Liberal Philosophy makes no sense, does it? ?
Liberals are the dope smokers, pro abortion pro personal rights, hippy, tree huggers (don't nobody tell them what to do!!!!) but want the government involved in everything in our lives..Does anyone see a basic problem with their philosophy? It's irrational.
Comments
Well, I don't know about the dichotomy you've presented, but yes, I think the liberal philosophy is irrational.
Some liberal ideas are not so bad. Ecologically, for example, I think liberals and conservatives are for the same things, just have different ways of getting there. Liberals want to preserve the environment in its pristine form, to the point of being irrational about it. Conservatives allow for the possibility of exploiting the natural resources the environment has to offer, and no responsible conservative would dispute the idea of putting it back the way you found it.
When it come to government, though liberals and conservative have much different ideas, and the liberal ideas, while laudable in their intent, really make no sense when you get under the hood. History has shown time and again that the most efficient way of running a society is through the free market. LIberals complain that the free market does not empower everyone equally, and that some people get left behind. They therefore want the government to step in and level the playing field, not by empowering the people who have trouble competing, but by disenfranchising the people who are successful.
This mindset come about because time and again attempts to empower the people who can't compete are fruitless. There's a reason these people can't compete, and will never be able to compete. They don't WANT to, and if the government is going to support them in their efforts to compete, that gives them even less incentive to want to!
Liberals do not accept that people should take responsibility for themselves, and see to use governmental programs to foster a nanny state. Liberal pass laws like helmet laws and seatbelt laws. One could argue these laws are good and save lives. A conservative approach would be that if you are injured because you lacked a helmet or a seatbelt, the insurance company will not legally obligated to pay for you, and the hospital may not be legally obligated to treat you. Take responsibility for your own stupidity.
Liberals think that any problem can be solved by more government. The historical fact is that government is always the LEAST efficient solution to any problem, and always comes with a price tag, because government control implies government regulation and a subsequent erosion of freedom.
Our founding fathers understood this, and built in safeguards to prevent government from gaining too much power. These safeguards have been systematically disabled and circumvented by the liberals, and government has grown to be a behemoth that it was never intended to be.
Liberals claim to be looking out for the little guy, but in their zeal to look out for him, they ensure that he will remain little forever, and inhibit his ability to improve his economic situation by his own efforts. They claim to be champions for the poor, and by so doing, ensure the poor stay that way.
There is a segment of society that does need care and welfare. These are people who simply cannot produce, for reasons of health. These people should be cared for, but somehow the liberal policies are geared towards helping people who are perfectly capable of helping themselves if they are forced to, and totally ignore the people who really can't help themselves, which is why they are on the street corner, begging for handouts through the haze of their various mental and physical illnesses.
The liberal mindset is that a paranoid schizophrenic has the right to determine their own treatment and path, when by definition such a person is totally incapable of making such a determination in their own best interests!
A liberal says that society is to blame for the criminal, and that the career criminal should be given a chance to rehabilitate huimself, which is why crime is rampant on our streets, instead of the conservative approach which says that if you cannot abide by the rules of our society, we will take your property, your freedom and if necessary your life.
A liberal tries to fix the proximate cause instead of seeing the big picture. A liberal says that we should get rid of guns, because people commit crimes with them, without considering the many crimes that are prevented by law-abiding citizens use - even merely display - of guns.
The liberal seeks to overhaul society to a utopian ideal without considering WHY society is the way it is. A conservative recognizes that a society is an evolutionary product, developed the way it did for very good reasons that may not be fully understood, and that artificially tinkering with it can lead to unexpected and undesireable consequences.
I'm not American, so my definitions might vary from yours; however I certainly call myself a liberal yet I am not a hippy, a dope smoker, or a tree hugger.
Unless your post was a joke, I would say that you seriously misunderstand the things that you are criticising. Liberals don't want the government involved in everyone's lives - remember that it's under a conservative administration that your country (I assume you're from America) has had so many issues with wire-tapping of private phone lines and other invasions of privacy.
I would personally define being a liberal about worrying more about the greater good.
- Environment being ******? Good idea to take more notice of it.
- That dude smoking a joint? Well, he's not selling to kids and doesn't drive when he's stoned, so better to put the law enforcement money elsewhere.
- This girl wants an abortion? She's been counselled on it, she can't afford to take care of it, and there're too many people already anyway.
It's entirely rational.
