Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Libertarianism

2007-09-20T18:12:04Z

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'''Libertarianism''' is a [[Political Philosophy|political philosophy]] emphasizing ''liberty'' and ''property''. A libertarian believes in minimizing or entirely eliminating government interventionism in all aspects of life; including economic, personal and in foreign policy matters. <ref>"Libertarians are neither. Unlike liberals or conservatives, Libertarians advocate a high degree of both personal and economic liberty. For example, Libertarians advocate freedom in economic matters, so we're in favor of lowering taxes, slashing bureaucratic regulation of business, and charitable -- rather than government -- welfare. But Libertarians are also socially tolerant. We won't demand laws or restrictions on other people who we may not agree because of personal actions or lifestyles.
Think of us as a group of people with a "live and let live" mentality and a balanced checkbook." [http://www.lp.org/article_85.shtml] </ref>
== Libertarian Philosophy ==
Libertarians in America tend to be [[liberal]] on social issues but [[conservative]] on economic issues. Libertarians generally support the legalization of drugs, prostitution, same-sex marriage and [[abortion]]. They oppose restrictions on pornography. However, they also oppose [[universal health care]], [[taxes]] and [[welfare state]]. They are strong supports of [[school choice]], and oppose continuing the [[public school]] system.

Libertarians support an expansive view of liberty as the proper basis for organizing civil society.<ref>Libertarianism is closely related to liberalism, if this word is interpreted according to its original meaning of '[[classical liberal|classical liberalism]]'.</ref> They tend to define liberty as the freedom to do whatever one wishes up to the point that one's behavior begins to interfere with another's person or property through coercive means. At the point of interference, each party would become subject to certain principled rules for adjudicating disputes, generally accepting that one who has demonstrated a proven lack of respect for the rights of others should be subject to sanctions, including possible constraints on their freedom. They believe that liberty is the right of every individual.

Libertarians generally defend the ideal of freedom from the perspective of how little one is constrained by authority, i.e., how much one is allowed to do (also referred to as negative liberty). This ideal is distinguished from a view of freedom focused on how much one is able to do (also called positive liberty).

== Libertarian Factions ==

Libertarians tend to use the word "libertarian" (small "l") to refer to the philosophy, and "Libertarian" (capital "L") to refer to the party. Thus, more libertarians exist than members of the [[Libertarian Party]]. Two general factions exist in the libertarian movement. The first are those libertarians who apply the principles of right to person and property to an absolute. They believe that no person, group, or government is above the right to violate these two things. They thus believe that government itself is illegitimate because it violates person and property. These libertarians subscribe to [[anarcho-capitalism]], as first named by [[Murray N. Rothbard]]. They believe that law and security can be handled by private means in the free market. The other faction believes in a very limited government. They are often referred to as [[minarchists]]. Libertarian minarchists want the state to only enforce law and order but generally nothing else.

Libertarians tend to view liberalism as a philosophy advocating less government interference in private morality and more government control of business, and view conservatism as a philosophy advocating more government interference in private morality and less government control of business, while they view libertarianism as advocating less government control in all areas. However, there have been fusionist attempts to mix libertarianism and with social conservatism. This is noted in particular by [[paleolibertarians]]. They believe that social conservatism is a natural entity in a free society, but do not believe that it can be enforced by state interventionism.

== Libertarian Thought in America ==

Neither the [[Democratic]] or the [[Republican]] [[parties]] are particularly well aligned with libertarian thought. While the Republican Party sometimes adopts libertarian-sounding rhetoric of small government in economic affairs, many libertarians see it as being a force that has increased government interventionism in these affairs. Libertarians generally, for example, are opposed to the [[USA PATRIOT Act]], which they believe increases government power and removes protections on the liberty and privacy of the public. Most conservatives, on the other hand, view it as a necessary government program and believe security to be more important than personal liberty and privacy. Libertarians point out that such a view contradicts those of the founding fathers, such as Benjamin Franklin, who summarized it most eloquently, "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Libertarians are also generally opposed to the [[Iraq War]], unlike the majority of conservatives.

