lltnskyc ,

Because you can only implement universal healthcare through violence/theft. Doctors need a motivation to work, right? So you either

  • Force people to pay tax under threat of violence or find some other way to steal money.
  • Force doctors to work under threat of violence.
Dagwood222 ,

People are downvoting you for giving the actual reasoning.

lltnskyc ,

I'm used to it, thankfully downvotes don't change anything :)

djsoren19 ,

The reasoning is nonsensical and requires several baseless leaps of logic to even begin with, of course it will get downvoted. OP's kinda the confused one here, they should have expected bad faith arguments in response to this post if it wasn't just bait, but hopefully they've learned what American Libertarianism is actually like now.

Fedizen ,

There's a legal obligation to provide defense lawyers to defendants and it obviously isnt done by holding lawyers at gunpoint. The "force doctors to work under threat of violence" argument is so bad faith and imaginary you might as well have just posted "I will make up fake reasons to object to this"

real markets need choice and transparency to operate and there's no way to have those things in emergency care.

Realistically, universal healthcare doesn't intrude on doctors it intrudes on insurance companies.

lltnskyc ,

There’s a legal obligation to provide defense lawyers to defendants and it obviously isnt done by holding lawyers at gunpoint.

Yes, it's covered by the first point of my post.

Force people to pay tax under threat of violence or find some other way to steal money.

rusticus ,

When you combine "Libertarian" with the greed that is typical in the ultra wealthy, their core value typically only includes liberty for themselves and no empathy for others. You can use any party label you want but without empathy, members of every party are nothing more than selfish pieces of shit. Just to be clear, I am not a "they're all the same" idiot, as Republicans clearly think empathy is a four letter word. But there are sociopaths without empathy everywhere in society, especially in the US.

As far as universal healthcare is concerned, we can't even agree as a society to provide clean water to our population by removing leaded pipes. Why would we expect something as reasonable as universal healthcare?

intensely_human ,

I believe in universal basic income, because it is simple and easy to define, and therefore doesn’t have these two problems

Universal healthcare is problematic because of two things:

  • How much is covered? Because healthcare isn’t fungible like money is, unlike UBI, UH has a problem where a ton of attention and discussion is required to determine what’s covered and what isn’t. It becomes a “to each according to his need” scenario where “his need” is being determined by the central committee
  • Once society is promising to take care of my body, I now have to promise to society to take care of my body. If I want to take risks with my own health or safety, there is now opposition to that from others on the basis that I’m ruining their investment. This means less self-ownership and less liberty.
gamermanh ,
@gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

problem where a ton of attention and discussion is required to determine what’s covered and what isn’t

Criticizing aspects of the current insurance-based system but claiming they're about Universal? Classic libertarian move.

Universal Healthcare doesnt have that problem, it's what universal means.

howrar ,

Universal Healthcare doesnt have that problem, it's what universal means.

This idealized version of universal healthcare isn't possible because it'll require more resources than we have as a species. There's always more that you can do to improve health outcomes. A line had to be drawn somewhere.

gamermanh ,
@gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

This idealized version of universal healthcare isn't possible because it'll require more resources than we have as a species

No, it won't.

There's always more that you can do to improve health outcomes

That's not what Universal Healthcare is.

howrar ,

You'll have to explain what you mean by universal healthcare then. Wikipedia says

Universal healthcare does not imply coverage for all cases and for all people

bilb ,
@bilb@lem.monster avatar

It becomes a “to each according to his need” scenario where “his need” is being determined by the central committee

This happens at the health insurance company now, and they are profit driven. They need to deny coverage in order to make their investors money.

Allero , (edited )

Yes, but universal basic income instead of universal healthcare has two issues as well:

  • You may not be able to afford expensive healthcare procedures, which may result in all ranges of bad consequences, from lost productivity to death. In either case, there's a big chance society loses a productive worker for no good reason, and for the person who couldn't get healthcare it's obviously super bad, too. All while this expense would be returned in the economy many times over if the person got recovered and continued working, and the person in question could keep living a fulfilling life.
  • Relying on private healthcare institutions means falling victim to the price-inefficient businesses, as a lot of your money goes to cover profits of the healthcare organization. When there is no public alternative, prices go through the roof. Even in the US, where there is some government oversight but no full-scale universal healthcare system, the prices for healthcare are insane. Thereby, you either have to hand people a fat UBI check and constantly increase it as companies drive up their appetites, putting more strain on the system than universal healthcare ever could, or let people not have decent healthcare, or control the healthcare institutions (which is not super libertarian), all while living with a reality that many people will not think of their medical needs or will genuinely have other strong priorities and will put money to something else, ending up shooting themselves - and the economy - in the foot.