I assume that this is just baiting, but I find this issue so irritating, that I am going to respond anyway. 'Liberal' has nothing to do with any of the things you mentioned. Liberal means simply believing that government involvement in people's lives should be minimised. This can involve economic liberalism - Margaret Thatcher was a famous neo-liberal, believing the markets should regulate themselves, or social liberalism, believing that laws should not encroach on human rights, and that the police should act more as though people are innocent until proven guilty. On a completely different political scale is the left/right wing division, between socialists, who believe the needs of society should come first, and Conservatives (the capital C is important), who believe in every man's right/duty to elevate himself above everyone else. This is a very simplistic summary, and possibly slightly erroneous, but the important part is that liberal is NOT the opposite of Conservative.
You confuse Liberals with Libertarians.
Right to left the political spectrum ranges from Pure Self Interest to Pure Group Interest.
Anarchist, Libertarian, Conservative, Moderate, Liberal, Socialist, Communist.
Conservatives favor self interest over group interest.
Low taxes, minimal regulation = more personal freedom.
Liberals favor group interest over self interest. Great personal wealth is inappropriate; the rich are obligated to give to the poor. Liberals define a 'right' not as freedom of behavior, but as freedom from need.
Now if you believe we should be free to smoke dope & get abortions this makes you a Libertarian not a Liberal.
What makes you a Liberal is if you think the Government (via rich taxpayers) should pay for Abortions, Housing & Health Care for jobless dope smokers.
Libertarians want freedom & damn the consequences.
Conservatives want to avoid the consequences by banning bad behavior
Liberals want to avoid the consequences by making winners pay for losers.
So Liberals are not exactly irrational, just really annoying if you happen to be a winner.
They tend to punish the talented for the sake of the needy.
Ah, the voice of the radical, right wing, super conservative who is misinformed, biased, opinionated and egotistical!
This must be an election year and the Republicans have come online!
Those with more liberal leanings than your own are often concerned with personal rights, liberties and the general welfare of the population much as the founding fathers of the United States were at the birth of this nation.
They may well be ecologically and environmentally minded as preserving the same serves the good of all, even Republicans and right wingers who breathe air, drink water, live on the earth (at least physically...)
They do often want to tell the government what to do rather than to have the governmnet tell them what to do as this is supposedly a government of the people, by the people and for the people and not simply for the politicos who want to rule without the consult of, agreement with the will of the people.
The problem with their outlook is that it may too closely resemble and follow the ideals uopn which this nation was founded and to those who want big money, big industry and big brother to rule the land for the benefit of only a limited number of persons and who realize that the liberal view will jeapordize their ideals of being privileged, is too radical. Of course, it is also possibly too fair, too just and to well promoting of freedom in a democracy.
Ignorance is not bliss, it is delusion.
Please, tell me, Senator, is your whiskey (your drug of choice) iced or do you drink it straight up?
When you reside in a glass house, perhaps it is wise to refrain from throwing stones.
Be well.
Just to clarify here, liberals are nowhere near "dope" smokers. In fact, they're a huge part of the war on drugs. Liberals are not "pro abortion". They're not into killing babies, they're just concerned about the quality of life that unwanted children will have if they are born.
Just let me do what I want if I'm not hurting anyone.
Your claim that it is irrational seems to be irrational in light of the limited description of liberal philosophy you offer.
You seem to mistake your limited understanding as being an arbiter of truth.
Extremism is a relative concept anyway, to call something extreme is the equivalent of saying "It is on the boundaries of some subjective point of view, which I hold."
Anything I do in life seems to hurt someone. If I vote, If I voice an opinion in contradiction to someone else, If I drive a car, If I slow traffic with my bike, If I eat meat, If I breath and release CO2.
You can't go through life without hurting someone.
First I maybe a liberal, however I have never smoked dope or used any form of dope in my entire life. secondly I am Anti-abortion and Pro-choice.
thirdly our enviroment needs saving. fourthly I want government of my choice, you know taxation with representation.
The conservative president is sticking government into all our lives(big brother is watching)and bailing out the large corp.
You have a serious misconception of what being a Liberal is all about. I would not jump on the Conservative band wagon just yet because judging the Conservatives actions this past 7 years, we have seen the hypocrisy and disregard for everything the Conservatives have stood for.
*waves hand*
Liberal thinker here. And regardless of your preconceived notions, I most certainly do NOT want the govt involved in everything in our lives. In fact, I want the opposite. Seems to me I must have had it wrong all along ... I thought it was the conservative, personal-rights-taker-away-er's who wanted the govt to have its nose in every minute detail. You know, like not letting a woman decide what's best for her body ... not allowing marijuana to be legal ... not allowing gays to marry ... stuff like that. Now THOSE things are irrational.