You won't believe why "Libertarians on the Left are troubling, too"

At least according to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune.

It's because we're also Darwinian, like those Libertarians on the right.

How do they know we're Darwinian?

Because we support marriage equality.

I'm not kidding.

That's the only reason they cite:

This is social Darwinism of just the sort depicted by Steve Young -- destructive outcomes for the poor, inflicted by ruthless commercial forces in an unregulated environment. It is enabled by libertarianism on the cultural left.

The left very properly advocates government regulation to promote a clean environment, workplace safety and many other social goods. But when sex comes into issue, the left takes exactly the opposite position. It fiercely resists regulation, insists on laissez-faire, and ignores the human cost.

Redefining marriage (the latest left-libertarian project) only would compound our social crisis. Disassociating marriage from biological fatherhood increases the tendency of fathers not to marry. The more that we elevate choice and individual desire as trump values, the more we compromise the welfare of children.

Go figure, as my brother is fond of saying.

OK, if that's the definition of Social Darwinism, put me down for it.

Comments

tom said…

perhaps if John D. Hagen Jr could pull his head out of his ass long enough to look around, and maybe study some history, he would realize that aside from Victorian era England and the U.S. during the middle third of the 20th century, "Uncommitted, recreational sex" has been a norm throughout pretty much the entire history of western culture.

and far from being the latest fad, equal rights for gays has been a plank in the Libertarian platform since the party was founded 40 years ago.

June 13, 2012 at 12:48 AM

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