In my view, a world where right-libertarians and an-caps represented “the Right” and where left-libertarians and libsocs/an-coms represented “the Left” would be a wonderful place. “Let a thousand flowers bloom.” -Mao tse tung
The main problem that libertarians of any kind seem to have, and one that I have been criticizing for years, is that “freedom” (broadly defined) is not an idea that inherently appeals to most people. People who are drawn to libertarian ideas represent the minority of human beings who find the idea of freedom appealing. But being a libertarian (broadly defined) is like being gay, i.e. it’s something that may come naturally to a minority, but doesn’t appeal to the majority. Most people defer to the norms of their own primary reference groups, perceived legitimate authority figures, and their wider community of origin. And most people prefer safety and security over freedom. So the big question is how can libertarians influence societies beyond their actual numbers? What are the actual examples of situations where freedom emerged, usually by accident as the result of circumstances?
The following is an email interview with Matt Kuehnel and Dane Posner, two members of the Libertarian-Socialist Caucus (LSC) of the Libertarian Party. The interview took place over the course of a few months, between December 2018 and February 2019. The LSC may be contacted and followed on Facebook and Twitter. If interested in learning more or interacting, the LSC welcomes prospective members to participate in their discussion group on Facebook.
