Marshall Kole says that the ISU Libertarians are “impostors” and “fakes,” while at the same time failing to notice the inherent contradiction in his own letter.

He says that he does “not disagree with the principal of individual rights” while at the same time claiming to be a socialist (i.e. a person fundamentally opposed to any individual right).

Further, Libertarians are not, as Kole states, “ultra-conservative.” Libertarians are radical capitalists and have very little in common with the status-quo conservatives.

An accurate portrayal of the political spectrum puts conservatism (absolutism) on the far right, socialism (depending upon its stringency) somewhere right of center, and classical liberalism (the ideas that founded this nation) and libertarianism opposed to both. Further, Kole talks fallaciously about the “social nature” of human beings. This is true if one does not confuse society with forced collectivism. Society arises when human beings decide of their own free will to work together, trade their efforts and respect one another.

Collectivism (socialism) is not society but a coerced nightmare of violence. Men don’t work together, but fight each other over the power to loot. This is the end, as the USSR gave us such an eloquent example, of the socialist “utopia.” Kole is perfectly correct in saying that Libertarians support absolute individual rights, because we do!

I acknowledge no right of any other individual to any fraction of what is mine, nor do I claim any right to the efforts of others. All initiations of violence (such as robbing and redistributing wealth, that is, socialism) are evil and should be opposed with force.

That is libertarianism.

Chris Reardon

Senior

Political Science