small "l"'s? All the LP
>members / supporters I've encountered have been small "l"'s as well.
Well, I'm not a member of the LP but I'm largely sympathetic with their platform, and I like to stress one point. One thing is solidariety with the disadvantaged, another very different thing is legislating about it. To a libertarian (no matter how the word is capitalized), government-mandated fiscal redistribution sounds every bit as oppressive, self-serving and hypocritical (and, ultimately, futile) as, say, legislation punishing adulterers on the (otherwise reasonable) grounds that stable relationships are good for the society; or prohibitionism; or compulsory military draft. It is quite puzzling for us how left-wing libertarians can calmly accept the old socialist chestnut about the questionable legitimity of individual property rights, at the same time defending all the other liberties of individuals from the state. Perhaps, Brett may want to call back his erstwhile girlfriend and have a calm exchange of views, possibly around a table with a candle and two glasses of bordeaux, if that's not too bourgeois ;-)
Enzo