While all libertarians agree in general on the principles of the desirability of maximizing individual liberty and avoiding excessive government interference with the operation of the free market, individual libertarians have opinions that differ wildly within these general principles.

The libertarian movement generally praises the [[United States Constitution]], regarding it as the proper scope of the national government. They believe that the Democratic and Republican parties have overstepped constitutional limits. Anarcho-capitalist libertarians, on the other hand, view the implementation of the constitution as the very reason the national government is the size it is today.

== Notable Libertarians ==
The Christian libertarian Lord Acton referred to the philosopher/theologian [[Thomas Aquinas]] as "the first Whig" or classical liberal. Other libertarian-oriented historic figures would include [[Adam Smith]], [[Thomas Jefferson]], [[Alexis de Tocqueville]], Thomas Paine, [[John Locke]], [[Patrick Henry]], George Mason, [[Carl Menger]], [[C.S. Lewis]], [[Ludwig von Mises]], [[James Madison]], H. L. Mencken, Rose Wilder Lane, Albert Jay Nock, [[Frédéric Bastiat]], [[Herbert Spencer]], Richard Cobden, [[Henry David Thoreau]], and [[Hugo Grotius]].

[[Ron Paul]], 1988 Libertarian Party and 2008 Republican Party presidential candidate.

The psychiatrist Thomas Szasz, opponent of the therapeutic state and compulsory mental institutionalization.

Nobel Laureate economists [[Milton Friedman]], [[F.A. Hayek]], [[Ronald Coase]], Gary Becker, James Buchanan, [[George Stigler]], and Vernon Smith.

The novelist [[Ayn Rand]] advocated a philosophy of ''Objectivism'', embodying some libertarian thought, although differing from libertarianism in many ways. Some of her novels, such as ''Atlas Shrugged'', have become icons of some people in the libertarian movement, while others find her materialism/atheism incompatible with moral ethics and natural rights and law.

[[Murray N. Rothbard]] was nicknamed "Mr. Libertarian." He brought life to the anarcho-capitalist movement. Rothbard was an economist of the [[Austrian School]].

[[Robert A. Heinlein]], science fiction author.

[[Penn and Teller]], stage magicians turned libertarian evangelicals preaching atheism and promoting libertarian philosophies, including controversial positions such as legalization of prostitution and drugs in their Showtime series, which sports a name that cannot for reasons of good taste be expressed here.

The Canadian rock band Rush, which has been together since 1968, often explores libertarian themes in their lyrics.

Humorist Dave Barry, actor/comedian Drew Carey, actor Denis Leary, former MTV VJ Lisa "Kennedy" Montgomery, actor Kurt Russell, investigative reporter [[John Stossel]], and the late rocker Frank Zappa have all referred to themselves as being aligned with or openly supporting the Libertarian Party.

== External links ==
* [http://www.faqs.org/faqs/libertarian/faq/ Libertarian FAQ]
* [http://dmoz.org/Society/Politics/Liberalism/Libertarianism/ Open Directory libertarian links ]
* [http://chelm.freeyellow.com/black_index.html Black Libertarians]
* [http://libertarianwiki.org/Main_Page Libertarian Wiki]
* [http://www.l4l.org/ Libertarians for Life]
* [http://www.independent.org/ The Independent Institute]
* [http://www.mises.org/ Ludwig von Mises Institute]
* [http://www.fee.org/ Foundation for Economic Education]
* [http://tcrnews.blogspot.com/2007/09/regionalist-solution-to-american.html The Regionalist Solution to American Ideological Tensions]

== References ==
<references/>
[[Category:Politics]]

Sexual continence

2007-09-20T17:57:09Z

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[[Image:Natha.jpg|right]]
'''Sexual continence'''. What's right is always smart, and always for your good. Sex is not just something you do—sex is someone you are. It is linked to the welfare of your whole person. <ref> [http://www.epm.org/articles/sexpur.html Guidelines for Sexual Purity] by Randy Alcorn. </ref>

