"We hold these truths to be self evident,that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." is a universal libertarian principle. I still do not get why it is somehow non-libertarian to believe that it is acceptable to apply force to free men who are enslaved by their tyrannical oppressors. Applying force to free people in Iraq to me is morally the same as applying force to prevent the people of California from falling under the domain of a tyrannical oppressor.Thus, seven reasons libertarians can hope for the best from Obama.
1. Sen. Obama has met at least one war he doesn't love.
2. The election of an African-American will end liberal racism as we know it.Ending something as we know it is not the same as ending something. Still even if it does end it or make it better, it is not worth having a nanny state commander in chief dedicated to expanding the welfare state.
3. One word: Osmosis. You couldn't live in Hyde Park or teach at the University of Chicago with the intellectual curiosity of a Barack Obama without gaining at least some understanding of libertarian economics.
That osmosis has not kicked in yet (either in his tenure in the state legislature or the US Senate). Why is it suddenly going to kick in once he becomes president?
4. Obama is the best hope for keeping government out of your bedroom and away
from your body.
Can anybody name 1 person that has had the federal government invade the sanctity of their bedroom (I presume the author is euphemistically talking about sexual acts between consenting adults, hence I am only interested in examples that meet that criteria) during the last 8 years?
I am pro life because I believe that life begins at conception. That does not make me a non-libertarian, it just means that my definition of when the right to life begins is different than this author as well as some other libertarians.
I make the argument here that the spark that turned the financial crisis from a manageable problem into an unmitigated disaster is this Federal Housing Reform Act of 2008. If I am correct it is hardly an endorsement of the Democratic party's methods of regulating markets.5. The hidden hand did well this month punishing stupidity. But libertarians committed to free markets, not corporate oligarchs, must pause to consider the need for field-leveling regulation.
6. R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Yes, we need to restore America's reputation around the world.
7. Finally, Barack Obama is smart enough to follow the aspirations of the Gen Y, Millenials, and Echo Boomers next up on the American political stage. They want choices in both their bank accounts and their bedrooms. I don't have much empirical evidence for that, though the college students I teach suggest that such libertarian leanings are on the rise.I am glad that libertarian leanings are on the rise, but I do not see how voting for a Democrat who advocates an increase in the nanny/welfare state (beyond even the levels that John McCain advocates) is going to held bring about growth in libertarian policies.
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