In the world where libertarianism exists as a socio-economic philosophy, we are not doomed after all. Politics is taking over the very intimate core of our life – personal liberty – however slowly, but surely. Welfare states in Western Europe, bursts of populism all around the world, almost irreversible rate of the climate change, inefficient bureaucracies, uncontainable terrorism and many more are all rooted in the nature of the political power – that very feeling that corrupts the soul of any single individual, if necessary. Why should not we get rid of political power, the eternal dirty goal of many, once and for all? We definitely should.
Libertarianism is a political philosophy that had originated in light of the search for personal liberty – that very timeless human aspiration, the goal of life, if you will. For libertarians government is not legitimate as such and thus shall be dissolved. Is not this anarchy, one would say? Definitely not. Libertarianism, in contrast to anarchy, proposes a set of definitive actions and a framework through which they should be introduced. Moreover, libertarianism is in favor of the gradual change, since it is understood as a shift in paradigm, a shift in the thought of the humankind, which cannot and definitely should not happen overnight. Libertarian revolution is impossible, while its gradual acceptance through education – is inevitable.
Libertarianism is all in favor of minimizing government control. There is one particular reason why libertarians despise political power: history. History had shown that political power corrupts inevitably, corrupts assuredly, corrupts everyone, at any time, and any place. Politics is a constant struggle for power, a war if you will. From the brutal battles between the city-states to nuclear weapons, from electoral campaigns to the behind-close door discussions, politicians are engaged in a war. Due to its high costs and involved uncertainty, physical wars are not fashionable anymore, however, the future of the inside-cabinet wars – has yet to be seen.
Abolishing a system that existed through the centuries is impossible without a clear plan. Libertarianism provides one. At the core of the libertarian framework lies the private sector – the most efficient part of a society, which drives up not only the economy, but also social development, culture, education, and many more. The idea is simple: governments are there for four, sometimes five years, while business is – forever. The main goal of a government is to maximize the number of votes in the upcoming elections, while the goal of the private sector is the maximization of profit. Yet, there is a significant difference. The private sector operates based on the market economy, at the heart of which lies competition; at the heart of politics, however, lies desire for the monopoly of power.
Follow me on this one: technology is advancing every year, every month, every minute and every second, while huge governmental bureaucratic structures that we operate today have been invented centuries ago. How is it possible for the outdated, slow, inefficient and most importantly – biased – system to govern our complex world? It is not possible. That is exactly why we need to rely on technology – the actual driver of progress – and invest the private sector with the tasks that are traditionally done by government, but can be easily and more efficiently done by the private sector, i.e. education, healthcare, investigation, and many, many more.