''In 1917, The American Medical Association passes a resolution declaring that "sexual continence is compatible with health and is the best prevention of venereal infections," and one of the methods for controlling syphilis is by controlling alcohol. Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels prohibits the practice of distributing contraceptives to sailors bound on shore leave, and Congress passes laws setting up "dry and decent zones" around military camps. "Many barkeepers are fined for selling liquor to men in uniform. Only at Coney Island could soldiers and sailors change into the grateful anonymity of bathing suits and drink without molestation from patriotic passers-by."'' <ref>[http://www.sodaknorml.org/history.htm A History of Drug Use and Prohibition]</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Abstinence]]

== External links ==

*[http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/~tomshoemaker/StudentPapers/JewishSexuality.html Sexuality in Judaism]
*[http://www.marriagefriendlycommunities.org/ Marriage Friendly Communities]
*[http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=25922 Study reveals flaws in sex education]
*[http://www.teen-aid.org/Abstinence_Education/psychological_argument_for_abstinence_and_commitment.htm#_Love_Or_Lust? Implications For Sex Education And Counseling] Brock Alan Salzman.
*[http://tcrnews.blogspot.com/2007/09/sexuality-modern-world-and-catholic.html Sexuality, the Modern World and the Catholic Church]

== References ==

<references/>

[[Category:Sexuality]]
[[Category:Health]]

Nihilism

2007-09-20T17:52:51Z

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'''Nihilism''' is the belief in nothing. A true nihilist would have no loyalties, and no purpose other than, perhaps, an impulse to destroy everything of value in society. [[Friedrich Nietzsche]] argued that nihilism's corrosive effects would eventually destroy all moral, religious, and metaphysical convictions; cause the collapse of meaning, relevance, purpose, and precipitate the greatest crisis in human history.<ref>http://www.iep.utm.edu/n/nihilism.htm</ref> German political philosopher [[Leo Strauss]] argued that modern [[liberal]]ism has within it a tendency towards nihilism. And because of this view, some philosophers (as far back as [[Plato]]) have argued that political leaders should invent inspiring myths in order to unite citizens of modern liberal democratic society behind a common purpose, the concept of [[natural rights]] as formulated in the [[Declaration of Independence]] is often cited as an example of an inspiring myth.

Major types of nihilism include:
*'''epistemological nihilism''' which denies the possibility of knowledge and truth; this form of nihilism is identified with [[postmodernism]]. One famous example of epistemological nihilism is the words [[Socrates]] said before his death: "''I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.''"

*'''Political Nihilism''' is the belief that the destruction of all existing political, social, and religious order is a prerequisite for any future improvement; this form of nihilism is identified with [[anarchism]].

*'''Moral nihilism''' rejects all moral or ethical values; this form of nihilism is identified with [[moral relativity|moral relativism]].{{fact}}

*'''Existential nihilism''' is the notion that life has no meaning or purpose.<ref>http://www.iep.utm.edu/n/nihilism.htm</ref>

*'''Mereological nihilism''' is the view that objects with parts do not exist, it's a human illusion; this view has been identified with some aspects of [[Buddhist philosophy]] and [[Immanuel Kant]]'s [[transcendental idealism]].

In his book, ''The Decline of the West'', German philosopher Oswald Spengler observes that pattern of nihilism was a feature shared by all civilizations on the verge of collapse.

==Beyond Nihilism==
Friedrich Nietzsche saw two kinds of nihilism in the world; pessimistic and joyous. Pessimistic nihilism was that created by the death of God in the minds of men, and corresponds to the idea that life is without meaning or value. Joyous nihilism was that experienced by those few who, like him, experienced the loss of an externally created and imposed moral structure as a liberation and not a great loss, and was the seed that let the herald Nietzsche proclaim the coming of the Übermensch.
What Nietzsche truly meant by this is much debated even today, and Nietzsche himself would be disgusted with moral relativists.

==References==
<references/>
*[http://tcrnews.blogspot.com/2007/09/reason-futility-and-hope-by-stephen.html Reason, Futility, and Hope, A Catholic Perspective]

==See Also==
[http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/hutchison/070307 Liberalism and the two roads to nihilism: how liberalism can collapse into nihilism through materialism or false idealism] by Fred Hutchison, March 7, 2007.

[[category:philosophy]]