I can see spreading liberty by opening markets, pushing for broad-based ownership in society, etc. I would prefer to see it done quietly and behind the scenes. That is less messy than war, which can quickly go wrong as we see in Iraq, and puts pressure on the ruling elites within these countries to move toward liberty. The problem with a strongly interventionist approach is that it assumes the government has the noblest of motives in spreading "democratic values" internationally, but then says they cannot be trusted at home--they need limits. My concern is that the state that seeks to benefit its most powerful constituents at home will also seek to benefit those constituencies in the international arena. Greg
Eric Dondero Rittberg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Greg, I might remind you that a significant number of libertarians are also Pro-War and subscribe precisely to the believe you express below that it is our duty as Americans to spread our beliefs in liberty and freedom worldwide. I am a passionate believer in that credo. I've never understood the hypocritical stance of many Libertarians who believe we should be non-intervenionist and ignore the rest of the World. How ass-backwards! As libertarians we should be SPREADING THE GOOD CHEER OF LIBERTY WORLDWIDE!!! And if that means desposing of brutal murderous dictators like Pol Pot and Saddam Hussein, then that's PRECISELY what we need to be doing!!! So, "interventionism" is NOT just a conservative stance, IT'S A LIBERTARIAN STANCE AS WELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! --- In [email protected], Greg Southworth <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I agree that the best bet appears to be the Republican Party. I wish those who wish to work within the Democratic Party the best. Interestingly, there may be a window of opportunity with the Dems now due to the generally dismal performance outside the Northeast, the West Coast and Upper Midwest, but I personally believe they will have much more to overcome as one of the guiding views of the Democratic Party is that your elected representatives are only as good as the last high dollar project they brought home to the state, district, or particular community. Of course, Republicans are not immune to this either, but at least limited government is in their lexicon if not their practice. > > One important caveat in working with the Republicans, a little quirk I find annoying. When a problem is identified, their first reaction is to say the problem does not exist, or that it is not that bad. This is especially the case with the conservative variety. An excellent example involves pollution and issues around the environment. Rather than acknowledge that pollution is a form of criminal trespass and advocate treating it as a violation of property rights, they will say: 1) pollution does not exist (i.e. denial), or 2) pollution is good for you (i.e. a form of minimization), or 3) identifying the problem is part of a conspiracy to expand government (i.e. attribution of ulterior motives to the messengers). The irony is that it plays right into those who want more government because the "Republicans, it can now be seen are in bed with the moneyed interests who have a vested interest in keeping things the way they are (i.e. unaddressed)." > > Another caveat is in the field of foreign policy. For some reason, the Republicans have bought into a view which has its roots in what used to be the conservative wing of the Democratic Party. Neocons exemplify this perspective. America has a duty to export its power and influence in the world as we are the force for good. This will sometimes cause us to do things for the greater good even though the act itself may not be appealing--we must destroy the village to save it. But that's okay because we are America! > > My only point in saying these things is that we should be careful not to become just another flavor of conservative--ones who just want to save a little money. My hope is that we could transform the Republicans into a party that is libertarian, green, and committed to expanding the ownership society, which is done through the free markets. > > Greg > > Deus Ex Machina <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Eric Dondero Rittberg [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > I tried that route too. > > > > As you may know I worked for US Congressman Ron Paul for 6 years as > > his Senior Aide. A side project as Aide was American territorial > > possessions, specifically Navassa Island, Seranilla Banks and Bajo > > Nuevo in the Caribbean. > > > > I tried like hell for months to get libertarians interested in > > populating these uninhabited terriritories. Ron was into it too. > > > > Instead, they all got swept up by the nutty Free State Project and > > Ice Cold New Hampshire. > > > > There's only one route left for us; activism within the GOP. > > I think this is a sane response. the LP platforms are just so far out there > as to be inaccessible to ordinary people. > > Vic > > > > ForumWebSiteAt http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian > > > > SPONSORED LINKS > Libertarian English language Political parties Online dictionary American politics > > --------------------------------- > YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS > > > Visit your group "Libertarian" on the web. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Your use of Yahoo! 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