Well, that would require more honesty than they’ve got, but it’s basically what they’re saying. Check out this post by Nick Bradley, who concludes that “Those on the Postrel crowd [sic]” are believers in “atomistic individualism,” and that we say “to hell with communities, churches, families, and all non-coercive communities.” He also chides us for believing that “a federal ban on the local regulation of abortion” would be proper, while we would object to “a city council's right to put up a Christmas tree, a nativity scene, or teach intelligent design in their schools.” In short, we’re “fan[s] of the weird and avant-garde.”
What an amazing confession! Of course, the charge of “atomistic individualism” is the typical accusation from conservatives against libertarians—Russell Kirk began it, I think, with his article about “chirping sectaries,” an article with which the Lew Rockwell folks would agree entirely, including apparently its homophobia. Tom Palmer, of course, set the record straight on this score, explaining that it is a conservative lie that libertarians don’t care about churches, families, and other non-coercive communities. But Palmer is typically one of the chief targets of the Rockwell crowd. And as for a federal ban on “the local regulation of abortion,” libertarians—or at least pro-choice libertarians—certainly would support such a ban, since it is the proper role of the Federal Government under the Fourteenth Amendment to bar attempts by states to deprive people of their liberty without due process of law. Likewise, libertarians oppose a city council’s so-called “right” to establish religion by endorsing Christianity and teaching the Bible to kids as scientific fact—because doing so violates the liberties of individuals. If that ain’t libertarianism, then I don’t know what it could be.
Bradley, in short, is a conservative, not a libertarian. Libertarianism is about liberating individuals, limiting the government’s alleged “right” to require them to adhere to a religious view, barring government from intruding in their sexual and private lives, and other such “weird and avant-garde” notions. Bradley sees such things as based on “atomistic individualism” and denigrating the role of communities. To coin a phrase, that’s very nice Mr. Bradley, but please don’t call it libertarian.
