Don’t Wait for the Government to be Libertarian
In a recent piece for Forbes entitled “Libertarianism Needs to Be More Realistic,” Adam Ozimek writes that “many -though not all- libertarians imagine a vision of society that the vast majority of Americans simply do not want.” As a result, he argues, “realistic libertarianism would unabashedly accept limits of markets, and embrace in rhetoric, theory, and practice the first order importance of quality government, which on many margins trumps small government.” I agree that the country is deeply divided and change in any direction is extremely difficult. But I don’t agree with the implicit assumption that the right path to more individual liberty is necessarily through government action or political victory. There is much opportunity for libertarians to take private action to bring about the change they seek, without moderating their views or arguments.
There’s a certain irony to the assumption that government action is the main catalyst for more robust individual freedom. Private action has the potential to see real change without engaging in the same old debates. Opportunities exist to be an early adopter of digital currencies not run by governments, support private institutions such as schools, and promote voluntary giving to help those who are struggling. Political action is also important, given the reality of the country we live in, but private action where possible has several advantages. Likeminded people can choose to come together to achieve shared goals that may be modest but still wouldn’t be possible to implement politically. In addition, libertarians can make their case and convince others that society can function, indeed function even better, with less government involvement.
I recently wrote a piece on progressivism that advocated promoting goals shared by those on the left, in which I argued that leftists could deploy private means to achieve a significant amount of the social change they seek. The goals of, first, helping people who are struggling and, second, reducing government infringement on individual freedom are not in direct conflict with each other.
None of this precludes libertarians from thinking and writing about what a world with radically reduced government would look like. People’s views do change over time, and no movement is effective without a moral compass. But instead of waiting for political victory, private action yields positive results now and an effective example of the overall vision.
Max Gulker
Max Gulker is a former Senior Research Fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research. He is currently a Senior Fellow with the Reason Foundation. At AIER his research focused on two main areas: policy and technology. On the policy side, Gulker looked at how issues like poverty and access to education can be addressed with voluntary, decentralized approaches that don’t interfere with free markets. On technology, Gulker was interested in emerging fields like blockchain and cryptocurrencies, competitive issues raised by tech giants such as Facebook and Google, and the sharing economy.
Gulker frequently appears at conferences, on podcasts, and on television. Gulker holds a PhD in economics from Stanford University and a BA in economics from the University of Michigan. Prior to AIER, Max spent time in the private sector, consulting with large technology and financial firms on antitrust and other litigation. Follow @maxg_econ.
