Just wondering, are any of you not libertarians?

[jakedeez]

I mean, I would describe myself as a liberal democrat on social issues and moderate to liberal on fiscal ones.  I know that's like a complete anathema to many of you here, but is everyone involved with bitcoins really a libertarian?

[Ekaros]

Social liberal...

I'm rather liberal, everything goes in reason and reasonable framework...
On other hand I believe state should provide basic needs of citizens...
 

[practicaldreamer]

I reckon that the wealth of a nation should be held in the hands of the people of that nation.

Does that make me a libertarian or not ?

[jakedeez]

I reckon that the wealth of a nation should be held in the hands of the people of that nation.

Does that make me a libertarian or not ?

In an of itself, no... do you identify as a libertarian?

[RodeoX]

I'm not what others would call a libertarian. More of a liberal. However compared to people around the world, most Americans have a libertarian streak in them. 

[jakedeez]

I'm not what others would call a libertarian. More of a liberal. However compared to people around the world, most Americans have a libertarian streak in them. 

That I can agree with for sure - and I think I share that bent... but idk man, between the forums, and the satoshi square meetups it feels like 99% of the people I meet in bitcoin are libertarians and often extreme ones.

[pedrog]

Technocrat.

[Nik1ab]

Would you count an anarchist as a libertarian?

[Holliday]

Would you count an anarchist as a libertarian?

I wouldn't.

[practicaldreamer]

I reckon that the wealth of a nation should be held in the hands of the people of that nation.

Does that make me a libertarian or not ?

In an of itself, no... do you identify as a libertarian?

To be honest I wouldn't really identify with most of the libertarians on here - but I think there are problems going on in the translation between the US and UK (who I suppose are the main users of the english language section of Bitcointalk) meanings of certain phrases. We are seperated by a common language   as they say. (anyone see the interview with Piers Morgan and the US gun lobby representative - if you saw it you'll know what I'm talking about here)

  The more I think about it the more I am coming to think that the days of the grand ideological paradigms are over.


   The libertarian thing, from where I'm sat, seems to be a US reaction to a failure of democracy. However, what confuses me is that for a lot on here it seems to be a reaction to the failure of Government in general - the idea being that if people are left to their own devices everything will be OK. Seems a bit far fetched and simplistic to me and doesn't really address the underlying issues.

   From a European point of view the similarities are with Anarchism - but its only really a superficial resemblance. Libertarians, for example, seem to have little to say about the ownership of the means of production - which for a lot of traditional European anarchists would have been fundamental.
    In fact, I'd go so far as to say that a lot of "libertarians", certainly as they've expressed themselves on this forum, are little more than extreme neo conservatives.



  

[CoinCube]

I am a socialist   honest I am

I even posted a technical Defense of Socialism

[practicaldreamer]

This is what I have come to see as being a Libertarian (the Senator - not P Morgan).
   Nothing radical - just the same old same old reactionary conservatism - only a little more so for the 21st century.

It reminds me of the behaviour of a spoiled adolescent - and I'm not saying that to be inflammatory.

Or is US libertarianism something more than this ?

[practicaldreamer]

Is Alex Jones a libertarian ? 

The really scary thing here is that I saw this guy (Alex Jones) waxing lyrical about BTC recently.

That, to me, is tragic - but it has been mirrored by my short time on this forum. The man is a lunatic.

He, and the views he expresses, are not what BTC is about for me. He, and his like, have cottoned on to BTC largely through the regard for their own self interest and a belief in the sovereignty of the individual - as well as a vague notion that BTC will make it impossible for a wicked Govt. to seize their taxes etc etc.

Its gonna be a hard road to travel.

God help us.

[jakedeez]

Is Alex Jones a libertarian ? 

The really scary thing here is that I saw this guy (Alex Jones) waxing lyrical about BTC recently.

That, to me, is tragic - but it has been mirrored by my short time on this forum. The man is a lunatic.

He, and the views he expresses, are not what BTC is about for me. He, and his like, have cottoned on to BTC largely through the regard for their own self interest and a belief in the sovereignty of the individual - as well as a vague notion that BTC will make it impossible for a wicked Govt. to seize their taxes etc etc.

Its gonna be a hard road to travel.

God help us.

Alex Jones isn't a libertarian, he is a conspiracy theory whacko who is just trying to sell shit.  He is useless.

[Carlton Banks]

It doesn't make much sense to me for someone to classify themselves as something you can't or won't do in practice. Like people who literally claim themselves as anarchists or communists when they live in country that's not even going in that direction.

Saying you sympathise with libertarian values is a different thing, and I'd go that far for sure. But I'd also say that it's not magically the answer to everything. I think the whole decentralised-network-of-proofs phenomenon will promote a more libertarian way of life everywhere. I guess you have to go with what fits the prevailing conditions, and libertarianism or anarchism just wasn't a possibility for the past few decades now, we didn't have the tools that produced that type of culture.

[TheIrishman]

To the OP: you must be kidding me. There are even pieces of human garbage here who actually support the NSA:

Every time some kid tries to take potshots at NSA, I wonder if they consider how much effort and competence it has taken for a single agency to run such a wide spread, global surveillance/information gathering program without being fully detected and exposed for what is estimated to be at least 10 years.

If they control Gox (makes sense, start it off of US territory, under American 'private ownership', etc), then my hats off to them.

The most effective form of intelligence operation is one that is competent, all-encompassing, and most of all, secret. I suppose it doesn't occur to people that the reason public never hears about successes of intelligence operations is because when they are successful, they maintain their secrecy.

Many such organizations take perverse pride in knowing that their successes never see the light of day, precisely because they are successful and therefore kept a secret.

Fuck they don't even list the names of intelligence star recipients on the wall in Langley.

Before being afraid of NSA or bitching about CIA, I suggest people understand the nature of what it takes to maintain and advance security of a nation.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=446360.0

[bryant.coleman]

To the OP: you must be kidding me. There are even pieces of human garbage here who actually support the NSA

I have seen several people here supporting the NSA.