I feel very fortunate I do not distrust government and other collaborative
organizations as much as is popular these days! But then, I am a liberal
and certainly not a libertarian. I think that dichotomy is what this
thread has boiled down to.
So I should take the opportunity to get on the soapbox about my take
on libertarianism. IMHO, the libertarian ideal--that government should
be reduced in size and power--only works in a frontier society, where
resources are bountiful, space is wide, and opportunity is limited
only by the imagination. Sounds great eh? Unfortunately we live in a
world with a growing population, a finite or decreasing amount of land
and resources. As the population grows there will be a need for ever
greater controls and restrictions (ie. government). At first this will
be needed just to maintain order and direct the traffic. Later total
control will be needed just to divy up the scarce amounts of space and
food among the many, many people. Like egg-laying hens in a modern
chicken coop, we'll each be penned up like working automatons :-)
Libertarians recall the life of the barnyard hen of old, and say "that's a
better life!" But I believe we don't produce that lifestyle by letting
those hens out of todays' henhouse and letting them run around. There
isn't the space! Take away the pens that separate each hen, and with
that population density, they'll peck each other to death!
So I say, if you're a libertarian, work for ZPG (Zero Population Growth).
And if you're not a libertarian, work for ZPG too :-) It's good for CP.
Michael Chamberland