And I believe I fall into the "little L" libertarian category too, Sparky.
Be gentle. It's my first time.
**** gentle. Here it goes. East, you pay attention too.
While it would be overly simplistic to paint libertarians as anarchists because of their favor of minimal government, it's certainly no stretch to say that many want the government so minimal as to be ineffective when needed. Then again, how can one paint libertarians when even THEY cannot define what they are and what they are not?
To go further, sure, it might be a great political philosophy--when you're 15. Those of us who live in the real world understand that some government, while it can be a pain in the ass, is necessary. Allow me to expand.
One of the big tenets of libertarians is the contract, be it legal, commercial, or social. If we were to simply disregard it on the basis of arguing that I never signed a contract--what about the Constitution? Is that not an implied contract between government and its citzens? If I have a land dispute with a neighbor, what REALLY makes it your property? Were there conditions on its use? Easements? That is property as recognized by other parties, but ultimately rests with the government. If you have disputes with other parties, you have legal redress. But if the government is so weak as to be ineffective, then is that contract really worth anything?
Bottom line--the Constitution, which libertarians love to recite word-for-word literally much like an evangelican Christian reads (but does not interpret, for interpretation cannot exist in the literal word of God), is also a contract, but is only as strong as the government on one side and the people on the other. When one becomes significantly more powerful than the other, then the equation is thrown out of balance and neither is effective. Libertarians would render the people (read: the individual, not the whole) primary, with no consideration of others.
What we have seen over the course of our history is not simply an expansion of federal powers, but in many cases a transferral of power between the states and federal authority. Many of the libertarian ideals for free-market societies have been analyzed, and rejected, nearly a century ago as unworkable and poisonous to the economy. Taxation, whether on a federal or state level, has always existed. Personal freedom has ALWAYS had limits. I could go on and on.
I leave you with a quote from Judge Learned Hand: "And what is this liberty which must lie in the hearts of men and women? It is not the ruthless, the unbridled will; it is not freedom to do as one likes. That is the denial of liberty, and leads straight to its overthrow. A society in which men recognize no check upon their freedom soon becomes a society where freedom is the possession of only a savage few; as we have learned to our sorrow."
A simple example, but I can come up with many others if you have the time.
