[Vision2020] Is Budge is true libertarian?

[lfalen]

I generally agree with libertarians accept on foreign policy and with Dave Budge. In this cass I'm with Mill and Gier. I think libertarian and Classical Liberal are about the same.
-----Original message-----
From: Nick Gier ngier at uidaho.edu
Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2005 09:50:02 -0800
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Vision2020] Is Budge is true libertarian?

> Greetings:
> 
> As I have noted before, I've generally been impressed with David Budge's 
> intellectual acumen and what at first appeared to be a consistent 
> libertarian position, as opposed to some phony Christian libertarians that 
> we know so well.
> 
> John Stuart Mill's On Liberty has been a classic resource for contemporary 
> libertarians, and one of the most important points that Mill makes in his 
> defense of liberty is the protection of minorities.  I believe this is a 
> direct quote: "Even a minority of one must be protected."  (This is the 
> reason why we need the ACLU.) When Dave states that we must decide basic 
> issues of human rights by a democratic vote, he has left, as far as I'm 
> concerned, the libertarian fold.  We have a judicial system primarily 
> because we don't want a majority of people in Mississippi tell its citizens 
> that segregation is OK because that is how they've always done it.
> 
> As I have argued elsewhere, in a true libertarian society the role of 
> government would contract significantly, but the court system would expand 
> not contract.  For example, the libertarian solution to pollution is not a 
> clumsy EPA but class action suits against polluters.  The libertarian 
> solution against unsafe planes is not the FAA but class action suits 
> against unsafe carriers.  The libertarian argument is that this is a far 
> more effective way to irresponsible businesses.
> 
> After teaching undergraduates for 31 years and learning how poorly they 
> understand basic rights such as equality of opportunity and liberty to do 
> what one wants within a minimal legal framework, I do not want my fellow 
> Americans voting on these basic rights.  They are not negotiable and our 
> courts are there to protect our inalienable rights.  That's why I'm so 
> fearful of the current administration packing the court system with real 
> activist judges.
> 
> Yours for liberty, equality, and community,
> 
> Nick Gier, Classical Liberal