Alaska's Libertarian Environmentalist

George,

Whether you had had your oatmeal or not I really don't know what you expected from a Libertarian.

Also, the stroke about Libertarians being against war I would have to see proved. Birchers are Libertarians. One I know will tell you how he is against the war because it is expensive. But please show an example where a Libertarian has not, in the end, sided with Republicans. Anywhere.

Your point was extremely well taken that to trust Louisianans with response to hurricane disaster is at the least questionable and more to the point racist in result. The Louisiana response to Katrina was to privatize the schools and bulldoze public housing in the high ground.

The cover of the environment as a Libertarian issue is highly suspect and should be treated so.

Lon,

As an organizer for PPRC (Portland's Peaceful Response Coalition) back in 2002 and 2003 I can tell you that members of the Libertarian Party were part of that coalition, and the Libertarians that were involved in organizing peace protests were opposed to the war on humanitarian grounds.

I am not a fan of capitalism, I oppose both our current state capitalist system and the pure barbarism that American libertarians support, but even I have to admit that there are admirable aspects to the libertarian capitalist position.

Having said all of that I'll point out that I chose to skip this particular podcast.

[It's worth pointing out that Libertarian sites like AntiWar.com have been more staunchly and consistently opposed to our foreign military involvements than many (most?) run of the mill liberals who, once the Democrats got power, changed their tune. But the problem is that Libertarians are fundamentally, and without realizing it, anarchists (vaguely reminiscent of Molière's bourgeois gentilhomme who has been speaking prose all his life without knowing it). A proper dissection of Libertarian views, however, deserves a longer post... g.]

Interesting responses. I was thinking about this and figured that my response would be along the lines of a libertarian on the left would be called an anarchist.

Anarchism is very much misunderstood and I am no expert on it. Still it was the reason that many went to fight in the Spanish Civil War. A recent documentary called "An Anarchist's Story" is about the life of Ethel MacDonald. It is well- told and recommended.

I don't think libertarians are anarchists. Anarchists are suspicious of power in all its forms, but are also believers in collectivism. Whereas libertarians tend only to be suspicious of political power (financial power mostly leaves them unfazed), and are strong believers in individualism.

The disjoint is probably strongest if you look at the tools both groups put their faith in. Anarchists have evolved some very sophisticated tools for building consensus in groups. Whereas libertarians tend to think that everything can be solved with contracts (which sounds like hell to me, but never mind).

Not being an American I'm not sure how true this is, but I've always got the sense that libertarianism's roots lie in myths of the American frontier/rugged individualism.

I have been learning a bit about the cooperatives in Mondragon in the Basque country and wondered if there's a connection between the anarchists of the Spanish Civil War.

Gar Aperovitz has recently written about cooperatives forming in Ohio — what he calls the Cleveland model.

Personally I think it's time for creeping socialism to get up on its hind legs and walk.

Here is a youtube about Mondragon:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7565584850785786404#

Excellent podcast!

And the next step is lifeboats, local lifeboats.
The world as we know it is falling apart. The federal government is not going to save us 'people', instead they are saving Wall Street.
The solution: local business, local money, local interests, local environment, local regulations, local lifeboats — what else?

I am not a libertarian or an anarchist, but an active member of the Democrat Party. It's unfortunate that those posting here are debating the headline rather than the content of what I said or certainly the content of the book. Thus, the forum hear bears no relation to my ideas.

The belief in federalism and local control is neither radical, anarchistic, nor subversive. It is the basis upon which patriots started our country. Moreover, the outcome of that system is not predetermined to be left or right. It will be fine-grained and attached to communities, and that means it will be different everywhere.

We've proven that the other system — the corporate-government conglomerate — does not work, at least with respect to environmental problems. Empowering local people connecting to their own places does work.

[And yet, a poll today — Monday the 21st — shows that "Gulf Coast residents are also more likely than other Americans to support increased drilling off the coastlines of the United States." Hmmmmmm.... g.]