I actually can sympathise with true conservatives. While I don’t agree with “taxation is theft” style libertarians, I can sympathize with the feeling that your government delivers little value and takes away important rights.
What I hate is people who wear the label “conservative” but want to regulate what adults do in their bedrooms. Whether it’s gay sex, a little weed, or just typing out a communication using non-backdoored encryption, it seems like the party of “limited government” and “commerce” tends to be anything but.
I have deep, deep criticisms of libertarian philosophy especially them stealing the term “libertarian” for those in the bottom right of the political compass while left-libertarians are left without a good descriptor that doesn’t make people who think they’re more well read than they are think I’m an asshole who loves gold.
But sometimes I wonder if a libertarian president might be what this country needs. Imagine a president who rolls back the NSA, doesn’t get involved in foreign wars, legalizes weed and rolls up their sleeves and tackles gerrymandering.
Sure, social services might suffer but both the Democrats and Republicans seem to want to roll those back. (Clinton killed welfare, Obama loves to drone etc). And a lot of social services are provided at state level so president Gold Standard can’t touch them,
It’s counter intuitive, but one of my crazy dream scenarios is a libertarian candidate winning in 2020. It’s not out of the realm of possibility if one gets enough support to get into the debates.
Sadly it probablty wouldn’t end that way, but it’s nice to picture a 3rd party candidate winning that isn’t Evan McMuffin.
(Sadly I think the only way we’ll get a democratic socialist in office is if we can get the Democratic primaries unrigged, and I don’t think that will happen)
