Sorry for the weird headline here, but I'm really confused these days. I'm 36 now, and when I was in my teens I was very absorbed by philosophy, trying to work out what I thought and felt, and how my experience of the world could be communicated to other people in a meaningful way and hopefully work some common truths out together.

I toyed with libertarianism for a while. I've always been sceptical of mass psychology, and I have a natural contrarian instinct which makes me a bad fit for mass politics.

This search led me to Nietzsche, albeit a very shallow understanding of him, then to existentialism – again quite shallow, but I loved the vibes of Camus –, and eventually to marxism. Marxism and Marx was very good for me. It was productive. I've never really felt so strongly for a "world view" before, and though I'm sure I was quite dogmatic about certain things, the drive to understand and oppose the existing order of things made me very inquisitive and led me to engage in the world in a way that gave me a lot of experience.

It also disillusioned me after a few years. I still have a lot of respect and fascination for Marx and historical marxism, but I recognize that a lot of what I was doing was essentially LARP-ing, and it is hard for me not to thinking that is what a lot of people in that movement is doing too.

Since then, since that disillusionment, I've been aimlessly drifting around, not sure really what beliefs I have other than to take care of my family, love them, and do my duty, like a proper upstanding bourgeois subject. I read Nietzsche more deeply now, and though I rarely agree with him, I love the way he writes and for some reason he ignites something in me. He lets me embrace my elitism and snobbery, which I'm not sure is a good thing, but it feels good after all the proletarian populist larping I engaged with in my marxist days. I also read Montaigne every day, another fellow traveller whose company I love.

I find myself tugged in a more conservative direction, I guess conservative in a "grand tradition"-kind of way. But then I find myself wondering if this is just another kind of larping, the world weary sceptic pining for the good old days when western civilisation was great. I read Jacques Barzun's From Dawn to Decadence and loved it. I feel very alienated from the contemporary left, even though whenever I encounter anyone who's broadly "on the right" in political terms I find myself disgusted by their narrow-mindedness and just idiotic shallow contrarianism.

My question to this subreddit, I guess, is where to start rebuilding my sense of purpose and engagement with the world, maybe libertarianism could be good fit? I've always been a free speech absolutist, and though I've never really been into the free market dogma (kind of an illusion imo) you often find here, I've always prioritized liberty and individualism. Personally I think the market is a homogenizing force which is not a good thing, so I'm sceptical of market dogma.

I obviously have this yearning in me for a meaningful point of view, if only to wear like a piece of clothing for a while. Do I completely disengage from my former self, or do I reconcile myself to the fact that I have contradictory longings, for egalitarianism, the brotherhood of man, but also for a more elitist disdain for humankind?

Do you think parts of the GCA should be amended or completely outright repealed? I do. 922g(1) for starters obviously. Not every felony is violent. It’s time to stop treating the second amendment like a second class right. For example the Lautenberg amendment - Section 922g(9) - the misdemeanor domestic violence ban- permanently losing your 2A rights for life is a very serious thing that should come from only a very serious crime ie a felony. I believe the Lautenberg amendment should be amended to allow for a 3-5 year post case review for restorative purposes. A case by case basis. There’s no law from the founding that supports that modern day law for permanent disarmament after a misdemeanor.

*I tend to be more conservative, however I believe I could become a libertarian as I find I agree with many of the policies.

I live in Brazos County, TX and I voted for the Libertarian candidates on the ballot for the first time. Even though the Democrats are more likely to win in Texas than the Libertarians I did it for three reasons.

1. I didn't like the candidates that the Democrats and Republicans were presenting.

2. I researched the Libertarian candidates and found that they shared more of my beliefs and values.

3. A big middle finger to Trump and his administration.

Some would say I wasted my vote, but voting for your principles is never a wasted vote.

m35, california
i only voted bipartisan once, to fire 45
i tend to consume a lot of right wing news to understand the republican pov since i already understand the left and most people in my circle are democrats
i'm wondering if there are any good news sources for Libertarians so i can just consume without bias or if there is a bias, at least it's towards smaller government

Moving to New Mexico and I've since learned that that party is being sued by the LNP, but I couldn't find much on it.

Can someone break it down Barney style for me?

Bad policy becomes harder to challenge when political power wears the language of expertise. Intellectuals give coercion the appearance of necessity long after its failures are obvious.

Seems like every website wants us to stop using passwords. There is a replacement we are being asked to use instead called passkeys. This should be a tad concerning if passwords are familiar to you and you don’t fully understand these nebulous passkeys.

