Students for Liberty Flashcards
Liberty
The freedom to pursue your own good, in your own way, without other people limiting your options or forcing you to fulfill their needs first (and without infringing on other peoples ability to pursue their own good, in their own way).
What is political liberty about?
It is about you and I can’t force each other to do. I can’t force you to do what you don’t want to do, and I can’t impose harm on you (unless in self-defense). We have to respect each other’s boundaries and the boundaries of our property.
Why focus on political liberty?
Liberty best allows us to pursue the things that matter the most to us. It permits each of us to pursue our own good in our own way.
What is the incentive created by the knowledge that I will bear the consequences of my actions provide?
It provides me with an incentive to make better decisions. This can’t be said of complete and total strangers. They can’t literally suffer my pain or feel my joy. They won’t be as motivated as I would be in figuring out and achieving what is best for me.
Should we impose our values on other people?
No, diverse individuals should be allowed to chase after what is important to them. You may try to convince them to follow your values, but you cannot force them.
How should our rules and laws see us?
As individuals not as a community or a collective. We shouldn’t be punished for the actions of other people even if they are our friends or members of our community. People should be seen as individual agents responsible for their own actions but not the actions of others, and should be held accountable for what they, as individuals, do.
Collectivism
The idea that an individual should be subservient to the group. This means that an individual’s values and beliefs are usually seen as irrelevant and their needs are secondary to those of the group.
What is the difference in free speech requirements between a public and private school?
Public schools must abide by the first amendment, private schools may implement their own speech codes.
What do contracts enable us to do?
Contracts enable us to make long-term plans and to carry on business over a wide geographical area and with people, we don’t know, by ensuring that the trades and terms we agree on with other people will be followed through on as long as we to uphold our end of the bargain.
Why can’t we blame society for our actions?
Because others cannot impose obligations on us by appealing to the alleged rights of society, or of the community. In a free society we have our natural rights and our general obligation to respect the rights of other individuals. Our other obligations are those we choose to assume by contract.
What is the lowest, most crudely primitive form of collectivism?
Racism. It is the notion of ascribing moral, social or political significance to man’s genetic lineage…which means, in practice, that a man is to be judged, not by his own character and actions, but by the character and actions of a collective of ancestors.
What is one way that the government discriminates against people of different genders, races, classes, etc.
When it puts into place public policy based on its effect on specific groups, as opposed to based on how it treats individuals according to the principle of equal rights.
How do rights apply to religion? Does this mean there won’t be any proselytizing?
If we have rights, if we are individual moral agents, we must be free to exercise our judgement and define our own relationship (or lack thereof) with God. That doesn’t meant that a free, pluralistic society won’t have lots o persuasion and proselytizing–no doubt it will–but it does mean that such proselytizing must remain entirely persuasive, entirely voluntary.
Why is it unfair to criticize Libertarians as being to extreme for having a dogmatic view of the role of government?
Im a libertarian because I believe that people have inherent, natural rights to self-ownership and to own property. A just government is one that does two things, it protects these rights and it does not violate them. Now, while I believe all of this on moral grounds, there are an inumerable number of practical ones as well. One of which is that we must realize that our politicians are, well, politicians. Not economists, not doctors, not economists, they know every issue generally but few or done specifically. Because of this we can’t possibly expend them to find the truth, to find what’s right on each and every issue. Rather, we need to leave that up to individual people, people who are all experts at what they do, acting voluntarily within a free market. When this is allowed, the truth will be found, the right way to do something will be found, and when this happens, we will all be the better for it.
How do occupational licensing laws work to keep people out of good jobs?
Because they are required for more than a quarter of American jobs, including tour guides and manicurists. In some cities, it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy a taxicab license, so an otherwise easy form of entrepreneurship is closed to people who don’t already have the capital.
