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DonCoquixote

(13,616 posts)
Sat May 11, 2013, 03:45 PM May 2013

what is left leaning libertarianism?

What I do not get is how the left leaning Libs expect corporations to be held in check, or prevent a mob from stomping all over the rights of minorities. If Dixie could have slavery back, there would be slave kennels at wal-Mart.

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what is left leaning libertarianism? (Original Post) DonCoquixote May 2013 OP
Left leaning libertarians are compromising a lot of libertarian views in their endorsement... Buzz Clik May 2013 #1
I guess that depends upon LWolf May 2013 #2
Left Liberarians (aka Anarchists) are socialists who oppose the power of corporations. Tierra_y_Libertad May 2013 #3
yes, how DonCoquixote May 2013 #5
I look at this way. Tierra_y_Libertad May 2013 #8
Anti authoritarian liberalism Xithras May 2013 #4
Would ProSense May 2013 #7
This one wouldn't, and would go even further and end corporate personhood. Comrade Grumpy May 2013 #9
Absolutely NOT. Xithras May 2013 #13
A myth. n/t billh58 May 2013 #6
Easy. I support liberty for people. Corporations are not people my friend. nt limpyhobbler May 2013 #10
+1 Buzz Clik May 2013 #11
Pot smokers and meth users n2doc May 2013 #12
It's socially liberal - that's the great difference RainDog May 2013 #14
Well, some. But most? KamaAina May 2013 #16
okay RainDog May 2013 #17
A rationalization fit inside of a justification wrapped in affirmation with a bow made from self-val LanternWaste May 2013 #15
Are you under some impression that all left leaning people are authoritarians? TheKentuckian May 2013 #19
A label. Warren DeMontague May 2013 #18
 

Buzz Clik

(38,437 posts)
1. Left leaning libertarians are compromising a lot of libertarian views in their endorsement...
Sat May 11, 2013, 03:52 PM
May 2013

... of social liberalism. That would definitely include reining in corporations.

(IMHO)

LWolf

(46,179 posts)
2. I guess that depends upon
Sat May 11, 2013, 03:54 PM
May 2013

whether you think the American Libertarian party defines libertarianism, the American Democratic Party defines liberalism, or the American Republican part defines conservatism.

They don't.


The libertarian left explained:

http://www.politicalcompass.org/analysis2

 

Tierra_y_Libertad

(50,414 posts)
3. Left Liberarians (aka Anarchists) are socialists who oppose the power of corporations.
Sat May 11, 2013, 03:57 PM
May 2013

Particularly when corporate power is combined with government power. See how the USA is run for an example.

 

Tierra_y_Libertad

(50,414 posts)
8. I look at this way.
Sat May 11, 2013, 04:23 PM
May 2013

Anarchism isn't a form of government. Nor is it ever likely to become one. The purpose is to get people to recognize their own power and act as individuals who take their responsibilities to be their "brother's keeper" to heart and oppose injustice and inequality brought on by the powerful.

Gandhi (who was heavily influenced by anarchism) relied on non-cooperation and civil disobedience.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism_in_India

Gandhi and anarchism


The local conditions were pertinent to the development of the heavily anarchic Satyagraha movement in India. George Woodcock claimed Mohandas Gandhi self-identified as an anarchist.[10] Anarchism in India finds its first well-known expression with a statement by Gandhi: “The state evil is not the cause but the effect of social evil, just as the sea-waves are the effect not the cause of the storm. The only way of curing the disease is by removing the cause itself. ”

In Gandhi's view, violence is the source of social problems, and the state is the manifestation of this violence. Hence he concluded that "[t]hat state is perfect and non-violent where the people are governed the least. The nearest approach to purest anarchy would be a democracy based on nonviolence."[1] For Gandhi, the way to achieve such a state of total nonviolence (ahimsa) was changing of the people's minds rather than changing the state which governs people. Self-governance (swaraj) is the principle behind his theory of satyagraha. This swaraj starts from the individual, then moves outward to the village level, and then to the national level; the basic principle is the moral autonomy of the individual is above all other considerations.[1]

Gandhi’s admiration for collective liberation started from the very anarchic notion of individualism. According to Gandhi, the conscience of the individual is the only legitimate form of government. Gandhi averred that "Swaraj will be an absurdity if individuals have to surrender their judgment to a majority." He opined that a single good opinion is far better and beneficial than that of the majority of the population if the majority opinion is unsound. Due to this swaraj individualism, he rejected both parliamentary politics and their instrument of legitimization, political parties. According to swaraj individualism the notion that the individual exists for the good of the larger organization had to be discarded in favor of the notion that the larger organization exists for the good of the individual, and one must always be free to leave and to dissent.[1] Gandhi also considered Leo Tolstoy's book, The Kingdom of God is Within You, a book about practical anarchist organization, as the text to have the most influence in his life ]


Hope that helps.

