Comments on: Being Pissed-Off Is Not Enough

By: JTK

JTK — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 07:21:09 +0000

The reason libertarians don’t win elections is because being anti-government is a horrible way of running a government. Name a successful state run by libertarian ideals. When you try and fail, you have learned a vitally important lesson.

By: Patriot Report

Patriot Report — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:42:20 +0000

[...] Continue [...]

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:06:02 +0000

I rarely ever say this, but I completely agree with you. I want to have more stuff, but the government gets in the way of this by destroying the productive process. I want to have a job I am proud of, but the government makes all the jobs unproductive and tedious by imposing so many regulation and by propping up so many cartels. I want to make more music, but I have to spend all my time working just so I can pay taxes and rent and food (so I can’t afford a lot of the stuff needed to record and produce music) because the government bubbles and regulations have made it hard to find a job in the first place. I want to live a moral life, but the very existence of the State makes it near impossible to be entirely consistent (ie. driving on public roads and going to public schools). The list goes on and on. The reason I hate the State is because it hampers everything I do want to do. There may be lots of people who hate it just to hate it, but I’m not one. I’m a consequentialist. The only problem is that the State makes good consequences impossible. Someone always gets screwed over.

By: Fascist Nation

Fascist Nation — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:06:54 +0000

Bill,

The reason libertarians don’t win elections is: 1. An assumption — probably wrong — that ballots are actually counted. 2. The elections are openly rigged — when have you voted where the district outcome for a certain party’s candidates were not certain? 3. libertarians don’t give a rat’s ass about getting elected, Libertarians do. You have been hanging out with the wrong crowd. 4. The purpose of the Libertarian Party is to use the tools of the state — in this case, election tools — to proselytize libertarian philosophy, not get elected. Which if you are no longer a puppy and have been paying attention to the above getting elected as a Libertarian is not possible anyway.

So stop wasting your time fretting over “if only we did this, we could be ruling this planet.” I vote not.

By: Larken Rose

Larken Rose — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:22:32 +0000

On the one hand, I agree completely that the meaning of life is not just getting rid of something bad. As you say, “Then what?” That’s also why I point out that anarchism is not a complete philosophy: it’s merely the desire to NOT have one PARTICULAR thing (the state). It says nothing about what anyone should then do with their lives.

But the reason the problem (the myth of “government”) is discussed so much, and what we would each do without it is discussed so little, is because it gets in the way of EVERYTHING that everyone productive wants to do. In addition, for the most part there is no need to discuss what “we” would do without it, because what each of us would do would vary widely.

Occasionally people express shock when they find out that, when I’m not railing against the state, I’m pretty good at knocking down trees, and even better at making music. (And I mean something beyond “Cowboy Clyde.”) “I didn’t know you could do that!” Well, I don’t feel much need to talk about it, and I suspect that’s true of most freedom lovers: what they would do once the chains of slavery are removed will be different for different individuals, rather than being some big collectivist plan that needs public discussion.

Nonetheless, there is something very important in your article. Warriors who know nothing but war, and rebels who know nothing but rebellion, are doomed to frustration. Either their battle is never successful, or it IS successful and then they have nothing to do. So, while I don’t see the need to talk about it much, everyone should have lots of things he would be doing, and is doing as much as he can already, BESIDES resisting injustice.

By: slayerboy

slayerboy — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:01:47 +0000

This is an amazing post. This is something that has ALWAYS put me off about people like Alex Jones and other “libertarian” sites. It’s all about fighting to them. This is why I love listening to Free Talk Live, because they don’t fit the same mold as people like AJ. So there’s injustice….WHAT are you going to do about it? That was something so fresh and new for me to hear and I’ve been hooked since.

I don’t want to fight. I want to learn. I want to help you learn, and I want to learn from you.

This is why I LOVE BoldVoices.tv too! I just discovered this amazing site in July and have been hooked ever since. It’s not just about “libertarianism” or politics. It’s about learning. Yes, we kick and scream about what’s going on in the world, but we also learn from each other.

To anyone who is sick and tired of exactly what Paul is talking about, take a look at BoldVoices.

By: J Nick Puglia

J Nick Puglia — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:08:06 +0000

You may want to look at this post, Bill J.

By: Tweets that mention Being Pissed-Off Is Not Enough -- Topsy.com

Tweets that mention Being Pissed-Off Is Not Enough -- Topsy.com — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 03:44:14 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Billie Jacobs. Billie Jacobs said: RT @libertyideals: Being Pissed-Off Is Not Enough #libertarian http://bit.ly/3Wvd8D Libertarianism: all talk; no action! [...]

By: Bill J

Bill J — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 03:39:26 +0000

This is why libertarians rarely win elections; too much preachimg and not enough action. They would rather win an argument than an election!

By: Kyle Bennett

Kyle Bennett — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 03:20:19 +0000

Excellent article. As I sometimes put it, what comes after outrage?

L. Neil Smith has a classic article on what you are talking about:

http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2008/tle497-20081214-04.html