Western Civilization: Individual Liberty Part Four; Regulation & Libertarianism

One of the hallmarks of contemporary libertarianism is the belief that when it comes to government, less is better. The fewer rules and regulations inhibiting our ability to live freely, to enjoy the "blessings of liberty", the better. Big business, naturally, opposes those laws and ordinances which restrict opportunities to make more money; entrenched social and ethnic groups oppose changes that erode their ascendancy, those who already control the government resist including those with whom they disagree. While it can be argued quite reasonably that there is such a thing as government overreach and that some regulations just make no sense, in the main, government regulation is often just an extension of the principle of protecting the minority from the tyranny of the majority, or the powerless from the powerful. Many modern day libertarians, and even some political conservatives, would have us believe that this would be a better country if there was no regulation, no government oversight and that the free market and common sense be allowed to dominate.

Here are a few of the things that government regulation and authority helps guarantee:

• The police - while there are definitely problems with how some police officers or even whole departments operate, imagine the chaos if there was no law enforcement. We would truly be in a Wild West scenario
• Property rights - the big business owner next door cannot, with impunity, annex your backyard for a parking lot
• Copyrights and patents - if you invent something or create something, the guy down the street who has a bigger bank account can't steal it from you
• Workplace protections - including OSHA regulations, building & fire codes, minimum wage, overtime...research early 1900's working conditions and you'll see more
• Environmental protections - the pea soup smog in many of our big cities has improved greatly over the last few decades

Do regulations sometimes go too far? Do they often make little sense? Sure, the constant tweaking and adjusting can be irritating; sometimes they're just intrusive. But unless you're one of the Koch brothers, you're benefiting from government regulation. 

Speaking of the Koch brothers, many of today's libertarians have a political philosophy that boils down to "don't make any rules that affect my ability to make more money". Granted, many in the movement are sincere and have an ideological basis for their libertarian positions, and are consistent in their politics, but in my opinion, most are opportunists. Even the protesting ranchers out in Nevada and Oregon are in it primarily to have access to government land with out paying the grazing fees (basically, that's rent) - they want to exercise all the perks of ownership without paying for it. 

In my view, while rugged individualism sounds romantic, sounds American, we wouldn't have America with a government to help guarantee and protect our rights.