Libertarian is the least definable political philosophy I can   
    think of. It pretty much means what ever the speaker wants it   
    to. Typically self described libertarians say the only purpose   
    of government is to protect the nation from invaders and   
    criminals. More recently some have boiled that down to   
    preventing violent attacks.   
      
    What they cannot explain is, just how does any society survive   
    when there is no government agency enforcing laws against   
    non-violent crime? How does a society survive when there is no   
    non-violent crime?   
      
    If snake oil salesmen have the right to sell anything with no   
    regard to honesty, when no one has to keep a contract, when   
    there are no standards of conduct other than don't hit people,   
    what kind of society can survive?   
      
    It's even non-violent if the neighbors decide to use your front   
    lawn as the city dump, so how does a libertarian government   
    prevent that?   
      
    Well, now we are seeing the blessings of libertarian thinking,   
    and it's expensive. The Toledo Ohio area had half a million   
    people without drinking water for three days because of algae   
    growing excessively in Lake Erie. Turns out this is a world   
    wide phenomena, and is the result of excess phosophorus in the   
    water. The excess phosophorus comes from fertilizer run off, as   
    a known cause, and fossil fuel production as a secondary,   
    suggested cause.   
      
    Libertarian thinking says the government has no business   
    regulating fertilizer usage to reduce run off, after all, it   
    isn't a violent act. Yet the cost is paid by the people   
    downstream, and without some control that cost can be fatal.   
      
    So, now are we going to have to fight the libertarians when we   
    try to reduce fertilizer run off? Or are they going to let their   
    beliefs just lie dormant when it's inconvenient to defend them?   
    Seems this is the best objection to libertarianism, at least the   
    current brand, you will find.   
      
      
   BOB KLAHN bob.klahn@sev.org   http://home.toltbbs.com/bobklahn   
      
   ... Libertarians don't build bridges.   
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