When property rights trump all

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It's hard to speak in absolute terms about the Libertarians, since they come in so many flavors -- mostly bitter. They all claim to stand for individual liberty (duh), a goal which, like mom, apple pie, and the flag, is hard to argue with. In the past they proudly pointed to their support of social rights -- as manifested by such hot-button issues as abortion rights and gay rights.

Lately, as a result of in-breeding with Tea Partiers (why cousins shouldn't marry) they seem to have forgotten about all that. Rand Paul, scion of Ron Paul, and darling of the TeaLibertarians states, "I believe life begins at conception and it is the duty of our government to protect this life," and came out against same-sex marriage during his 2011 Senate campaign. Hardly the stuff of individual liberty.

So, what's left after social rights are gone?

Property rights. Yes, the Libertarians are all about property rights.

Property rights apparently trump civil rights. Said Paul, "A free society will abide unofficial, private discrimination, even when that means allowing hate-filled groups to exclude people based on the color of their skin."

Libertarians want to privatize as much of the public sector as possible. You connect the dots.

Here's the thing: when property rights trump all other rights, whoever has the most property has the most rights.

And the last time I checked, that was the textbook definition of Plutocracy.

Comments

Lisa said…
Amen Brother!
11:23 PM
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