Hugh MacIntyre: How libertarians should vote in today’s provincial election | Full Comment | National Post:
Oct. 6, 2011 - "I have had to take a serious look at both political parties and decide which one truly deserves my vote. I speak of the Freedom Party and the Libertarian Party.
"Both parties offer a vision of a more modest state that does not unnecessarily interfere with the lives of individuals and recognizes the free market as the primary driver of prosperity....
"The Freedom Party has worked hard to earn my vote, while the Libertarian Party has been pretty much invisible.
"Still, I can’t bring myself to vote for the Freedom Party and the reason I can’t is the party’s leader: Paul McKeever....
"Paul McKeever insists the Freedom Party is objectivist and not libertarian.
"I won’t bother going into the difference between objectivism and libertarianism because one is a moral philosophy and the other is a political philosophy. By insisting the Freedom Party is objectivist, rather than libertarian, Mr. McKeever is basically saying that you have to not just agree with his policies, but also agree with the moral philosophy of Ayn Rand.
"I don’t care that Mr. McKeever is an objectivist, because I agree with his political goals.
"This isn’t good enough for Mr. McKeever. In fact, he can be pretty insulting about it.... To my mind, this means he doesn’t really want my vote. If ideological purity is what he wants, then he doesn’t want me.
"So I will be voting Libertarian because I agree with the party’s policies and the party leader doesn’t purposefully alienate me."
Oct. 6, 2011 - "I have had to take a serious look at both political parties and decide which one truly deserves my vote. I speak of the Freedom Party and the Libertarian Party.
"Both parties offer a vision of a more modest state that does not unnecessarily interfere with the lives of individuals and recognizes the free market as the primary driver of prosperity....
"The Freedom Party has worked hard to earn my vote, while the Libertarian Party has been pretty much invisible.
"Still, I can’t bring myself to vote for the Freedom Party and the reason I can’t is the party’s leader: Paul McKeever....
"Paul McKeever insists the Freedom Party is objectivist and not libertarian.
"I won’t bother going into the difference between objectivism and libertarianism because one is a moral philosophy and the other is a political philosophy. By insisting the Freedom Party is objectivist, rather than libertarian, Mr. McKeever is basically saying that you have to not just agree with his policies, but also agree with the moral philosophy of Ayn Rand.
"I don’t care that Mr. McKeever is an objectivist, because I agree with his political goals.
"This isn’t good enough for Mr. McKeever. In fact, he can be pretty insulting about it.... To my mind, this means he doesn’t really want my vote. If ideological purity is what he wants, then he doesn’t want me.
"So I will be voting Libertarian because I agree with the party’s policies and the party leader doesn’t purposefully alienate me."
No comments:
Post a Comment