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Yesterday, the presidential nominee for the Libertarian Party quoted me from a piece I wrote in 2014 saying that libertarians ought to confront and combat racism if they wanted their ideas to get more purchase outside of their echo chamber.
Anodyne as it was, it set people off.
Anodyne as it was, it set people off.
I have never been a member of the LP, and I haven’t really called myself “a” libertarian since 2016. I don’t usually correct people who call me one because I’m still highly skeptical and critical of government, I just believe the label is too limiting for me personally.
But one of the reasons I dropped the label was on full display yesterday.
While it is true a lot of people in BLM are socialists, Dem Socialists, or leftist anarchists, lots of people who are protesting are literally just protesting police abuse.
While it is true a lot of people in BLM are socialists, Dem Socialists, or leftist anarchists, lots of people who are protesting are literally just protesting police abuse.
It is telling that people as decentralized and multifaceted as “libertarians” think BLM—likewise decentralized and full of competing factions and ideas and adopted by plenty of people outside of any org or movement—is a singular entity to oppose.
And, of course, protestations that it’s the Marxism not race that is motivating the people who screech about “pandering to the blacks” is just absurd on its face.
It’s almost as absurd as people who claim they care about individual liberty talking about anti-government protestors in language and conspiratorial tones reminiscent of J. Edgar Hoover.
And to be clear, the “Civil Rights Movement” of the mid 20th c. was also an array of people and competing factions that was never a singular entity with a united singular purpose.
Now, the naked racism I saw yesterday is not emblematic of most LPers and certainly not at all representative of the professional (“small L”) libertarians I’ve worked with my entire DC career.
But the piece quoted addresses a persistent blindspot among “movement libertarians”
But the piece quoted addresses a persistent blindspot among “movement libertarians”
Namely, that racism continues to have a tangible effect on the lives of Black Americans and other minorities. Libertarian organizations too often amplify the Black people who downplay racism’s effects in US culture. And that makes the largely white libertarian base feel better.
But it’s not true, and we’ve got tons of data to show it.
This disconnect, at this point, is deliberate ignorance for too many libertarians and their institutions.
This disconnect, at this point, is deliberate ignorance for too many libertarians and their institutions.
As for my former employer, I wish they’d do more, but they’ve made great strides over the years and I applaud them for their efforts.
In particular, @MTannerCato’s work addresses race head on with nuance & thoughtfulness that has been largely absent from libertarian commentary
In particular, @MTannerCato’s work addresses race head on with nuance & thoughtfulness that has been largely absent from libertarian commentary
But there is a reason I tell the Cato interns to forget about converting people to libertarianism and focus on building alliances on issues of shared values.
Well-meaning libertarians have an uphill climb because of a sordid libertarian history and nonsense like yesterday.
Well-meaning libertarians have an uphill climb because of a sordid libertarian history and nonsense like yesterday.
Libertarians need to convince Black people and people with other ideologies—like socialists, ahem—that they aren’t the enemy.
For G-d’s sake, anti-state libertarians should embrace the work of abolitionists who are building non-state organizations to benefit their communities.
For G-d’s sake, anti-state libertarians should embrace the work of abolitionists who are building non-state organizations to benefit their communities.
But, per usual, libertarians get in their own way by—ironically—treating an amorphous melange of people and organizations as one group and one to disparage.
The perils of collecivist thinking, indeed.
The perils of collecivist thinking, indeed.
Anyway, there are libertarians that are trying and I’m honored Jo chose my words to express sympathy with those who are facing the brunt of American state oppression.
It’s a damn shame so many self-ID’d libertarians find defending Black lives so controversial.
/fin
It’s a damn shame so many self-ID’d libertarians find defending Black lives so controversial.
/fin