Xithras

(16,191 posts)
4. Anti authoritarian liberalism
Sat May 11, 2013, 04:06 PM
May 2013

Government is a necessary evil, but it's still an evil. It has a role to play, but that role should be limited to those things that are necessary to empower a liberal society.

And, for what it's worth, "corporations" are a government invention and are a clear example of the sort of things that left libertarians DONT want to see our government supporting. The argument that we need government protection to shield us from the governments own abuses is appalling.

In general though, left libertarianism is simply about individual rights. Government has no right to tell you how to live your own life, so long as you aren't causing harm to others. That's why we see things like the insurance mandate as being so offensive.

ProSense

(116,464 posts)
7. Would
Sat May 11, 2013, 04:13 PM
May 2013

"Anti authoritarian liberalism

Government is a necessary evil, but it's still an evil. It has a role to play, but that role should be limited to those things that are necessary to empower a liberal society.

And, for what it's worth, "corporations" are a government invention and are a clear example of the sort of things that left libertarians DONT want to see our government supporting. The argument that we need government protection to shield us from the governments own abuses is appalling."

...such a person support Citizens United?





Xithras

(16,191 posts)
13. Absolutely NOT.
Mon May 13, 2013, 12:24 PM
May 2013

In fact, this isn't even a left-libertarian/right-libertarian thing. Pretty much ALL libertarians oppose corporate personhood, though for different reasons. In fact, if you see a "libertarian" defending corporate personhood, it's a dead giveaway that they're either shilling for something or are clueless as to what "libertarian" really means.

FWIW, left-libertarians oppose corporate personhood because it's really nothing more than the government granting additional power to some citizens that is denied to other citizens. It's a government sponsored power-imbalance and is antithetical to freedom. Many right-libertarians oppose it for the same reason, though they tend to pile on other things like "foreign interference with our government" and "imbalanced taxation" as well. Overall, this is one of the areas where "left" and "right" libertarians tend to agree.

n2doc

(47,953 posts)
12. Pot smokers and meth users
Sat May 11, 2013, 07:51 PM
May 2013

People who want freedom to buy any drug. I suppose that also includes those who want to buy medicines and set-medicate.

RainDog

(28,784 posts)
14. It's socially liberal - that's the great difference
Mon May 13, 2013, 01:25 PM
May 2013

most people here on DU would be considered left-libertarian because most advocate socially liberal positions along with social democracy.

imo, it's the most consistent position for anyone who claims to be liberal because liberals don't think govt. should be used to tell people how to conduct their private lives and don't think that victimless crimes should be crimes in the first place.

you can take the political compass test yourself to see where you fall on their scale.

http://www.politicalcompass.org/test

 

KamaAina

(78,249 posts)
16. Well, some. But most?
Mon May 13, 2013, 01:38 PM
May 2013

Fire up the Wayback Machine and see, for instance, how many DUers supported Mikey Bloomberg's nanny-state soda ban.

RainDog

(28,784 posts)
17. okay
Mon May 13, 2013, 02:59 PM
May 2013

I didn't take part in or read any of those threads b/c the entire idea is, while well-meaning, absurd to me. But Bloomberg demonstrates that "nanny staters" are not on one side of the aisle.

The first woman to win a Nobel prize in economics did studies on self-organizing entities and found that we don't need over-nannies for big important issues, or small ones, to best manage the commons of our lives (b/c, unlike right libertarians, left recognize the commons as part of the organization of life.)

Specifically, her work looked at management of natural resources, or "the commons" by groups.

Her work aligns with "small govt" to the extent that multiple entities in close proximity to the issue at hand do a better job of managing resources than do distant, "overlord" entities. This is also an argument against allowing big multi-nationals to decide the fates of others.





 

LanternWaste

(37,748 posts)
15. A rationalization fit inside of a justification wrapped in affirmation with a bow made from self-val
Mon May 13, 2013, 01:31 PM
May 2013

"what is left leaning libertarianism?"

A rationalization fit inside of a justification wrapped in affirmation with a bow made from self-validation.

TheKentuckian

(25,011 posts)
19. Are you under some impression that all left leaning people are authoritarians?
Mon May 13, 2013, 04:26 PM
May 2013

Are you not a civil and social libertarian yourself?

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