[2014-10-13] - IB Times - Rise of the New Libertarians

[marcus_of_augustus]

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/rise-new-libertarians-meet-britains-next-political-generation-1469233

Apps such as taxi ordering service Uber, which has drastically reduced the costs to consumers of a cab journey in the cities where it's used by increasing competition and evading bureaucratic licensing terms.

Or cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, which operate outside of the realm of financial regulation and monetary policy frameworks, powered organically by a sprawling network of dedicated developers and enthusiasts.

In Howes' words, technology will "undercut a lot of the existing hierarchy".

There's one snag: the state will always try to catch up. The loophole advantage of legal grey areas exploited by new technologies is often closed. Uber has faced court challenges and financial regulators across the world are working out if and how to police cryptocurrencies.

"When the state cracks down on Uber, people see the state cracking down on a technology they like," Salisbury-Jones says.

[Lethn]

Most interesting thing I've read about UK politics for awhile now, it's nice to see there are Libertarians in the UK, there was a sort of 'official' Libertarian party but they went extinct a long time ago and were clearly dealing with lots of internal politics.

I may actually donate some coins to these guys if I can get myself a passive income.

[marcus_of_augustus]

Most interesting thing I've read about UK politics for awhile now, it's nice to see there are Libertarians in the UK, there was a sort of 'official' Libertarian party but they went extinct a long time ago and were clearly dealing with lots of internal politics.

I may actually donate some coins to these guys if I can get myself a passive income.

Did you dig into the stats there ... looks like the 'kids' really get it, the good voluntarist parts ... and the teens and tweens even more so. They understand that the quantitatively provable ways to help the poor and common man is NOT through more government but less. Bleeding heart libertarians, hah.

When the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition moved in 2013 to cap the total annual benefits a household can receive at £26,000, a YouGov survey found that 54% of 16 to 24-year-olds agreed with it against 16% in opposition.

Ipsos MORI's Generation Next survey of 11 to 16-year-olds seems to confirm that the ideas of personal responsibility and individualism are growing in appeal among tomorrow's adults.

Just 4% of more than 2,700 secondary school pupils surveyed said the welfare state made them most proud to be British. The winner was Team GB, the Olympians, at 28%. And only 2% said benefits were the most important focus for government spending, though 11% did prioritise looking after the poor.

[Lethn]

I'm not surprised, it's the same in America isn't it? Here's to hoping we can finally get rid of this cycle of the older generation screwing over the younger generation which is really all politics amounts to anymore. You can bet though that the older lot in the UK will be out in force to act patronising and arrogant to them because honestly I think it's something the British specialise in which is one of the many reasons I want to leave lol.