Archive for the ‘Libertarian’ Category

The Libertarianism-to-Fascism Pipeline – National Review

In 2002, I got it into my head that I wanted to attend what was then described as the Old Latin Mass. I had been reading in the dingy corners of the Internet, which is always dangerous, and these Latin Mass people seemed able to explain some of the gap between the grand ideas I was studying in a medieval-theology class at my college and the worship at most Catholic parishes, which, to me, seemed little different from the Lutheran services Id seen as a teenager. One Sunday morning I got in my car, and life has never been the same.

For most of the people I met there, the Old Mass was the one quixotic cause to which they were attached. They knew that the local bishop didnt like this movement, and that it placed them outside the mainstream not only of their culture but of their own Church. But they believed.

The price for their conviction was that they had to put up with the others the people for whom the Latin Mass was just the first or the latest in a long line of disreputable fascinations and commitments. One of these folks told me that every bishop and cardinal and even the pope himself was homosexual. Another let on that she frequently wrote encouraging letters to certain Bourbon descendants. And honestly, it was the freaks and conspiracy theorists who seemed more kind and generous with their time, and who generally were less discriminating in everyday ways. They might be worried that Freemasons in the government were spying on them, but they really didnt notice bourgeois morality or care about what you did for a living.

Eventually, Pope Benedict made clear that the Latin Mass was a good thing and said the bishops shouldnt give us such a hard time. Since then, the ratio of normal people to kooks has changed dramatically in favor of normal people.

Which brings us to the strange liberty-to-fascism pipeline.

According to a theory Matt Lewis recently floated, libertarianism is some unique gateway drug to neo-Nazism. Lewis runs through a few white supremacists who have become notorious since Charlottesville and finds that some of them once self-identified as libertarians or have tried recruiting at libertarian events.

But its not just libertarianism. Jason Kessler, the lead organizer of the Charlottesville torch march, was formerly in Occupy Wall Street. And hes not the only Occupy veteran who found himself on the alt-ish side of the street. Online activist Justine Tunney went from Occupy to Gamergate to creating a petition for a CEO of America, fitting her new net-reactionary views.

Lewis comes across the most powerful explanation for the pipeline when professor Kevin Vallier tells him, Libertarianism is an unpopular view. And it takes particular personality types to be open to taking unpopular views. Indeed, marginal ideas attract marginal people. The experience of conversion itself can be intoxicating, and so often the first conversion is not the final one.

It also takes a particular sort of character to handle marginal ideas safely. People dont just think themselves into their ideas; they feel their way to them emotionally, and they are socialized into them. Adopting a big new idea can be like adopting a new wardrobe; it can signify and propel a change in persona.

Before the Latin Mass, I spent some time in Evangelical churches, and I count many Evangelicals as friends and spiritual peers. But after 15 years of socializing myself into my religious views, I think one of the chief barriers to my ever concluding that Martin Luther correctly interpreted St. Pauls letters is that I dont want to become a person who wears khakis and a broad smile when prefacing a difficult conversation with the words, The Lord put something on my heart.

Im sure theres someone who looks at my religious views and thinks, I dont want be the kind of person who talks about G. K. Chesterton to strangers and tells their kids to offer it up when they fall and scrape their knee. Theres no logical connection at work. You can have Luthers view of justification without being a typical American Evangelical. Martin Luther himself managed that trick. But the human machine isnt strictly logical. To believe something isnt just to accept the conclusion itself; its to accept yourself as the type of person who believes it.

Cranks therefore come to accept or even embrace their own crankishness. One marginal idea leads to the next even more marginal idea. And the mainstream they rejected isnt just wrong; its proponents become contemptible and corrupt. And contempt spreads easily: Normal people dont care about ideas, the cranks thinking goes, and endure the corruption around them in nearly silent docility. Its the normies that kooks really cant stand.

Like religion, politics attracts kooks and grifters because it is a field where results have a mysterious and hard-to-trace relationship with the time, effort, and cash invested in them. Grifters use this to create lucrative and low-effort consulting jobs. For kooks, the comfort is more psychological. If a kook can convince himself or better yet, others that Freemasons, Jews, or Cultural Marxists run the whole world, hes suddenly relieved of the burden of explaining to himself and others the shipwreck of his own talents and ambitions.

And speaking of grifters, if kooks start digging into the crack in their minds and sometimes end up with a cracked will, grifters start with a cracked will and usually end up with an empty mind. Anything like a conviction could get in the way of the money-making.

If libertarians have a pipeline for kooks, it is probably because they have some non-mainstream views. But if you have perfectly acceptable views, you probably have a pipeline for grifters. Conservatives have a mix of mainstream views and non-mainstream views. Consequently we are always fending off kooks on one side while being preyed upon by grifters on the other.

If libertarians have to account for Christopher Cantwell, Richard Spencer, and a hundred other kooks, perhaps the respectable types need to explain the long parade of money-grubbing nullities marching through political media and political power. All the way from Dick Morris and Morris Dees to Tom Daschle, Trent Lott, and the functionaries at the Clinton Foundation. What pipeline produces these, and who is willing to clean it up?

