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Why Conservatives and Liberals Dislike Libertarians
by Jacob G. Hornberger

The conservative masses are railing against the socialism coming out of the Obama administration, and rightfully so. Socialism has proven to be the bane of mankind. With its resurgence under the Obama administration, it continues to pose a giant threat to the economic freedom and well-being of the American people.

What the conservative masses fail to recognize, however, is that their crowd also poses a giant threat to the freedom and well-being of the American people, specifically with their pro-empire, pro-intervention foreign policy. The invasions and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq are good examples. By having killed, maimed, and tortured people in those countries for some 7 years, conservatives have produced the threat of terrorist retaliation against the United States, which has been used as the excuse to infringe on people’s civil liberties here at home.

Thus, we libertarians — and, well, the American people in general — are being squeezed on both sides — the conservative side and the liberal side.

Yet, when you think about it, conservatives and liberals aren’t really on different sides. They’re actually on the same side. Look at Iraq and Afghanistan. Is anything different about liberal Barack Obama’s policies, compared to those of George W. Bush? Of course not. The occupation of Iraq continues, with U.S. troops continuing to kill Iraqis. Obama is even expanding the occupation of Afghanistan, with the troops killing not only Afghanis but also Pakistanis.

Is it any different with respect to the entire overseas U.S. military empire? You know, the fact that there are U.S. troops stationed all over the world, including Europe, Korea, Africa, and Latin America? Not a bit of difference. Like Bush and the conservatives, Obama and the liberals are firmly wedded to the existence of the U.S. Empire.

What about civil liberties? Obama’s policies on civil liberties aren’t any different from those of Bush. Even worse, even though there are a few liberals taking Obama to task for embracing Bush’s denigration of civil liberties, all too many of them have chosen to seal their lips because it’s now their man in office, rather than Bush. What a disgrace.

What about Obama’s domestic policies? Well, it’s nice to see the conservative masses railing against socialism and fascism. But let’s face it: If it were Bush or John McCain calling for national health care, the conservatives would be singing a different tune. They’d be rallying around their commander in chief and telling us that we shouldn’t be criticizing the president during wartime. And they would be reminding us that wartime means forever, especially since there will always be terrorists in the world to kill.

And even though the conservative masses are protesting Obama’s health-care plan, let’s not forget all the other socialism and interventionism that conservatives won’t dare question: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, public (i.e., government) schooling, farm subsidies, education grants, immigration controls, drug laws, trade restrictions, the Federal Reserve, the SEC, the Departments of Education, Commerce, Labor, and Energy, and on and on.

Now, add up the costs of the foreign policy and the domestic policy. What do you get? Massive unrestrained federal spending, which can only be paid through enormous taxes, borrowing, or inflation, none of which is beneficial to a country.

This is what conservatives and liberals have done — and are doing — to our country. While they fight over who is going to wield the reins of power, their socialism, interventionism, and imperialism threaten the freedom and well-being of the American people.

Is there a bright light in all this? You bet there is! That light is libertarianism, one of the grandest and most glorious movements in history. Libertarianism is the political philosophy that rejects socialism, interventionism, and imperialism and aims to restore America’s heritage of economic liberty, free markets, sound money, and a limited-government republic. Libertarianism aims to protect Americans from the statism of both the Left and the Right. Is it any wonder why conservatives and liberals dislike libertarians?

Jacob Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation, publisher of Your Money or Your Life: Why We Must Abolish the Income Tax by Sheldon Richman. Send him email.