Bottom-up Solutions, Not Bottom-up Tantrums

Anti-coercion, not anti-coordination

The main functional idea of libertarianism is that problems are best responded to by allowing people to address them without being overly constrained by the state. Indeed, a core part of libertarian mythos is found in the belief that the state, even if trying to help in good faith, often (or always) does more harm than good. It coerces unethically, and in so doing prevents the discovery and implementation of better solutions.

I should say I am extremely sympathetic to this view. Government bureaucracy lacks the mechanisms and incentive structure to find creative and minimal solutions to complex problems.

But too many simple-minded self-styled libertarians do not understand the difference between resisting coercion and simply refusing to coordinate.

It’s disheartening. Here is an example of such a brave soul. Passing on lunch with people he likes because the group wanted to form a verbal contract to take a rapid test before meeting.

This is how coordination ought to happen in a libertarian society. Voluntary and non-coercive? Check. Addressing issue as directly as possible without unreliable proxy (e.g. vax status)? Check. Privacy preserving? Check. What is the problem?

I raised the question on Twitter. What is the problem? This particular account informed me they are free to do as they wish and skip lunch. Certainly, I agree, they are. But that was not my question. What is the source of resistance?

It’s a tantrum. It’s some strange contortion of machismo signaling. It’s stupid.

We should have been mass producing rapid-tests for self-administration early in 2020. I called for it. Many others called for it. The bureaucracy got in the way because it enriched the wrong people. The demand was and is there. Since they began to be available, they fly off the shelves. They can’t be kept in stock. HUGE demand.

This is a clear case where “libertarians” should be fighting against the bureaucracy and for the freedom of the market to help solve problems in a bottom-up and self-organized way!

I find myself surrounded by insanity on all sides. On one hand you have people eager to mandate brand new irreversible biotechnology for every man, woman, and child on earth. On the other you have those who think taking any voluntary action to mitigate a problem represents an intolerable loss of freedom.

Libertarianism is great, as long as you have people who can coordinate when they need to. To resist all efforts to coordinate is not a sign of a freedom fighter. It is a sign of an infantile mind.

/rant