To my understanding, Libertarians advocate a society where all interactions take place based on voluntary, mutual agreements.I am not going to argue the merit of that ideology itself (in fact I think it is fine). Instead, I want to argue that the free markets, advocated by most libertarians (and most notably, libertarian CEOs) would create a situation that they themselves would think of as unfair.Heres the main argument against free markets: while companies are no longer constrained by (often inefficient) government rules, it allows for so-called slave wages and private corporate tyranny, meaning that CEOs will have their employees working for the bare, absolute minimum.Nonsense, most Libertarians will say. A voluntary agreement cant be slavery. People have the choice to deny the job we offer.Which is correct. But also a bit naive. People are prepared to work very hard for very little. Corporations know this, and it would be very difficult indeed to find a job anywhere where the employer would be kind enough to provide more than the bare minimum. Yes, it will be voluntary. But will that make it any less cruel?But thats not my problem with libertarianism. (seeing as you can argue that the benefits will outway the costs, people will somehow unanimously refuse the lowest wages, etc.) My main point is that Libertarianism is contradictory. And heres why: the government is, fundamentally, no different from a corporation providing services. Only here, the services are police forces, roads, health care, and all in all, society itself. (There is only one real difference, and that is that in a democratic government, citizens can elect their CEOs)If you, as a CEO, dont like the rules and taxes the government asks in return for allowing you to use its services, you should just move your corporation to a different country. Or start your own. But of course you wont do that, because you lack the resources, or because you need the benefits of your country for keeping your corporation alive. Why, its not a choice at all!Well, welcome to the situation of a labourer faced with a free market. You have a choice. Kind of. Only its not a choice at all.If you truly consider this sort of voluntary interaction fair, then you must also accept that you have no right to complain about the current status quo. And if you think it is unfair, then you necessarily also deem the basics of a free market itself unfair. Therein, I think, lies the contradiction of Libertarianism. CMV.Hello, users of CMV! This is a footnote from your moderators. Wed just like to remind you of a couple of things. Firstly, please remember to read through our rules. If you see a comment that has broken one, it is more effective to report it than downvote it. Speaking of which, downvotes dont change views! If you are thinking about submitting a CMV yourself, please have a look through our popular topics wiki first. Any questions or concerns? Feel free to message us. Happy CMVing!
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 09:24:02 +0000
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