debating libertarians

kayak3 kayak3 at bouldernews.infi.net
Tue Oct 5 11:33:54 PDT 1999


I have a friend who is scheduled to be in a public debate next Sunday with a libertarian and someone from the ACLU. The title is "Democracy, Libertarianism and Socialism, which is best." My friend is the socialist from DSA.

Does anyone on the list have any insights to share as to what to expect when debating the libertarian or the ACLU rep. The title is a bit confusing. My friend and I feel that neither libertarian and democratic ideals are really mutually exclusive and that socialism is that best way to achieve all three. We've talked about covering the problems with the power distributions in a free market economy as invisioned by libertarians. We don't know what to expect for the person from the ACLU.

Has anyone on the list debated libertarians? What kinds of arguments should we expect to encounter from the other participants? What kinds of arguments do libertarians have problems with. Any references to studies articles or books would be helpful. Especially regarding privatization or government intervention vs libertarian style free markets. I also expect to hear a lot about how wonderful countries like Chile and Hong Kong are because they adhere to free market principles. Any info or ideas would be appreciated.



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