Individual compassion - repost from backup


Libertarians, choice, and charity
Pagans and small "l" libertarians are incredibly difficult to organize on a large scale for pretty much the same reasons. Both share a deep distrust of institutions. Both aren't understood that well by the public at large. And both threaten some pretty deep convictions. I'm not going to presume to speak for either, but I am going to spend some time talking about libertarians and their expectations.

Individualists like myself will always stress personal freedom and responsibility. Now for a lot of reasons, our society chooses to stress the freedom but ignore the responsibility. You can't really have one without the other. The freedom may reward the responsibility, but freedom always comes with responsibility. It's just that some choose to shove that cost onto others.

State charity is a great example. Someone has decided to obligate me without my consent. Their choice just forced the responsibility on those who did not choose it. That brings us to two really big problems.

First is the question if ANYTHING that is involuntarily extorted is actually charity. Like any virtue, charity depends on personal choice and commitment. If Authority™ decides that they have the power to obligate me without my consent and they are willing to back that with the threat of force, that is not exactly charitable. Under those circumstances, it's quite natural to avoid the "charity" if you can't choose how your money is spent. This natural aversion is actually encouraged by the politicos and bureaucrats who don't really want too much attention because their effort is focused on making noise for the effort to justify next year's budget, not with changing circumstances so people don't need aid. This in turn means that what "help" exists is separate from the concerns of the citizens. Over time, this develops into an institutional arrogance that "non-professionals" REALLY don't know what's best and CAN'T BE TRUSTED to make decisions.

That leaves the bigger problem. The obligations keep growing, all without consent of those footing the bills. Oh, the reason yesterday may have been "vitally important" (families with dependent children), but every day, there is another cause in line for the cash (job training) and another reason to spend more money with no end in sight.

That's why libertarians tend to distrust institutions even as we might trust individuals.

I don't trust the police. I don't trust a group that has the power to kick my door down early in the morning on the off chance that I might have given a ride to someone three days ago who had a milligram of an illegally obtained drug in their jacket pocket. I don't trust a group who demands receipts from the garden supply store on the off chance I bought a grow lamp. I don't trust a group who arms themselves heavily while trying to deny weapons to anyone except those sanctioned by the state. I don't trust someone who can charge you with a crime if you do not have car insurance or if you drive without a seatbelt.

On the other hand, I happen to be friends with some people who happen to be policemen.

The individuals I trust, the institutions I don't. I know the people, I don't know the organizations.

A libertarian is more likely to trust a spur of the moment group if he knows the people just because it is spur of the moment. It has very little incentive for empire building.

That can make libertarians look "soulless" and uncaring. It's not that we don't care, it's that we don't trust long term institutions to "do what's best." There are thousands of examples, but I will only use two here.

It's no accident that in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the areas that depended most heavily on FEMA were the ones that wasted the most resources and are taking the longest to recover. Meanwhile, the FedGovs kept private trucks and fan boats loaded heavily with supplies from entering the disaster area. Not to mention all those thousands of trailers still rotting away, unoccupied.

Or let's take the Medicare drug benefit. It's actually harder now for seniors with long term medical conditions to get the care and medications they need, and everything is subject to periodic review, sometimes without the patients knowledge.

All this was done in the name of compassion. Institutionalized, state-run, never-to-be-questioned compassion that specifically excluded the taxpayers' opinion.

That compassion is soulless. That "compassion" exists solely to get a bigger budget and more power tomorrow. That "compassion" prolongs the difficult circumstances that people find themselves in.

Give me an individual choosing to help and making the commitment any day.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Sun - April 22, 2007 at 04:07 PM  Tag


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