Why Libertarianism Re-Moderates: A Hypothesis
Give me liberty or give me death?
Preamble
This is an attempt to understand libertarians, as a former libertarian voter.
Libertarians are very unique people. They are often quite bright, curious and hard working, and they deeply cherish their freedoms. However, libertarians rarely hold political power, and libertarianism is often only a temporary political home for people. Let’s explore.
Foundation
As mentioned above, libertarians deeply cherish their freedoms. In addition to the obvious right to life, the libertarian, as a bright, curious, and idea-oriented person also typically deeply cherishes their freedom of thought and expression. It is quite common for libertarians to be vociferous conscientious objectors, often on even the most controversial topics; this is a manifestation of a robust value system. Freedom of thought and expression are especially cherished, as they facilitate other forms of freedom, discovery and human flourishing.
Subsequent Journey
1) The libertarian’s natural curiosity that led them to libertarianism in the first place cannot be quenched; the libertarian keeps learning and begins to accumulate evidence on a range of topics.
2) One of the earliest realizations is that actions create extensive externalities; these can be positive or negative, foreseen or unforeseen, along with an extensive other array of characteristics.
3) The libertarian also realizes that their world view is effectively dependent on a population being able to self-govern – to act in a manner that does not create excessive negative externalities. The libertarian him or herself, as one who is often bright and hardworking, is often capable of self-governance.
4) However, the libertarian quickly realizes that many others struggle to self-govern. These struggles to self-govern come from a range of causes, such as:
a. Social factors: one may be raised in a context where joining a gang seems like the “obvious thing to do”, another may be under the violent threat of the very same gang
b. Substance factors: a person normally capable of self-governance loses such a capacity under the influence of certain drugs or alcohol
c. Medical or other biological factors: as examples, young children do not have sufficient development of language or impulse control, while others’ ability to reason may have been impaired by an injury or degenerative disease
d. A range of other factors: the more the libertarian researches the more factors limiting self-governance they discover
5) The evidence about limits to self-governance begins to reach a critical mass… as a deeply curious and ideas-oriented person, the libertarian begins to question whether their libertarianism is practically sustainable across a broad human population. The libertarian’s curiosity extends to solutions to the limits to self governance, and they begin to understand the merits of:
a. Liberal solutions, such as support for those incapable of self-governance, and
b. Conservative solutions, such as:
i. Traditions that have helped ancestors survive,
ii. Laws and restrictions on freedom, such as 1) drug prohibitions, that prevent people from eroding their own self governance, or 2) behaviour prohibitions, that stop people from engaging in behaviours that impose negative externalities on others
6) Upon weighing the evidence, the libertarian begins to “let go” of their libertarianism, and begins to re-integrate liberal and conservative ideas back into their world view
Terminus
7) The libertarian often “re-moderates” as a mainstream liberal, moderate or conservative. However, unlike their moderate peers that never went on a libertarian journey, the libertarian has often gained a deeper understanding of many issues, including people. Further, the libertarian often retains (and even strengthens) their deep appreciation for their most fundamental freedoms of thought and expression, and by extension, is often a fierce opponent to anyone who might threaten these freedoms.