THE LAST DITCH

Only 24 Types?

The 24 Types of Libertarian | Progressive Political Cartoon by Barry Deutsch.
Quite amusing, I thought. How I wish I lived in a country where libertarians were influential enough for "progressive" cartoonists to need to mock us. Sadly our politics is not even about how much to extort any more – only about whom to bribe.

4 responses to “Only 24 Types?”

  1. Suboptimal Planet Avatar

    Yeah, it’s quite good. I think DK linked to it a while back.
    How I wish I lived in a country where libertarians were influential enough for “progressive” cartoonists to need to mock us
    Well said!

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  2. Suboptimal Planet Avatar

    Of course, though it’s clever in parts, and shows a certain familiarity with libertarian ideas, much of the mockery is a mixture of the ridiculous and the offensive.
    For example, their attack of The Island Libertarian (“No one ever gave me anything! So don’t force me to give to others”) has arrows for “Public school grad”, “Drives on public roads”, and “Social security check”. As if anyone can realistically avoid driving on public roads, or be held responsible for the education his parents chose for him (with what remained of their income after taxes). They could just as well say that a restaurateur shouldn’t complain about a protection racket because the mob keep the independent criminals at bay and occasionally throw a nice street party. The only real choice there is the social security cheque, but the contributions over the years certainly weren’t optional, and many people will get back much less than they put it.
    Then there’s Creepy Libertarian, who complains about having to travel all the way to Thailand for sex with a child prostitute. Though most libertarians feel prostitution should be legal, I’ve never met one who thinks that this should extend to children.
    Bizarrely Hypocritical Libertarian isn’t really so hypocritical. I don’t know any libertarians who condone infanticide, but nor have I met any who think that every sperm is sacred. Most people (libertarian or not) draw a more-or-less arbitrary line somewhere in between these extremes. Libertarians believe that individuals have rights, and that parents have responsibilities, but exactly when these kick in is open to debate.
    Whitey Libertarian is absolutely right to say that it’s an affront to liberty to force business owners to serve particular groups of people. I’ve never heard a coherent defence of this practice, but the word ‘racist’ seems to have magical power to Lefties.
    Caveat Emptor Libertarian may not have his own botulism testing kit, but he is free to choose reputable food suppliers, perhaps with the mark of a private food standards organisation. Most food producers naturally take care, since they have no interest in poisoning their customers, but the E. Coli outbreak in Germany shows that government regulations can’t guarantee that our food is safe, and we must question how much good they really do.
    The cartoons are a good illustration of what we already knew: that some lefties are indisputably clever, but nevertheless ignorant, illogical, and immoral.

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  3. Single Acts of Tyranny Avatar

    Perhaps we could do a cartoon strip for the socialists, 24 frames with different multicultural and diverse faces and genders and sexual orientations and ethnicities, with six frames reserved for all female short lists (unless you are married to Harriet Harman in which case, you deserve a break of some kind) but all saying the same thing
    “Give us your fucking money now and we’ll tell you what’s allowed for everyone except us”

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  4. blindcyclist Avatar

    I particularly like the description of ‘arrogant’ as one who insists that others ought to have an understanding of evidence.
    I think that rather tells you everything you need to know about the author.

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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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