Libertarians have a problem. We must decide how to regard ideologies which are wholly opposed to individual liberty.
Lovers of liberty have long recoiled from Marxist ideologies, as they are rightfully viewed as a threat to individual liberty. Libertarians recognize that even small concessions of individual freedom made in the name of collectivism can lead to totalitarianism. They see that even moderate, well-intended socialist ideas can unknowingly send us down the road to serfdom.
Yet when it comes to Islam, libertarians seem torn between critiquing ideology and defending a minority. A strong strain of non-interventionism combines with an accepting attitude towards other cultures, causing many libertarians to defend an ideology which does not believe in individual liberty.
They are quick to remind us that moderate Muslims do not condone the violence the world witnessed in Paris last Friday. They are completely right in this regard, many Muslims around the world do not agree with the violent acts of Jihad carried out in the name of their faith. But this ignores the larger problem.
Most moderate socialists do not support gulags, labor camps, speech controls, political purges, or genocide. Yet libertarians recognize that the seed of collectivism can grow into the tyranny of dictatorship and oppression. Libertarians recognize that the removal of economic freedoms, even on a small scale, can lead to totalitarianism. They rightly identify the idea behind the rise of such anti-human systems as collectivism and thus expend much of their efforts combating ideas associated with it.
Bernie Sanders is a moderate socialist who would probably never purposely starve his enemies or lock people in dark cells for engaging in private trading. But libertarians recognize that his ideas can lead to such results. By recognizing an idea wholly opposed to a morality based on liberty, libertarians are able to combat the spread of that idea. Similarly, libertarians oppose the sacrifice of liberty in the name of security, not because they don’t want us to be safe, but because the see in those calls the ideas which lead to a police state.
Islam is entirely opposed to human liberty. Show me a place where Islam is law and I will show you a place where liberty is being suffocated; where women are forced to cover from head to toe and are stoned for being raped, where people are put to death for their beliefs, and where minorities are persecuted.
Do moderate Muslims condone this? We can safely assume that most do not. In fact, many condemn such behavior. But that really doesn’t matter anymore than it matters that most Democrats don’t support healthcare rationing. Because the ideas they believe in will lead to those results whether or not they intend them to.
The battle for liberty is a battle of ideas. If we wish to effectively spread the ideas of liberty we must oppose ideologies which are an affront to liberty. That doesn’t mean hating people, it means focusing on why their ideas are wrong.
I argue against liberalism all the time. This doesn’t mean I hate the people who believe in it. To insinuate that criticizing ideas is hatred towards people is pure demagoguery.
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