Tilted
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I have some questions regarding libertarianism; I'm interested in what various people consider to be libertarianism and to what extent they agree with it. And I'm referring to the general ideology, not to particular manifestation of libertarianism such as the Libertarian Party. Feel free to answer as many or a few questions as you want. So...
(1) Do you consider yourself a libertarian?
(2) Whether you do or not, how would you articulate - in a sentence or two - what it means to be libertarian?
(3) What would you call that which you consider most directly opposed to libertarianism? (e.g. authoritarianism, liberalism, conservatism, facism, statism)
(4) Comparing yourself to Americans in general: Where on a scale form 1 to 10 would you place yourself, with 10 being the most libertarian and 1 being the least libertarian (i.e. with 1 being the most whatever you identified in (3))?
(5) Relating to your own libertarian views, what things do you think the government shouldn't be doing that many others think it should be doing? (e.g. regulating firearms, redistributing wealth, prohibiting prostitution, requiring health care coverage, using tax rules to encourage or discourage certain behaviors, making drugs illegal, restricting the use of private property, prohibiting private actor discrimination, engaging in certain forms of surveillance, making decisions about children's education, requiring the withholding of income tax, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid)
(6) Relating to your own libertarian views, what things do you think the government should be doing that many others think it shouldn't be doing?
(7) Lastly, relating to your own libertarian views, what determines whether something is an answer to (5) rather than an answer to (6)? Does it just depend on how you happen to feel about it and you don't really consider the matter much beyond that? Is it based on some articulable principle? Is it based on objective criteria? (If so, do you think you apply that principle or criteria consistently?) Is it based on other considerations that you can identify?
Thanks in advance to anyone that takes the time to answer any of these questions or offer any other thoughts they might have on this general issue. And just to be clear, I'm interested in what you think, e.g, it means to be libertarian. I'm not interested in what others (e.g. dictionaries or political parties) think, except to the extent their thoughts reflect or inform your own thoughts.
(1) Do you consider yourself a libertarian?
(2) Whether you do or not, how would you articulate - in a sentence or two - what it means to be libertarian?
(3) What would you call that which you consider most directly opposed to libertarianism? (e.g. authoritarianism, liberalism, conservatism, facism, statism)
(4) Comparing yourself to Americans in general: Where on a scale form 1 to 10 would you place yourself, with 10 being the most libertarian and 1 being the least libertarian (i.e. with 1 being the most whatever you identified in (3))?
(5) Relating to your own libertarian views, what things do you think the government shouldn't be doing that many others think it should be doing? (e.g. regulating firearms, redistributing wealth, prohibiting prostitution, requiring health care coverage, using tax rules to encourage or discourage certain behaviors, making drugs illegal, restricting the use of private property, prohibiting private actor discrimination, engaging in certain forms of surveillance, making decisions about children's education, requiring the withholding of income tax, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid)
(6) Relating to your own libertarian views, what things do you think the government should be doing that many others think it shouldn't be doing?
(7) Lastly, relating to your own libertarian views, what determines whether something is an answer to (5) rather than an answer to (6)? Does it just depend on how you happen to feel about it and you don't really consider the matter much beyond that? Is it based on some articulable principle? Is it based on objective criteria? (If so, do you think you apply that principle or criteria consistently?) Is it based on other considerations that you can identify?
Thanks in advance to anyone that takes the time to answer any of these questions or offer any other thoughts they might have on this general issue. And just to be clear, I'm interested in what you think, e.g, it means to be libertarian. I'm not interested in what others (e.g. dictionaries or political parties) think, except to the extent their thoughts reflect or inform your own thoughts.