Thursday 1 July 2010

Battle of the Toons, 1: How many libertarians do you recognise?

And can you put a name to them all?

Cartoon by Leftie Barry Deutsch

24 comments:

PM of NZ said...

A succinct summary of the Libz movement.

Extending petulance, the cartoon summarises exactly how I suspect most feel about libertarianism and why they fail to get traction.

Anonymous said...

The post underneath this one reveals that in your attitude to climate change you are nos 1, 3, 4, 14, 22 and almost certainly 24.

Classic. Thanks for sharing!

Judge Holden

Lew said...

To your credit though, PC, you're not 5, 8, 11, 17, 18, 19 or 21. At least as far as I can tell.

That's (much) more than can be said for some of the NZ movement's more strident voices.

L

Mark Hubbard said...

Well I could probably slot myself into all categories other than 'Creepy' and 'Stoned'. (Though if I could achieve the latter one perhaps the current state of affairs wouldn't annoy me so much).

The cartoon needs a category called 'trapped'.

Richard McGrath said...

@PM: I have taken your words to heart and will shortly be releasing a statement thanking Mr Smith for the tax hike which takes effect today.

Lew said...

Well, Doc, when all you've got it a spade I suppose it makes sense to keep digging.

L

Lew said...

Bah.

s/it/is/

L

deleted said...

I'll take Creepy, Gunner Joe and Stoned thanks...

Richard McGrath said...

Libertarians would do well to keep this series of cartoons handy. However, some comments re these characterisations:

Naive - no thinking libertarian suggests everyone acts sensibly. We don't subscribe to the concept of 'rational' man. Hence Mises' subjective theory of value.

Petulant - more accurate might be to say we won't win an election any time soon because our ideas are too radical and shocking.

Too Smart - some climate scientists are politically motivated, others are not swayed in their conclusions by political ideas.

Arrogant - no harm in debating evidence and the quality thereof.

Left-wing - is this more a case of the little man against Big Govt and Big (government-supported) Business.

Denial-ican - I agree with this one!

More libertarian than thou - Privatising the police is Rothbardian anarcho-capitalism, not libertarianism.

Terrified - there's no reason to be afraid of harrassment from people such as the IRD, is there?

Too much Heinlein - Anyone who said they were smarter than "poor people" would be challenged by most libertarians.

The Island - What's left out of the picture are the taxes that the government has taken from this person, which probably outweighs any historical taxpayer input to this person's education and other "public" services.

Creepy - No comment really necessary. No libertarian would consider using a child prostitute. Children have rights which reside with their parents and guardians.

Selectively frugal - Reminds me of Raeagan's tax cuts without spending cuts thus creating enormous budget deficits.

Nepotist - If the 'pundit' has achieved success by his own merit, where's the problem? Nepotism tends to be self-defeating.

Apostle - there's nothing mystical about free markets. They're not perfect, but nothing is.

Atlas - I don't think libertarians could cause economic collapse any quicker than our politicians.

Consistent - yes, libertarians are consistently against government coercion (i.e. pro-active force).

Historian - unfortunately we don't have a constitution in NZ, so there are no 'framers'.

Gunner Joe - Replace 'gun owners' with 'people who know how to defend themselves against criminals'.

Hypocritical - libertarians support a woman's right to seek to abort her pregnancy. Conservatives oppose abortion. I am a certifying consultant for abortions in NZ and refer about 80-100 women a year to the local clinic. I have performed about 30 myself.

Briefly tempting - there's nothing superficial about opposing slavery, whether in the form of military conscription, occupational licencing or taxation.

Whitey - just substitute 'whites' for 'blacks'. Libertarians oppose state racism; private racism is tolerated, but is nonetheless irrational and self-destructive. Let private racists destroy themselves by the stupid choices they make!

Missionary - many libertarians are guilty of evangalism; not all libertarians are objectivists.

Cavet emptor - straw man; private ratings agencies and consumer watchdogs can do what government tries to do, with less wastage.

Stoned - as long as no-one is hurt, what's the problem?

twr said...

It has often surprised me how much vitriol can be generated by saying to someone that you just want to be left alone and you don't want them interfering in your life.

Peter Cresswell said...

@TWR: It's astonishing, isn't it.

Shane Pleasance said...

"It has often surprised me how much vitriol can be generated by saying to someone that you just want to be left alone and you don't want them interfering in your life."

Gotta love our democracy.

twr said...

Well, the democracy gives them the power to overrule your preferences, but they actively hate you for wanting to live your own life, and not wanting to get their opinion on everything you do.

Shane Pleasance said...

Agree again, Mr Walkinshaw.

Mobocracy.

DenMT said...

Very sporting PC!

DenMT

Jeffrey Perren said...

"twr said...

It has often surprised me how much vitriol can be generated by saying to someone that you just want to be left alone and you don't want them interfering in your life."

Could we please have this emblazoned on every information outlet in the world for a month?

We could call it Laissez Faire Month.

Richard McGrath said...

@twr: Yes you're absolutely right. Amazing how peaceful overtures can stir up such negativity.

Anonymous said...

You guys are all too prepared to be offended. I see no negativity, only a reluctance to admit your own folly. Such thin skins.

Judge Holden

twr said...

"I see no negativity" says the guy who comes on this site and abuses people for not wanting to stick their noses into everyone else's business.

Why don't you explain to us exactly why it's "folly" to not want you to force me to accept your opinion on whatever subject you choose?

Anonymous said...

Nice, if rather crude, strawman TVR. You know you can hold any opinion you. I'm FREE to find to find these hilarious though. Stop blubbing.

Judge Holden

twr said...

Interesting that you use a childish insult to try to deflect attention from the fact that you can't provide any justification for your position.

Anonymous said...

You, deliberately or otherwise, misrepresented my position in your eagerness to be offended. You've been corrected.

Judge Holden

twr said...

For reasons known only to yourself, you seem to have decided to make up my reactions to your pointless posts, and then abuse me for it. I care far too little about what you think to be either offended or "blubbing", so why don't you waste your time on something else?

Anonymous said...

Squawking that you've been "abused" and saying things like "they actively hate you for wanting to live your own life" is being offended by a strawman you built and blubbing. Sorry!

Judge Holden