Rant against libertarians

(Guestpost from Drew)

Libertarianism has become somewhat of a fad lately. This ideology basically holds that the government should stay out of life…in just about every area. Some of the people who call themselves “libertarians” even border on anarchism – as you can see if you regularly visit websites like Mises.org. Whereas conservatives believe in a free market economy with a limited government to defend against foreign threats and uphold public morals, libertarians believe in a free market economy and virtually no government at all. That is, they want a government that lets the private individual commit whatever evil seems right in his own eyes. As long as the individual does not directly attack, defraud, or steal from someone, libertarians believe the government should remain aloof.

As I said, this doctrine seems to be gaining steam among various anti-socialists. One reason is that men like Neal Boortz and the Instapundit continue trying to popularize libertarianism. Meanwhile, conservativism has taken a beating in the eyes lately. Apostate conservatives like Bush I, Bush II, and various liberals in conservative clothing like John McCain and Lindsay Graham have somewhat discredited the term “conservatism” by engaging in authoritarian behavior. Given these factors, the appeal of rejecting all government seems understandable. But realistically speaking, is libertarianism the answer?

I worked at the local juvenile DA’s office this summer, and a sizeable portion of the defendant-children came from broken homes. These children usually consumed tax dollars by accepting public defenders or other appointed counsel. Paid lawyers were atypical. Just sitting in court, you could easily recognize that broken homes contributed not just to these wasted tax dollars (and court time), but to the crimes themselves.

This same trend almost certainly holds true in adult court as well, but juveniles bring their parents with them to court, so the pattern in juvenile court is more obvious.

Private immorality leads to gross public immorality, and ultimately to socialism. Most people (including myself) support the court appointment of criminal lawyers because the government must have a check on its power when it hauls people into court. But unfortunately, the public subsidies soon extend far beyond appointed lawyers.

Once a large portion of your population buries itself in poverty, foolishness, and immorality, you soon develop one of two problems:  1) the potential for revolution, or 2) the potential for socialist voting. Our society avoids #1 by offering people option #2, electoral socialism. Granted, an authoritarian society could possibly avoid both communist revolution and democratic socialism by clamping down on dissidents, but I doubt libertarians would appreciate that option! The only way to avoid revolution, socialism, and/or authoritarian government is to inculcate society with the love of morality.

Stable families produce stable children. Unlike the children from broken homes, these stable children do not grow up to be thugs. Moreover, families with productive and loyal fathers exhibit a lesser tendency to leech off the government for support. Consider that 70% of single women voted for President Obama. Without husbands and a fathers, citizens look to the government as their husband or father.  Husbands and wives must both understand loyalty, and parents must teach their children honesty, diligence, and thriftiness. Without morals, society eventually crumbles.

So when I see a libertarian like Dr. Helen (the Instawife) engaging in a rather congenial interview with polyamorists, I just shake my head in disappointment. Do these libertarians seriously believe that we can bring about a free-market utopia while simultaneously condoning wickedness? Libertarians rightly consider the sixth, eighth, and tenth commandments to be important (Exodus 20:13; Exodus 20:15; Exodus 20:17), but they unwisely believe that society can ignore the others with impunity.

Benjamin Franklin understood my point when he stated the following:

Only a moral and virtuous people are capable of freedom; the more vicious and corrupt a society becomes—the more it has need of masters.

We can be slaves of God or else slaves of depravity. Once we become depraved, we eventually become the slaves of tyrants. Benjamin Franklin thus echoed the words of the Apostle Paul, who made the following claim:

We also know that law is made not for the righteous, but for lawbreakers and rebels, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine. (1 Timothy 1:9-10)

The libertarian support for drugs, prostitution, homosexual marriage, and atheistic government needs to end. Libertarians can certainly be useful when they promote righteous limitations on governmental theft, but be careful around libertarians. They have some dumb ideas.