The Last Ditch by Tom Paine

THE LAST DITCH

What is libertarianism?

Published by Tom

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Libertarianism – Counting Cats in Zanzibar.

This is an interesting perspective on what libertarianism means. I am not sure I entirely agree, but it's certainly a good counter to the stereotypes of "selfishness" and "anarchism".

…what’s the difference between charity and socialism? What’s the difference between a free society and a coercive state?What’s the difference between sex and rape?

Libertarianism in England never had to explain itself because it was in the national DNA. Now that it has been beaten into a corner by Socialism and statist paternalism, it is time to articulate what never before needed to be said.

4 responses to “What is libertarianism?”

  1. Martin Avatar
    Martin

    Counting Cats seems to refuse to load for me, so I can’t base this on anything other than the above quote, but I think he’s definatly on the right lines- for me, at the very least, libertarianism is about voluntary cooperation being a superior method of achieving ends than coercion. Admitadly, My views stem from more of a rights-based stance than many of my more utilitarian intellectual heroes like Mises, but I always put the concept of non-aggression first.

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  2. Shades Avatar
    Shades

    I like the Leg-iron perspective better.

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  3. Moggsy Avatar
    Moggsy

    That really does articulate the thing in a weirdly clear way to me. well done for finding it.

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  4. CountingCats Avatar
    CountingCats

    weirdly clear way to me.
    Well I’m glad it’s clear, bit nonplussed about the ‘weird’ tho.
    Still, glad to be appreciated.
    You might appreciate this, and where it further links to:
    http://www.countingcats.com/?p=1046

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Tom is a retired international lawyer. He was a partner in a City of London law firm and spent almost twenty years abroad serving clients from all over the world.

Returning to London on retirement in 2011, he was dismayed to discover how much liberty had been lost in the UK while he was away.

He’s a classical liberal (libertarian, if you must) who, like his illustrious namesake, considers that

“…government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.”

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