Libertarians are Selfish

[Smith1776]

Hey there, Peter Schiff. When will you be doing another episode of the Joe Rogan Experience?

[Smith1776]

Joking aside, good post.

[doodle]

So doing what is best for me always equates to outcomes that are better for society at large? Or only sometimes? How do you square this with tragedy of commons?

[Smith1776]

So doing what is best for me always equates to outcomes that are better for society at large? Or only sometimes? How do you square this with tragedy of commons?

It's funny that even Friedman conceded that regulation was necessary in those instances of negative externalities.

[doodle]

I don't know why I even ask Tom these questions when I know the answer already...privatize everything. Ok, so how does this work with the air? Do we privatize the atmosphere? Explain how this would work for example.

[doodle]

So doing what is best for me always equates to outcomes that are better for society at large? Or only sometimes? How do you square this with tragedy of commons?

It's funny that even Friedman conceded that regulation was necessary in those instances of negative externalities.

That's because Friedman was a Marxist in disguise.

[Vil]

Tom, nice post. Can surely concur that aiming for 'im personae' happinness makes world better place for the others, too. If you can't love and respect yourself – no one else will be able to make that happen. Same comes for protection - many rescuing teams have their written rule Nr. 1 - first protect yourself and be sure you are in good shape before even considering helping others.

Though, one thing remains out of scope here - explaining all the paths to personal well being through the prism of monetization sounds narrow-minded for me ...

[Mountaineer]

I don't know why I even ask Tom these questions when I know the answer already...privatize everything. Ok, so how does this work with the air? Do we privatize the atmosphere? Explain how this would work for example.

Aren't the Greenies trying to do that now? It seems your assumption is 'air is only for breathing', which I admit is a pretty private use.

[doodle]

I don't know why I even ask Tom these questions when I know the answer already...privatize everything. Ok, so how does this work with the air? Do we privatize the atmosphere? Explain how this would work for example.

Aren't the Greenies trying to do that now? It seems your assumption is 'air is only for breathing', which I admit is a pretty private use.

Yes, and it makes perfect sense except it requires government regulation and multinational at that to be effective....same with protecting oceans. There must be cap that is placed on emissions...or harvest limitations on oceans.

Anyways, the idea that the privitization of everything will simply solve the tragedy of the commons is a bit folly. While it is true In almost all cases people take better care of what is their property, it is an oversimplification to extend this principle to the idea that of we just privatize everything we can simply eliminate regulation because everyone will become little David Attenboroughs. In our system privitization doesn't equate to stewardship because like all things privitized they will generally fall into the hands of wealthy corporations who have no stake or lives in the communities in which they live. They have no concern for local ecosystems and their incentives don't promote planning for generations ....corporations by and large have short term horizons...maybe a decade at the most.
Why would a corporation that owns the rainforest care that it's lumber harvesting might be killing millions of species or could lead to desertification in 100 years? How do they overcome market demands to increase profits and production or risk losing weight investors? They don't have a personal stake in those communities...they don't care about the externalities of their production methods.

I don't buy it. Yes, people take care of what they own better. But only a simpleton would extend this principle to think that if we privatize everything it will solve all our problems.

[Maddy]

Libertarianism is the one political persuasion that, at its core, acknowledges that we are a pluralistic society and that people have vastly different values and ideas about what makes for a fulfilling life. It seeks, fundamentally, to maximize the amount of freedom everyone has to pursue their vision of a good life. That's not selfishness; it's quite the opposite.

[doodle]

Libertarianism is the one political persuasion that, at its core, acknowledges that we are a pluralistic society and that people have vastly different values and ideas about what makes for a fulfilling life. It seeks, fundamentally, to maximize the amount of freedom everyone has to pursue their vision of a good life. That's not selfishness; it's quite the opposite.

Holy shit. We might agree on something!

I think to the degree possible giving people the most amount of freedom and control over their lives is the best option. I don't like being told what to do anymore than the next person. And if everyone was completely honest, ethical, rational, etc we could probably live in a world where government could be extremely small. Unfortunately humans haven't gotten to that point yet. Removing the government at this stage in our evolution is being waayyyy too optimistic about human nature.

[pp4me]

I have this problem of lizards on my back porch. I would be happy to peacefully co-exist with them as I know they do a lot of good by eating other insects around the house but they produce enormous turds which you wouldn't believe for such a small animal. In the past I put out sticky traps designed to catch mice near the exit points and I would find them stuck to it, sometimes with a baby lizard on their back. This made me feel bad because it's obviously a cruel way to die so I made a big effort this year to seal up the porch so they couldn't get in at all. I only partially succeeded however. Little ones can get in but when they grow too big they can't get out anymore and I find dead little ones all by themselves without having been touched by any thing.

At this point I don't think there is any more that I can do. God will just have to forgive me.