On 2014-01-15, at 10:54 AM, Andy wrote:
> On Wed, Jan 15, 2014 at 9:50 AM, Marv Gandall <marvgand2 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>> On the minus side, libertarians have no real answer to many of America’s
>> biggest problems – not least the challenges posed to US middle-class
>> incomes by globalisation and technology. Nor are they coherent as a force.
>> Libertarianism is an attitude, rather than an organisation. It is also
>> potentially fickle. Young Americans disdain foreign entanglements. That
>> could change overnight with a big terrorist attack on the homeland. They
>> feel let down by Democrats and hostile to mainstream Republicans. Yet they
>> could flock to an exciting new figure in either party. Theirs is a restless
>> generation that disdains authority. Establishment figures should take note.
>> Tomorrow belongs to them.
>>
>
> The libertarian/kook connection with the Pacifica takeover is interesting,
> but is there much hard evidence of a millennial break for libertarians,
> other than a disaffection for existing institutions? I thought the yoots
> were increasingly comfortable with socialism.
US dissenting opinion is embryonic, unorganized, and politically undeveloped, and I suspect the great majority of those dissatisfied with the economy and the political establishment have only a vague understanding of abstractions like socialism, anarchism, and libertarianism and could not easily distinguish between them. Luce says libertarianism reflects a sentiment, an attitude, and I think the same can be said in most cases about expressions of support for socialism and anarchism.