Why Are Libertarians So Concerned With Ideas?

By Chris Rossini

If you're new to learning about the principles of liberty, you will inevitably notice that libertarians focus very strongly on ideas. For centuries champions of liberty that have advocated peace, voluntary interactions and non-aggression have focused like a laser beam on the ideas that produce these results.

There is a very logical reason for this. In our human existence, thoughts are causes and the manifestations that we see around us are effects. That is the syntax of our world. Even the mightiest skyscrapers that tower over us, must first come from ideas, or blueprints, formed in the minds of men. That's the setup. Ideas are manifested. The invisible produces the visible.

This is why libertarians focus so intently on the invisible realm of ideas. After all, one cannot place liberty into someone else's hands. One cannot go to the store and buy a 6-pack of peace. These are ideas, and the manifestation of these ideas in our world is the aim of the libertarian. But in order for the ideas of liberty to be manifested, they must first be understood, believed, and finally desired.

When individuals do not understand, they cannot believe. If they cannot believe, they cannot desire. That which is not understood remains in the realm of the unknown, and humans tend to fear the unknown. The libertarian seeks to penetrate this fear by persuading others into understanding that there is nothing to fear from peace and freedom.

The circumstances that we observe today are all rooted in the invisible world of ideas.

When we see an America mired in a century of never-ending wars, we are witnessing the manifestation of the ideas of interventionism, and more recently neoconservatism. These ideas present the American government as a "chosen" government that must police the world, and dominate it militarily. Since these ideas have been embraced, believed and desired we see the results manifested with untold millions killed, civilizations destroyed, and human suffering that cannot be comprehended by those who are entertained by Super Bowl military jet fly-overs.

When we see an America with a disappearing middle-class, swimming in oceans of debt, with higher and higher bills that must be paid, we are seeing the manifestation of Keynesian ideas. These ideas present a tiny group of central planning bureaucrats as having the ability to "run the economy" by counterfeiting money. Since these ideas have been embraced, believed and desired we see the results manifested with constant reappearances of illusory economic booms, which must be followed by heart-wrenching economic busts. The unavoidable suffering leads to broken marriages, broken families, failed businesses, anxiety, and depression on a massive scale. If new ideas do not replace the Keynesian ideas, then Americans must remain like hamsters on a wheel, going through the same motions again and again.

When we see an American government with a divide & conquer strategy that creates unnatural "wars" between sexes, races, genders, or ages, we are seeing the manifestation of ideas known as Cultural Marxism. So-called "political-correctness", "thought police", and "cultural gatekeepers" have manifested from these ideas. Since these ideas have been embraced, believed and desired we witness a population that is increasingly confined to mental prisons, not knowing what to say, feel, think or believe.

In every single case, the syntax is the same: Ideas manifest. The invisible produces the visible. This is why libertarians are so concerned with ideas. Libertarians go to the root, and leave it to others to mess with the fruit. Libertarians focus on the cause and don't waste time wrestling with the effects. Champions of liberty throughout the ages have always sought an intellectual revolution, not an impotent political revolution.

If you're going to begin something, begin at the beginning. 

Ideas are the beginning, and the ideas of liberty are so much more preferable than the destructive ideas of neoconservatism, Keynesianism, and Cultural Marxism that dominate in so many minds today.
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