Under libertarianism, "little Tommy" would be working at the local factor, making wages "just a few nickels above slavery"

Michael Kindt is a writer living in South Dakota whose work has appeared in College Times, Midwest Lit Review and in the poetry anthology “It’s Dark & Scary In Here.” He’s the author of “Early Onset of Night, Volume One” and blogs at Early-Onset-of-Night.tumblr.com.

Excerpted from his column - "What do you call a Republican who smokes marijuana? A Libertarian" Aug. 21, TheAdvertiser.com (Baton Rouge, LA):

As far as I can make out, Libertarians are just basically Republicans who are really for smaller government—no, like, really —and who are unencumbered by the self-righteousness, love of telling others how to behave, and cosmic levels of hypocrisy found among the Religious Wrong. Libertarians talk a great game about personal liberty, about freedom, but really advocate an increased empowering of business and corporate interests at the expense of everything else...

little Tommy would be down at the factory earning a fair wage as determined entirely by the company he works for and without any input or support from anyone else. In other words, he would be earning a few nickels above slavery.

What’s funny about this to me is that they don’t seem to realize just how much personal and private liberty would diminish if the corporate powers-that-be are allowed to run unchecked. Why, it would be just like things are now, only worse.

I even respect a lot of the Libertarians I know. They seem like honest Republicans, which is rare. They blessedly lack the empty god-talk while still doing everything in their power to force those in need to fend for themselves.

Libertarianism is simply anarchy for rich people — and rich people alone. Nothing more. [emphasis added]

The reality of Libertarianism in America is that it is diametrically opposed liberty. It is the opposite of what it claims to be. It wants to remove the tyranny of the state, which is at least mitigated somewhat by the elective process, and give it over to private organizations who would then be completely unaccountable.

Editor's comment - There are just so many things wrong with this piece, who knows where to start? LR readers are encouraged to visit Mr. Kindt's blog and leave a comment or two, showing him the error of his ways.