READ MORE: Campus Conservatives Gave the Alt-Right a Platform The Kids Are Alt Right: The Internets Most Infamous Subculture The Alt-Right Is Bad And So Is Antifa

Michael Brendan Dougherty is a senior writer at National Review.

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The Libertarianism-to-Fascism Pipeline - National Review

How The Libertarian Party’s Partisan Politics Hurts Libertarianism – The Liberty Conservative

If you speak to any political activist operating outside of the two-party mainstream, a common point mentioned is how party politics compromises principles. Republicans often sacrifice conservative principles to advance the party elite. Although individuals such as House Speaker Paul Ryan or Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are considered leaders in the Republican Party, conservative activists generally do not consider them standard bearers of their cause. Case in point is the failure to legitimately repeal Obamacare.

The same is said for many liberals and progressives in terms of the Democratic Party. Instead of nominating someone more devout to their cause such as Senator Bernie Sanders, the party elite opted for Hillary Clinton, a mistake possibly responsible for Trumps unexpected presidency. The Democratic Party seems more concerned with the party elite than advancing their principles.

So why would the Libertarian Party be any different?

Libertarian National Committee chairman Nicholas Sarwark has an active presence online, targeting individuals who stand at odds with his party. This is not unusual, as across the country, Republicans figuratively snipe at Democrats and vice versa. Even on that rare occasion there is common ground among both sides, partisanship always reigns supreme. It is a fact of life in todays political climate.

But with the last election, the Libertarian Party sought to brand itself as the sane alternate to the madness of the two-party duopoly. The problem is that the partys own chairman contradicts this own line of logic.

Sarwark has criticized libertarian icon, former Texas Congressman Ron Paul as well as his libertarian-leaning son Senator Rand Paul. More recently, he has taken aim at historian Tom Woods. The recurring theme is Sarwarks love for hurling insults at non-Libertarians, even the ones that are simply unenrolled libertarians.

Is this healthy for the cause of liberty?

The liberty movement had a very brief moment of unity in 2012 when Ron Paul ran for President, but after that, the movement splintered almost immediately. Libertarians want success for the Libertarian Party, but many Paul-aligned activists remain within the Republican Party. In a number of ways, libertarianism has fallen victim to a tug-o-war between political parties.

So where does this leave Sarwark?

The question ultimately lies where his loyalties are and to a degree, what the aim of the Libertarian Party is.

Is the Libertarian Party in existence to advance its own brand, or does it exist to advance libertarian principles? More importantly, do these goals align?

If the answer to the latter question is yes, then the Libertarian Party would support causes that advance libertarian principles. Nobody is arguing that the Ron, Rand, or Woods are perfect. With that being said, it is undeniable that these individuals have made a significant contribution to liberty. Given Sarwarks attacks, its then easy to assume that advancing the Libertarian Party and the cause of liberty are not parallel causes.

So where does that leave the Libertarian Party?

Ultimately, the Libertarian Party is a lot like the Republican Party. Candidates, activists and scattered leaders may genuinely identify with the principled cause, but the party structure works contrary to it. Political parties work contrary to principles, whether it be Republicans with conservatism or Libertarians with libertarianism.

When Sarwark attacks prominent libertarian figures simply because they dont identify with individuals such as Gary Johnson or Bill Weld, he is setting back the cause of liberty in favor of pushing his brand. This may be his job as a party chairman, but lets not operate under the assumption that he is working towards the goal of advancing liberty.

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How The Libertarian Party's Partisan Politics Hurts Libertarianism - The Liberty Conservative

Does libertarianism have an alt-right problem? – The Washington Post – Washington Post

Writing in the Daily Beast, Matt Lewis suggestsa disproportionate number of alt-right leaders claim to be former libertarians. Exploring why this might be, he identifies several possibilities, and in the process gives libertarians some things to think about.

Among other things, Lewis notes that the Ron Paul campaign and movement was heavily influenced by paleo-libertarian types, such as Lew Rockwell, who have long been critical of immigration and multi-culturalism. Its worth remembering that Rockwells circle eagerly embraced Pat Buchanans first presidential run in 1992 and stayed the course even after Buchanan turned away from antiwar and anti-government themes and began stressing cultural issues. For some self-described libertarians, Buchanans embrace of the culture war was a feature, not a bug, for (in their view) one problem with big government is that it tends to help the wrong people.

Lewis also considers whether some folks who are predisposed to find libertarianism attractive are also predisposed to be seduced by the alt-right. For such folks libertarianism may lose its appeal when they discover the alt-right offers an angrier or more outrageousideology to embrace.

One factor Id add (and that weve discussed on Volokh before) is the misplaced affinity for the Confederacy among some libertarians. War tends to increase the growth of government, and some libertarians note that the federal government grew during the Civil War. This leads some to the (terribly mistaken) conclusion that the Confederacy was somehow the more libertarian side in that conflict. This idea is reinforced by revisionist historical accounts that try to claim the war was really over tariffs (a claim which used to be taught in some high schooltextbooks, especially in the South), or that President Abraham Lincoln had a particularly monstrous record on civil liberties. Neither claim is true. The South explicitly seceded over slavery, and however bad Lincolns civil liberties records was, the Souths was far worse (and was worse even when one tries to discount slavery). [For more on the problem of misplaced Confederate sympathies among libertarians, I recommend this 2013 BHL post by Jacob Levy.]

