Libertarianism, as a doctrine, is something I deeply dislike and find profoundly wrong both philosophically and religiously. But libertarianism as a set of practices, particularly when expressed via pleas for decentralism, federalism, legislative oversight, electoral responsiveness, and anti-statism in general? There I see a lot that's of value, and a lot that we could have used more of (in particular, perhaps, from self-identifying libertarian organizations--like the Libertarian Party itself--and individuals--like Senator Rand Paul--who have gone full MAGA) in the past couple of decades, as the Republicans collapsed into a personality cult and the Democrats divided and sub-divided themselves to the point of being mostly ineffectual in responding to the looming crisis.
The smart, sensible libertarians (Bonnie is certainly one) understand the difference between adhering to an ideology and promoting/living by a set of principles. She does the latter, which means that one must be in touch with reality and the limits it places on human action (individually and collectively) if you aspire to your vision of a just society.
"...the expressed wishes of Congress be damned..." What wishes are those, exactly? Their standard operating procedure over the course of decades has been to defer to the agencies in lieu of actually legislating — abdicating their constitutional obligations and prerogatives along the way. And so you get Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which ended the Chevron doctrine but didn't end the mischief. Perhaps now they'll learn? We'll see.
"But Trump and Elon are already dismantling what I consider the good parts of the state, like USAID..." Time was liberals older and wiser understood that USAID was a cutout for the CIA and, quite apart from acting as an instrument of beneficent "soft power," buttressed the much-reviled military-industrial complex. I suppose that was another, more benighted time. It might end up being the case that we want to continue funding PEPFAR — that seems to make a lot of sense and do a lot of good. But maybe it's not in the national interest to pay for a lot — most? — of the other stuff.
"Checks and balances are disappearing. It looks like we have a king." _Are_ disappearing? You learned very little from our partnership, I'm afraid. With the possible exception of Calvin Coolidge, every president since Woodrow Wilson — Republican and Democrat — has pushed the constitutional envelope as far as possible, distorting the republic beyond recognition. Trump is a culmination — not even THE culmination — of that process.
Libertarianism, as a doctrine, is something I deeply dislike and find profoundly wrong both philosophically and religiously. But libertarianism as a set of practices, particularly when expressed via pleas for decentralism, federalism, legislative oversight, electoral responsiveness, and anti-statism in general? There I see a lot that's of value, and a lot that we could have used more of (in particular, perhaps, from self-identifying libertarian organizations--like the Libertarian Party itself--and individuals--like Senator Rand Paul--who have gone full MAGA) in the past couple of decades, as the Republicans collapsed into a personality cult and the Democrats divided and sub-divided themselves to the point of being mostly ineffectual in responding to the looming crisis.
A lot of libertarians have turned out to be not so libertarian!
The smart, sensible libertarians (Bonnie is certainly one) understand the difference between adhering to an ideology and promoting/living by a set of principles. She does the latter, which means that one must be in touch with reality and the limits it places on human action (individually and collectively) if you aspire to your vision of a just society.
You’re another!
"...the expressed wishes of Congress be damned..." What wishes are those, exactly? Their standard operating procedure over the course of decades has been to defer to the agencies in lieu of actually legislating — abdicating their constitutional obligations and prerogatives along the way. And so you get Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which ended the Chevron doctrine but didn't end the mischief. Perhaps now they'll learn? We'll see.
"But Trump and Elon are already dismantling what I consider the good parts of the state, like USAID..." Time was liberals older and wiser understood that USAID was a cutout for the CIA and, quite apart from acting as an instrument of beneficent "soft power," buttressed the much-reviled military-industrial complex. I suppose that was another, more benighted time. It might end up being the case that we want to continue funding PEPFAR — that seems to make a lot of sense and do a lot of good. But maybe it's not in the national interest to pay for a lot — most? — of the other stuff.
"Checks and balances are disappearing. It looks like we have a king." _Are_ disappearing? You learned very little from our partnership, I'm afraid. With the possible exception of Calvin Coolidge, every president since Woodrow Wilson — Republican and Democrat — has pushed the constitutional envelope as far as possible, distorting the republic beyond recognition. Trump is a culmination — not even THE culmination — of that process.
Read more Jeffers. https://allpoetry.com/Shine,-Perishing-Republic