I have noticed, recently, an influx in the amount of Libertarian propaganda printed both here, in the Daily and around the ISU campus in general. These publications have lauded the importance of the individual and exalted, seemingly above all else, the ideal of absolute individual rights.

While I certainly do not disagree with the concept of individual rights, I am at odds with the importance that the ultra-conservative Libertarian Party places on them.

The Libertarians would have you believe that theirs is the “party of principle,” but what principle is there in a system of government based solely on ego? What integrity is there in a political and economic system that disregards common sense to protect the “rights” of the individual? The Libertarians see the world in black and white — a viewpoint that is lazy, arrogant, and extremely dangerous.

I oppose the Libertarians because they refuse to acknowledge the social nature of the human being, opting instead to hide their heads from this reality in the sands of personal freedoms and sovereignty.

The truth is that we, as human beings, cannot help but exist as social beings. We cannot remove ourselves as individuals from the responsibilities that we share with our fellow citizens and human beings.

No individual can ever be truly autonomous to the degree that the Libertarians support. While individual freedoms are important, they must not determine every governmental policy and decision that is made.

The ISU Libertarians are not Libertarians at all. They are impostors.

They are fakes. I wonder how many of these “libertarians” accept tuition money from the state to attend this university. How many of them accept money that has been “stolen” by the “tyranny” of taxation?

It’s funny how the rhetoric changes depending on which person is receiving the hand-up at the time.

Marshall Kole

Member

Solidarity — ISU Socialists and Leftists