Lewis closes by suggesting that libertarians (and conservatives) become more vigilant about associations with white supremacists. Hes right. I would also suggest that conservatives and libertarians rethink their embrace of controversialists, particularly on college campuses, as this feeds the alt-right beast. Libertarianism may not be responsible for the alt-right, but its fair to ask whether enough libertarians have done enough to fight it within their own ranks.

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Does libertarianism have an alt-right problem? - The Washington Post - Washington Post

Libertarian and Muslim Activist Planning Mosque in Keene – New Hampshire Public Radio

Plans are in the works for a new mosque in Keene. Its a project of William Coley, a Muslim activist and former Libertarian vice-presidential candidate. He's currently based in Tennessee, but plans to move to Keene and open the mosque this fall.

He says the idea came out of conversations hes had with Ian Freeman, a fellow libertarian and a Keene resident. Freeman founded an organization called the Shire Free Church, which is donating the property for the mosque.

Coley says it will be a space not only for Muslims, but also for those of other faiths that need a place to worship. Theres more than one small religious group here in town they just dont have the funding to have their own building, he said. So we want to give back by allowing those groups to come and use our worship space.

Coley also hopes to offer space to the homeless.

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Libertarian and Muslim Activist Planning Mosque in Keene - New Hampshire Public Radio

An Open Letter from an African American Libertarian – The Narrative Times (blog)

I hope my correspondence finds you in good health and spirits. Its a little after midnight and I am sitting up with my Mac Book Pro on my lap and my beloved dog Eva Elizabeth by my side. I have been wanting to take some time and express myself in support of some things that I believe.

My name is Corey Maurice Fauconier. I am a native of Cambria Heights, Queens, New York. I reside on the South side of Richmond, Virginia. I am involved in my community with non profit organizations like Concerned Black Men (CBM), Get Involved RVA, Toastmasters International and the Richmond Crusade for Voters (RCV). I regularly attend the Richmond School Board, City Council and visit the General Assembly. I notice that not enough people are involved and working to make a difference and that frustrates me.

Back in November of 2014, my good friend and brother Regie Ford whom I met from Toastmasters International in 2007 invited me to attend an Candidates Forum hosted by the historic Richmond Crusade for Voters. The RCV was established in 1956 to educate African Americans in the Commonwealth of Virginia with regard to the referendum vote to prevent the desegregation of the public school system per Brown vs. the Board of Education. The sad thing is only fifty percent of African Americans came out to vote that year, the referendum failed to pass and as history teaches us, the Commonwealth of Virginia closed its public school system that year.

I witnessed history during that forum. Sprinkled in with the regular Democrats and Republicans were Robert Sarvis and James Carr Libertarians candidates for Senate and Congress. I remained objective. I closed my eyes and listened to Mr. Sarvis and Mr. Carr and most of what they said made absolute sense to me. They were honest. My 14 year old step son Elijah who is a freshman at Huguenot High School looked at me and said, Corey the Libertarians won, they were way better that the Democratic and Republicans.

It was historic because Robert Sarvis and James Carr were the first third party candidates to ever address the Richmond Crusade for Voters. Following the event, I went to introduced myself to Mr. Sarvis and Mr. Carr. We talked and took photographs. We exchanged contact information and something just clicked. Over the next few weeks Mr. Sarvis and Mr. Carr instead became Rob and James. Regular men who wanted to make a change in the politics of their community. They in turn introduced me to other Libertarians around the Commonwealth of Virginia. A network of people who were just like me, fighting for freedom.

Soon after, I met Carl Loser and Connie Hannigan-Frank on Twitter. Once again finding out that people in my community were just like me, working to fight for liberty.

I am researching the Libertarian Party. From what I can see thus far, it seems like the right place to be for me. Researching prominent African American Libertarians Walter Williams and Thomas Sowell. I have attended many meetings with my Libertarian brothers and sisters. The Patrick Henry Supper Club, the Chesterfield County Libertarian Party and the Powhatan Libertarian Party meeting. The power of people uniting in support of positive improvement in government and in our communities.

The one thing my late parents Emma and Sylvester taught me growing up in my Caribbean American / African American section of Queens was one to remain involved in my community and to read. Two very important lessons. I will continue to read and research, I will continue do my community service with Concerned Black Men, Get Involved RVA, Toastmasters International and Richmond Crusade for Voters. I will continue to embrace my Libertarian brothers and sisters to work in our community. I welcome any assistance from any Democrat or Republican who wants to make our community a better place. We need to work together in common-unity (community) But, if I need to label myself, call me Corey Fauconier, a proud Central Virginia Libertarian. Please feel free to contact me using the information below. May I thank you in advance for your time and consideration. I pray we find all the freedoms that we are fighting to obtain.

With Respect in Search of Liberty,

Corey M. Fauconier

@CoreyMFauconier Twitter

[emailprotected]

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An Open Letter from an African American Libertarian - The Narrative Times (blog)