WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, and the libertarians who love them

I find myself debating a group of strong-form libertarians whose skepticism of government knows virtually no intellectual limit. (The characterization is stolen from Allahpundit, who used it in a different context, but it's equally applicable here.) Since government is universally "bad", anything which serves to undermine government is automatically "good". And thus, the libertarian case for WikiLeaks was born.

Since I came out (along with Robert Stacy McCain) in favor of wiping Julian Assange off the face of the earth the hard-core libertarians have converged hoping to convert me to their worldview. And what a worldview it is, replete with fantastic conspiracy theories, bumbling bureaucrats, and a cadre of white knights led by (who else) Ron Paul.

Of course it's all predicated on their belief that the public has a "right" to know everything which the government says or does; coupled with the assertion that no statement is exempt from the free speech protections embodied in the First Amendment. It's about "trust", as in the libertarians have absolutely no trust in the elected government.

Welcome to the promise of a world governed by a cross between the pre-imperial Roman Senate and a typical New England town meeting. It's one step above organized chaos, predicated on the notion that everyone is equally capable of governing himself.

And here I thought that only progressives dreamed of utopia.

Really, you have to Donald Douglas regarding the main fallacy in their reasoning:

I agree 100% with Donald's statement. And then he says,

WikiLeaks wants to destroy authority. People are going to get killed, and not in the name of any state interest that could be otherwise checked by the processes of democratic governance.

One could say the same about my libertarian interlocutors. They seek to destroy authority, and replace it with, well exactly what I'm not sure. It's some sort of idealized leave-me-the-hell-alone universe where a subset of the Articles of Confederation are in effect and a never-ending supply of Founding Fathers (or a clone army comprised of Murray Rothbards and Friedrich Hayeks) stands at the ready to prevent deviation from The Path.

That in a nutshell is my beef with strong-form libertarianism. I believe in the Constitution, so much so that I an willing to work within its framework to effect the changes we so desparately need. The power of the ballot box should not be underestimated. In addition America has a long and noble history of peaceful protest, the massing of public opinion in a focused attempt to make our voices heard. We are America, hear us roar!

I'm sure this post will bring me more than my share of brickbats. Very well. I've broken out my teflon underwear. Hit me with your best shot, but I shall remain unswayed. All men are indeed created equal. Alas, we are imperfect and while some are born to lead, most are content to follow. And that's OK.

I'll leave you with this snippet of Ambassador John Bolton deconstructing the wisdom of praising WikiLeaks.

I like the cut of his jib.

Posted at 22:09 by Chris Wysocki   []   Comments | Perm Link |
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