The Three Dimensions of Liberalism, and the Three Dementias of Conservatism

[True Blue Door]

9. Well said, but I think it's a means to an end rather than a fundamental.

Libertarians and teabaggers et al are dangerous because they fetishize irrelevant factors - the "size" of government as a dollar value devoid of context, the group as a parasite on the individual rather than an inherent reflection, and so on. They worship this bullshit and consider the lives of actual human beings less important.

But we only face them because the opposite fetishes (absolutist governance and collectivism) have already been defeated, and not by reacting in the opposite direction - it wasn't libertarians who defeated totalitarianism, and it won't likely be old world socialists who defeat these neo-manorialist pricks.

We have to fractalize our values to work on multiple levels. If it only works by forming huge, unified social movements and gigantic bureaucracies, then it simply won't work at all - the piranhas will pick it apart. It has to be multi-layered.

We are all individuals, and we are also all part of collectives. We are trees, and we are forest. The choice of emphasis is largely a matter of convenience.