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Libertarianism: Difference between revisions
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=== Libertarian Experience ===
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'''From wikipedia''' | '''From wikipedia''' | ||
:''This article is about the [[classical liberal]] [[individualism|individualist]] philosophy. For other uses (including political parties associated with libertarianism) see [[Libertarianism (disambiguation)]]. | :''This article is about the [[classical liberal]] [[individualism|individualist]] philosophy. For other uses (including political parties associated with libertarianism) see [[Libertarianism (disambiguation)]].e | ||
{{Libertarianism}} | {{Libertarianism}} | ||
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Libertarians also point out that so-called 'liberal' systems frequently contradict their belief sets by selectively choosing acceptable behaviours or activities as thier own (or public) opinion changes, for example advocating gun control laws to restrict ownership of firearms due to extremely rare (in relative terms) highly publicised individual actions, whilst ignoring the root causes of these actions such as mental illness, depression, bullying or victimisation. Libertarians argue that if this were applied equally to everyday life, then the use of automobiles, alcohol, tobacco etc. by millions of responsible people would also be restricted due to the actions of a very small number of others acting irresponsibly. Libertarians propose that such decisions should made on the basis of rational arguments and debate rather than media hype or sensation. An often-cited example of this occurred in the UK in 1997 when a handgun ban was introduced following the the Dunblane school shooting by a suspected paedophile. The case was exploited by politicians and the media in subsequent. Over 65,000 law-abiding handgun owners and sportsmen/women were then required to surrender their handguns due to the actions of one individual. The core issues of inadequate police vetting of those owning firearms and social services detecting such an offender were never successfully addressed. This was highlighted when the number of incidents involving illegally imported weapons in violent crime skyrocketed in the following years. Thus despite the punishment of law-abiding citizens, nothing was done to tackle the issue of illegal weapons held by criminals. Libertarians add that if major decisions were made in this manner then severe abuses of human rights might occur due to temoporary public fervour. | Libertarians also point out that so-called 'liberal' systems frequently contradict their belief sets by selectively choosing acceptable behaviours or activities as thier own (or public) opinion changes, for example advocating gun control laws to restrict ownership of firearms due to extremely rare (in relative terms) highly publicised individual actions, whilst ignoring the root causes of these actions such as mental illness, depression, bullying or victimisation. Libertarians argue that if this were applied equally to everyday life, then the use of automobiles, alcohol, tobacco etc. by millions of responsible people would also be restricted due to the actions of a very small number of others acting irresponsibly. Libertarians propose that such decisions should made on the basis of rational arguments and debate rather than media hype or sensation. An often-cited example of this occurred in the UK in 1997 when a handgun ban was introduced following the the Dunblane school shooting by a suspected paedophile. The case was exploited by politicians and the media in subsequent. Over 65,000 law-abiding handgun owners and sportsmen/women were then required to surrender their handguns due to the actions of one individual. The core issues of inadequate police vetting of those owning firearms and social services detecting such an offender were never successfully addressed. This was highlighted when the number of incidents involving illegally imported weapons in violent crime skyrocketed in the following years. Thus despite the punishment of law-abiding citizens, nothing was done to tackle the issue of illegal weapons held by criminals. Libertarians add that if major decisions were made in this manner then severe abuses of human rights might occur due to temoporary public fervour. | ||
== Libertarian Experience == | |||
{{main|Libertarian Experience}} | |||