Socially Liberal, Economically Conservative

Life and the World has some comment on my being Socially Liberal, Economically Conservative.

All sounds very common sense, salt-of-the-earth stuff, except that it's, well, a bit lazy isn't it? A bit passive. And eventually a bit la-la-la-I-can't-hear-you about things not going so well for others.

Wrong. Libertarianism isn't at all passive, it relies on people actively doing what they think is best. It is the state that we want passive, to stop meddling so that people can get on with actually sorting out problems. There is such a thing as society, and it is not the same thing as the State.

Want a pension? Go out and get one. Before Gordon Brown started raiding them Britain had the best funded private pension system in Europe. If the state was not raiding them we would still have a well funded private system. Far better funded than the increasingly irrelevant one (other than for MP's for which it is rather generous) provided by the state.

Want gay equality? Without the State taxation system explicitly biased towards hetrosexual marriage, and before this the States explicitly banning of being gay, this wouldn't be an issue. Even with gay marriage because it is a state institution, rather than a simple contract, the gay form is segregated from the non-gay form.

Want civil liberties? What civil liberties are are things where the State has traditionally kept it's nose out. It is let us not forget the state that is destroying them, not private individuals.

Want 'social justice' (whatever that is)? Perhaps you mean a safety net for hard times? Ever heard of the victorian Friendly Societies. A safety net as provided by the market, and rather better at avoiding the poverty trap than the current state system. Feel that wouldn't have enough money on it's own? Fine. I'm sure they would be open to donations, if you want to use your money to help the less fortunate then that is a noble choice. It's just taking other people's money to cleanse your conscience that Libertarians object to.