Is Libertarianism the only 'way out'?
The last couple of decades has presented us with a whole expose of the rot within the systems of power. Can libertarianism provide for a better alternative?
The libertarian movement is often associated with the likes of Ayn Rand. It’s also common to hear people refer to libertarians as LOLbertarians. People like Tim Pool have contributed greatly to this.
It is common to see libertarians as the centrist fence-sitters who have no courage to take sides in this polarized time and to hide themselves behind old cliches such as classical liberalism and the famous NAP (non-aggression principle).
The fact is, people always tend to be somewhat collectivistic, either towards their nation, or their ethnic group or even if simply towards their family. Humans are social animals, they are tribal. And often times the people proclaiming themselves as libertarians are nothing but selfish and narcissistic and hedonistic (e.g. the afore mentioned likes of Tim Pool and Ayn Rand).
Looking at non-libertarianism
Paleoconservatives and nationalists alike do tend to have a more colectivist view of politics and society. A strong state, that defends to superior interests of the nation and its people. A conservative society with strong moral values and a strong social cohesion.
Throughout history we’ve seen many examples of successful societies who thrive under strict social norms and a strong state, oriented towards the serving its citizens interests and preserving the nation. However, it seems like invariable, such states and such societies tend to degenerate over time into socialist dystopias ripe with corruption and degeneracy.
On the other hand, left wing states, especially the totalitarian ones, provide us many examples of poor, broke, corrupted and violent places where few wish to live and many try to escape from.
So, should we still give libertarianism a try?
Considering the current state of our Western societies, does it really pay off to be a nationalist? Do our nations still represent our values? Should we bravely put our lives on the line for our neighbours and fellow citizens? Many of them have nothing in common with us, and even those who have, might support ideas which are completely adversarial to ours.
Is it still worth being a conservative? To conserve what? The current decadent state-of-affairs? Support the state? And its numerous legions of Plutocrats and ever-increasing hunger for tax money? To support the police? And its lenience towards violent looters and grooming gangs but act with brutality towards people who did not wear their masks and trample elder protesters against jab mandates?
If there is one thing the last few years have made clear is that one can no longer rely on the state and blindly trust the public institutions (academia is filled with fraud and scientists are no longer intellectually honest, not to mention the media…). We have to rely on ourselves, to strive towards becoming self sufficient and to become mature enough to distinguish right from wrong.
Pluto in Aquarius is about groups. People forming their own small “tribes” and looking after each other, without expecting any handouts from the state. The tech utopia reminds us that freedom should never be taken for granted. Those who chose safety over freedom end up getting neither of them.
So, all that said, perhaps libertarianism, in the sense of autonomous citizens who are self sufficient and have the agency to live their lives by being mindful of other people’s boundaries and with a healthy sense of community - without the need for regulations and state enforcement - might as well be the way of the future….