A quick case for libertarianism

I posted the response below on a message board after being inspired by the following quote:

I don’t understand the Libertarian mindset. It’s an elitist mindset, which seems to me to say, “I’ve got mine; why should I care about anybody else?”
I can’t say that I know that much about Libertarianism, but I’m not convinced that it’s the way to go.
Maybe you’d care to educate us….
Sallie

Since Sallie asked, and generally I think that Libertarian ideas are misunderstood, I thought I would write this brief explanation of why the federal government should use libertarian solutions to many of the problems facing America today.

Federal Debt and Domestic Policy

The federal government is nearly bankrupt. It is trillions of dollars in debt and spends hundreds of billions of dollars a year to pay the interest on that debt. Although I don’t think that democrats and republicans intended to do this, it is difficult to expect real leadership on difficult issues when a seat at the table is awarded based solely on who is the best campaigner. Instead it is logical to expect exactly the behavior we see in our elected officials – paralytic finger pointing and expansion of ineffective governmental “solutions.” These solutions usually don’t go far enough to make a positive change and only really result in larger federal deficits.

The libertarian solution would be to drastically downsize the activity of federal government by focusing solely on the basic requirements called for in the Constitution. All other programs, if indeed a government solution is the best, would shift to state and local authority. Libertarian thought does not shirk the responsibilities of citizenry, rather it eliminates the hated middle-man role the federal government currently holds. In a truly libertarian society, all citizens would be expected to make a contribution (albeit a voluntary one) and those who do not would be ostracized for their selfishness.

Foreign Policy

The current foreign policy of interventionism and foreign aid is not only a contributing factor to the fiscal weakness of the federal government, but also a disastrous drain on international social and political capital.

A libertarian foreign policy would eliminate our foreign military presence – which does little for international stability and is mainly a subservient arm of big business. It would also eliminate all foreign aid as it most often only props up foreign regimes that are unpopular within and outside of their borders. Libertarian foreign policy is isolationist only in the sense that it is not empirical. The international role of ‘super power’ the US has played has reaped dreadful international costs and done little good for foreign or American citizens. An introduction of a more libertarian foreign policy would result in a great increase in international political and social capital that our diplomats could use to foster better relationships with currently alienated former allies.

When you get down to it, and ask why would it be better the answer is three-fold:

1. State and local governments are better equipped to address many social and economic problems we face today (different situations will require different solutions).

2. The federal government has proven inept and untrustworthy in its many functions. Whether it be FEMA, degradation of our civil rights, our total lack of national defense on 9/11, the rape of our social security funds, irrational and inhumane military operations, subservience (in both major parties) to corporate interests, etc. the federal government has failed the expectations of its citizens time and again.

3. The federal government can’t afford to continue operating as it is. It requires a drastic reduction in size in order to allow its citizens to be better able to face the challenges of the present and future.

Please discuss…