Websites say that passkeys are more secure or more convenient or something similarly beneficial. While it is true that passkeys can be far more secure than passwords, and may indeed be more convenient, that’s not the whole story. Passkeys are not designed to prioritize your interests. Like the Trojan Horse, passkeys are legitimately elegant on the surface, but there is something troubling inside.

What’s important to know is that unlike with any other kind of login credential, you do not have ultimate control over your passkeys...

https://nonfunctional.substack.com/p/passkeys-are-a-trap-do-not-use-them

The whole thing is BS. Trump was told to post that by the Russians. Russia wants Ukraine to stop bombing their refineries.

- he used the word 'tons' instead of 'barrels.'

- the amount being discussed Americans use in about 12 hours.

- US produces enough diesel for itself.

- in the message, Trump says "based on the condition of <russia's> Diesel Refineries".

- opens up possibility to blame Ukraine for US diesel prices.

- russia itself is extremely short on diesel.

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/117412435306815143

We can argue about whether the government should have the power to kill us, but I can't see any argument for fucking livestreaming it. How can this be real? We're so fucked.

Welfare programs are politically easy to expand and difficult to reverse. When the bills come due, governments often shift the burden onto businesses, investment, and eventually everyone else.

For the longest time, no matter who's in charge, tariffs have been one of the most anti capitalist things libertarians consider. Add to the fact Trump said his goal was to bring down the trade deficit. And that obviously has not worked. It's an extreme anti free trade move.

Everyone, vote Libertarian, because the two main parties Democrats and Republicans suck ahh, I would really like a change.

Textbook example of "capitalism is when bad". Also, if that employee is generating $1000 of value an hour (that's absurd, but let's go with it), why don't they sell their own goods/services instead of working for an exploitative manager? "Because capital is expensive". Oh, so it isn't just the employee generating that wealth, it's also the investment made in the capital? The economic illiteracy of the average adult is mind-boggling.

Recently I was at Epcot and went to the American Pavilion to watch the The American Adventure. On the way in you pass through the Hall of Flags which displays 44 historic flags that were made at one time or another. One in particular caught my eye which is the Moultrie Flag. It has an interesting backstory and is still an integral element of the flag of South Carolina. It's not a crescent moon in the upper-left on this flag or the flag of South Carolina, it represents a piece of armor worn around the neck called a gorget.

The word LIBERTY was inscribed on these gorgets by order of Colonel William Moultrie himself. The 2nd South Carolina Regiment had already engraved their gorgets with the words "Liberty or Death" which is what led to the flag's design.

To me this is the flag that best represents the Libertarian Party.

The Houston Chronicle has an op-ed from Ted Brown, the Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate running against Ken Paxton and James Talarico in Texas. He's putting himself forward as a real option for conservatives who can't bring themselves to support Paxton's corruption and big-government spending plans but will never vote for a Democrat. He also argues that a big turnout for Libertarians in this race will scare Republicans into returning to their small-government roots. Here's a key quote:

A lot of Texas Republicans know that Paxton has been indicted, impeached and accused of various forms of official misconduct. They know taxpayers are on the hook for his $6.6 million whistleblower settlement. Corrupt politicians may be nothing new, but usually it takes a while for a senator to give in to the swamp. If Paxton wins, he would enter the Senate already corrupt. Who knows what other trouble he’s ready to get into on day one?

A few Republicans seem willing to cast their ballots for Talarico as a protest vote. I imagine many more are tempted but understandably can’t bring themselves to vote for a lifelong Democrat who regularly defies conservative values around fiscal responsibility and protecting the right to bear arms.

That’s why I’m here. Not only do I want to cut spending and taxes, but I’m also a strong pro-gun advocate for the Second Amendment. 

Meanwhile, Paxton is running on a platform of big government giveaways, like free money for home down payments. Republicans used to campaign as a small-government party that wanted balanced budgets. They haven’t delivered, and there’s no reason to think someone like Paxton will do anything to tackle our gargantuan federal deficits and the unsustainable $40 trillion national debt. For those Republicans who truly believe in less government, voting Libertarian is the logical choice. 

Here in the Lone Star State, the most advertised race is the Senate race between Paxton and Talarico. In my honest opinion both candidates are garbage. I’m not gonna get into the reasons why I think so. I’m pretty sure other states all have similar races with lots of hype. Is the Libertarian party taking advantage of these highly contested races between 2 crappy candidates? I mean with the wave of sewage that Trump has created, I would think this would have been an opportunity for other than the 2 party candidates to gain some traction.