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Originally Posted by aerohead
*I own,and have read everything Ayn Rand ever published,and there ARE some very attractive aspects.I can imagine much of it resonating with business owners.I did a couple of years precinct work for the Libertarian Party in Dallas.I took it as just part of my self-education.
*The Koch family has done well and they have the resources to influence folks,and their businesses would be affected by 'policy',so it's no wonder that they'd participate in the public arena so as to protect their interests.
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I've not ready anything by Rand, but have been accused of being closely associated with her, and therefore unworthy of debating. Atlas Shrugged is on my list to read someday, but it's a very big book, and there are plenty of other books I should read too that are shorter in length. Speaking of big books, I still need to work through Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
The main flaw of Libertarian principles is that they are insufficient to address "tragedy of the commons" issues, such as environmental concerns and global warming. The fundamentalist attitude is something along the lines of "what business of yours is it, if I pee in my corner of the swimming pool".
That said, it's better to err on the side of liberty than authority to the government. Too much freedom for an individual can result in them doing harm to themselves, which is a relatively easy problem to address. Too much authority granted to government can lead to gas chambers and mass graves; a problem much more dire and difficult to solve.
Quote:
Originally Posted by freebeard
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Iran Contra... goes along with my principle that if a cause is worth anyone's bloodshed, it's worth our bloodshed.
I'm not sure isolationism is right, but at least it mostly avoids messy politics and unintended consequences. It's by far the simplest solution, and I do like simple solutions.
Is a wall really effective? It seems to me it's more of a statement than a deterrent. I don't think the problem is so much one of physical access to the country, but motivations for being here in the first place, and of there being little consequence of having done so illegally. Concertina wire is easily defeated with a pair of wire cutters or a blanket. The weakness of a wall is that the entire length must be maintained, and a single breach makes it ineffective. Patrolling will still be required, so why not just forego the wall and patrol?