I am indebted to Glenn Reynolds for linking to this Ed Cone column on the foundations of liberty. It’s a wonderful, heartfelt articulation of a vision of civil society that is very compelling, and in great part is what gets me out of bed in the morning.
As we celebrate the freedoms already won, let?s celebrate as well our coming freedom from the tyranny of politics as usual and the yoke of corporate infotainment culture. Let?s commit ourselves to becoming a nation of grown-ups, with an eye for accounting, a respect for complexity, and a well-developed sense of humor. It?s time for the emerging libertarian majority to make itself known. …
Principles endure, but needs and resources change, so solutions under the libertarian consensus need to be dynamic instead of static. Entrenched interests, served by both major political parties, are dug in against liberty. We need to root them out without dismissing the various good ends toward which they set off before getting trapped in their trenches. …
Any attempts to change the current system will get you labeled if not libeled. So what. Liberal and conservative are characterizations that serve the powerful. I feel reduced by them, not defined. The libertarian consensus is the new counterculture, a motivating force behind the second superpower emerging on the Web, the future. Let?s celebrate it on the Fourth of July, and then get to work on making it happen.