No seriously. This is like insect repellant for republicans. Have you ever, in a million years, seen a conservitive on AG? You know, like a die hard, Arizona, John McCain type Conservative?
If today's libertarians are practically anarchists, then the old definition of liberal also borders anarchy.
Whilst classical liberalism and individualist anarchism do share some common principles, the implication of negative freedom is a degree of government authority which is totally irreconcilable with anarchist principles. Libertarianism is different to classical liberlaism in that it doesn't necessarily subscribe to negative freedom, but borders on, and often crosses over into anarcho capitalism.
Outdated principles of freedom?
By this I mean the historical context of 'freedom' in American history. The constitution is very much to blame for this I think. It has contributed to a political atmosphere in America where everyone has rights, but no one has responsibilities, to themselves or others. The freedoms the constitution was trying to protect were fundamental rights to freely worship and be free from unrepresentative government.
Nowadays though, it is a sad anachronism, which serves only to let gun nuts and fatties label themselves freedom fighters. It's really quite pathetic.
Forcing people to live healthy is not cool. It's like the government putting timers in our video games that only allows us to play 2 hours a day. I'm sorry, but the whole authoritarian thing is terribly outdated.
You see, it's not at all like placing chips in video games, because as far as I am aware, video gaming is not the number 2 cause of preventable deaths in America. Obesity is. If a government is supposed to serve the people, where prudent it must save them from themselves.
It is not authoriatrian to get people to eat more healthily. People would still free to buy the same products as before, except they will have less salt/sugar in them, and it will cost them a little more.
Either way, I don't want to get too bogged down in the practicalities of implementing such a law, (although one was implemented here in the UK, and obesity rates have dropped since, without anyone complainiing they can't get a supersized meal anymore,) where there are instances where a government acts on empirical evidence (in this case the studies linking unhealthy food to obesity, and the obesity crisis in the US) to reach a rationally desirable outcome (in this case a healthier more productive populus), then I'm all for it.
The more I think about this, the more this makes sense given America's historical context. I mean, since they have so little history to speak of, they don't really have a national identity. Therefore people choose to define themselves in political terms instead of economic or social ones.
Australia has even less history than America that we speak of, or even want to lol. Funnily enough we also have less politics to speak of because our major parties are virtually identical (one is "left that leans right" and the other is "right that leans left". That said it's all come to the point where nobody knows who to vote for anymore hence hung parliament this time around!
Australia has even less history than America that we speak of, or even want to lol.
Maybe I am onto something... I would love to know if there is some sort of correlation between the age of a nation and the degree of political identification. Thing is, I can't think of many other young countries.
You know, like a die hard, Arizona, John McCain type Conservative?
lol! John McCain is not a die-hard conservative. While politics is not my strong suit, I do know that there is a difference between Republicans and Conservatives. I hear that many conservatives believe that the political party, both of them, are corrupt.
But the political parties also call Tea Party members crazy people. I took a look at the Tea Party, and they don't sound crazy at all. They sound like Americans who are fed up with taxes.
There's a few left... Most unfortunately, stay quiet. I'm one of them. I speak out where I can, but with little time to devote to the site, my voice is swallowed.
But the political parties also call Tea Party members crazy people. I took a look at the Tea Party, and they don't sound crazy at all. They sound like Americans who are fed up with taxes.
