[Originally published in the Front Range Voluntaryist, article by Insula Qui]
Would you be a libertarian if you knew how to build roads without the state? Would you be a libertarian if you only knew how to provide for the poor? Would you be a libertarian if it weren’t for one issue or another that you cannot wrap your head around? If so, you already are a libertarian in all of your principles. You already support liberty, but you just don’t know how it works. Since you support liberty you already know that people are able to figure things out.
Because people can figure things out they can figure out roads, charity and everything else that you might not. It’s not your job to be the person who figures everything out. There are thousands of people who are better at building roads. There are millions who want to know how to provide for the poor. Among these great mass of people, there is bound to be someone who finds a solution.
But this may not be enough to become a libertarian. We could do everything that we want to do, but there are still things we don’t want others to do. Couldn’t people decide to do things that we find repugnant? This is a huge issue for many people. But it’s important to realize that whether people are sinful or problematic, that’s their own burden. You are not supposed to ensure that everyone is perfect. Free people are allowed to be wrong.
You gain absolutely nothing from trying either. You obviously should convince people who matter to be better. But this does not mean that strangers are your responsibility. This does not even come close to implying that you should use the state so the strangers can be more virtuous. Your only responsibility is you and the people close to you. You need to focus on yourself and your community.
People who are hundreds of miles away should not matter. The people who you see at the store and in your house should. This is not to say that you should be a busy-body. Rather you should care for the people who affect you. It’s much more important that your children have a safe neighborhood and a good upbringing than that some other children far away do. This may be cruel, but it’s the truth.
Instead of thinking within the statist mind frame, we should look at things in the libertarian way. We can see that individuals are responsible for their own lives. We can see that social organization is formed by individuals. The state should not take care of everything and everyone. And this is why you should too be a libertarian. Libertarianism is not being self-obsessed. Libertarianism is realizing that the things that matter to you are your responsibility.
We all have a fundamental urge to take care of others. We all have a fundamental urge to make large decisions. But we all need to realize that we need to first take care of ourselves. We can’t look at the world and think of how it could be better, we need to make ourselves better. If we make ourselves better, we can then try to make the world better. Libertarianism isn’t about higher profits, it’s about being able to personally make a difference.
You may still be teetering on the edge of libertarianism and statism. It’s hard to shake off the notion that everything is your responsibility. It’s hard to realize that letting others be is a valid solution. Because maybe you’re a Christian who is appalled at people having to bake gay wedding cakes. This started with just letting people be. Maybe you’re a progressive who is appalled at the spread of hate. This too might be the result of leaving people alone. Letting people be could cause them to not let you be.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Neither hate or forced acceptance have any power without the state. The one thing that doesn’t let you be is the state. If there were nazis with no chance of there being a nazi government, they wouldn’t be a problem. They may be nasty and evil, but they pose no threat. When gays cannot force you to bake their wedding cakes, they likewise are not a problem.
Your children will not be subject to propaganda if they’re not in government schools. You won’t be subject to violence if violence is not tolerated. You will not have to fear if there is no institutional force for you to fear. And what is to fear is the intrusion of the state and others into your life. The threat of force is the largest rational fear.
But if you want to be allowed to do your thing, you must allow others to do theirs. If you want to keep your principles, you must let everyone keep their own. If you want to raise your children so they would be good people, others must be able to raise their children in their personal way. If you want to live among people who agree with you, you need to let everyone separate. You cannot force an entire society to be on your side at all times.
It could be that you do not agree with libertarianism. It could be that you want to interfere in the lives of others. It could be that you need this validation and power. You can’t put your personal preferences aside because you prefer control. But why? What do you gain from controlling? Why do you need to force others to be more like you want them to be? Most likely you have some problems in your life. You may be depressed. You may lack meaning. But if this is the case then having control over others is no substitute for self-improvement.
It could be that there is no hole you have to fill, it could be that you just love the idea of control. If this is the case then there’s something seriously wrong with you. If the only reason why you’re not a libertarian is that you enjoy controlling the lives of others, you should never be in a position to control their lives. It’s fine if you’re not a libertarian. I still think that you should become one right now.
[Insula Qui is an independent writer; For books and more essays written by the author visit www.insulaqui.com]