WendyMcElroy.com

Libertarianism Is Not Atheist, Is Not Religious

My regular Thursday column has appeared at the highly-recommended Daily Bell: http://www.thedailybell.com/editorials/35710/Wendy-McElroy-Libertarianism-Is-Not-Atheist-Is-Not-Religious/ Libertarianism Is Not Atheist, Is Not Religious. There is an active commentary thread at the end of the article, and I make a habit of responding to posts made there. Enjoy!

Excerpt: A Liberty magazine article (March 1987) on religion was entitled "Freedom is for Everyone (Including the despised 'Rightists')." In it, Murray Rothbard observed, "The libertarian movement, and the Libertarian Party, will get nowhere in America – or throughout the world – so long as it is perceived, as it generally is, as a movement dedicated to atheism. Nock, Morley, Chodorov, Flynn et. al. were not atheists, but for various accidental reasons of history, the libertarian movement after the 1950s consisted almost exclusively of atheists." (The article's title includes "despised rightists" because religion, especially Christianity, is closely associated with the right.)  http://www.thedailybell.com/editorials/35710/Wendy-McElroy-Libertarianism-Is-Not-Atheist-Is-Not-Religious/ Click to access the entire article.

Re: Libertarianism Is Not Atheist, Is Not Religious

That's weird.  I posted a couple of comments on this article and they're not there.  They didn't seem like anything that a moderator would object to...

Re: Libertarianism Is Not Atheist, Is Not Religious

That's weird.  I posted a couple of comments on this article and they're not there.  They didn't seem like anything that a moderator would object to...

Some posts, if they have certain key words, are held back by Discus for the moderator. Like I can't use the words black or gay in my posts or they automatically get held back for review.

Re: Libertarianism Is Not Atheist, Is Not Religious

Also, the moderator is part time and has other responsibilities.  So comments may be held for a few hours and then appear in a bunch.

If you register a user name with Disqus, rather than posting as a guest, you get posted immediately.  (It might be that your first post under a registered user name is moderated; I don't recall.)  I can't say, though, if "trigger words" will still hold the post for moderation.

Re: Libertarianism Is Not Atheist, Is Not Religious

I see that they're on there now.

Re: Libertarianism Is Not Atheist, Is Not Religious

Also, the moderator is part time and has other responsibilities.  So comments may be held for a few hours and then appear in a bunch.

If you register a user name with Disqus, rather than posting as a guest, you get posted immediately.  (It might be that your first post under a registered user name is moderated; I don't recall.)  I can't say, though, if "trigger words" will still hold the post for moderation.

I wrote a pretty lengthy comment there stating that while I think that Wendy was right on target with her views on statism/collectivism vs. liberty, that it seems easier and more logical to make a case that no person or group of people calling themselves a government can claim a "right" to coerce others because a "right" to coerce others does not exist, despite the specious "social contract," and by the same token, "rights" to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (God-given or otherwise obtained.) do not exist for humans any more than they do beef steers or chickens, and that claiming certain "rights" just muddies the concept of the NAP, but I can't find my comment there.

Re: Libertarianism Is Not Atheist, Is Not Religious

Tom, when did you post it?  I think there's only one person on moderator duty, and he or she does have to sleep sometime.

(I felt really sorry for the moderator when Wendy's article about The Fate of Galt's Gulch Chile exploded, with over 900 comments.  Suddenly a part-time job became a full-time-plus job.)

Re: Libertarianism Is Not Atheist, Is Not Religious

I posted it yesterday morning, and it appeared briefly, and then I could no longer find it.  It may actually be there somewhere, but I gave up looking for it.  I thought maybe I posted in the wrong spot, until I read the other comments.

Re: Libertarianism Is Not Atheist, Is Not Religious

A peculiarity of the Disqus software is that it lets you see your own post, right after you make it, even before it gets approved.  But if you then close your browser, reopen it, and return to that page, your browser session is lost and you no longer see your pending post.  (It may be sufficient to simply leave that page, and then revisit the web page later, without closing your browser.  I haven't experimented to find the limits.)  You then have to wait until it is approved.

But if you posted it yesterday morning, it should have appeared by now.  You may have to click "Load more comments" at the bottom of the page....possibly more than once.  Did you post as "Tom Palven"?  Because at this moment (6 am ET), there's no "Palven" listed in the comments.

Re: Libertarianism Is Not Atheist, Is Not Religious

Yes, I posted as Tom Palven.  I just went and took another look, and loaded more comments.  There's someone named Tom there, but it's not me.  It's a mystery, but I'm not going to worry about it.  Maybe I accidentally posted it as a comment to someone else or something.  I'll try again some other time.

Re: Libertarianism Is Not Atheist, Is Not Religious

Tom and all others who post at the Daily Bell...I want to thank you for doing so. I'm trying to construct a venue at which there is productive discussion among people with varied perspectives. And you're helping in that. Thanks.

Re: Libertarianism Is Not Atheist, Is Not Religious

Sorry, but I can't help but giggle when I see Christians say their "faith" is based on "reason."   

Re: Libertarianism Is Not Atheist, Is Not Religious

Sorry, but I can't help but giggle when I see Christians say their "faith" is based on "reason."   

Who was it that said that, and in what context?  I have some faith that my car will start when I turn the key, based on the fact that it always has so far, and I have faith in the fact that "good Christians" are not real clear thinkers.

Re: Libertarianism Is Not Atheist, Is Not Religious

If you've read the comments on that blog post you would have seen it several times.  I think I better just leave it at that.

Re: Libertarianism Is Not Atheist, Is Not Religious

If you've read the comments on that blog post you would have seen it several times.  I think I better just leave it at that.

I think I finally figured out what happened.  I replied to the wrong piece.  Duh.