I often hear criticisms of some "committee" deciding whether you're gonna get healthcare or not, like here. In an alternative when it is ruled by money, it's how much you earn that decides it. Someone in a critical condition might not receive help simply because they are poor. Someone will always be cut off, and it'd better be someone who needs the help the least or requires too much resources to help that could be better spent saving more people.

This is constantly ommitted by the haters of planned systems, which I think is very unjust.

Juice ,

Do not be deluded by the abstract word Freedom. Whose freedom? Not the freedom of one individual in relation to another, but freedom of Capital to crush the worker.

-- Karl Marx, On Free Trade

kamenoko ,
@kamenoko@sh.itjust.works avatar

Utopias aren't real, and authoritarianism ends the same way whether you're a fascist or a tankie.

hungryphrog ,
@hungryphrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Why the hell do you think that libertarians don't believe in universal healthcare?

MacNCheezus ,
@MacNCheezus@lemmy.today avatar

Because it's incompatible with the non-aggression principle.

nomadjoanne ,

The liberty they believe in is different than the more common use of the word, perhaps.

"liberty to" rather than "liberty from".

kava ,

I consider myself a libertarian and I believe in free healthcare. I think certain industries should not be run for profit. It creates perverse incentives that harm the common man. For example healthcare.

If there's a profit incentive in bealthcare, there is incentive for drug companies or hospitals to raise their prices. This would mean less people getting treatment or more people in medical debt.

Another industry I think shouldn't be for profit is education. We want an educated population. It should be encouraged, so it should be free for anyone who wants it.

In my view, libertarianism is a perspective that the government should interfere with the personal liberties of the individual as little as possible.

Every single government action should be heavily scrutinized and challenged. Some actions are justified. For example regulating healthcare I think is justified. You are taking away the liberty of starting a hospital - but the benefits outweigh the costs.

I believe that cooperatives should be encouraged if not explicitly mandated for large companies.

I think to Chomsky's conception of anarchism. Look at all hierarchies of power and challenge them. Some are justified - the power a father has over his child. Some are not - the power a cash advance place has over their customer base.

I think governments often make mistakes and through heavy handed actions end up screwing the average person. By dramatically limiting government action, you help prevent this.

Remember the government is not your friend.

SkyezOpen ,

How do you deal with bears?

Bgugi ,

Dinner and plenty of lube.

TokenBoomer ,
nifty ,
@nifty@lemmy.world avatar

Remember the government is not your friend.

The government is working out just fine for people in Nordic and other EU counties

banana_lama ,

There's examples that swing both ways of a government being benevolent and self serving. The more likely outcome is the government being self serving. I personally anticipate every government to eventually go that route. For instance Agustus and a few following Roman emperor's had set a good example. But once corruption had set its teeth within the government it became incredibly difficult to be a "good" emperor. Not impossible but discouraged.

So yeah. Just because there's good examples doesn't mean you shouldn't be cautious even in their cases. Enjoy the prosperity and encourage it but do have a Killswitch of sorts just in case

kava ,

There are benevolent kings every once in a while. Doesn't mean monarchy is a good system in the long term. Nordic countries have some of the highest wealth inequalities in the world. They keep the working class content with the programs and benefits. They have been able to afford it up to now, but the system is straining.

In the long term they cannot sustain this and we see it with their indicators slowly falling over time to match other Western European countries.

French & UK citizens are not fans of their government.

Less power the government has unnecessarily, the better. Doesn't mean the government shouldn't have power, just we need a mentality that we always need to be trimming the fat.

Cybermonk_Taiji ,

So you think you should have access to all the benefits of our society without bearing any burden of the responsibility that comes with it?

Foolish mentality of a child.

kava ,

What do you mean? You think I don't support taxes or something?

Wrench ,

You just described a somewhat progressive leaning liberal.

You believe that the government should stay our of our homes, socially. Progressives have been leading that charge for decades, and moderates have been on board for a while now.

You believe in universal Healthcare and income. Those are very progressive ideals. Those are about as anti libertarian as it gets, because they take away a lot of "individual" freedom, because to fund that, roughly half of your income will need to go to taxes. Maybe more, I haven't looked at the numbers in a long time, but plenty of current examples to pick from.

You believe in industrial regulation to combat bad actors when necessary. That is a general liberal ideal.

Nothing besides keeping the government away from your personal life is even marginally libertarian. And that's pretty much the only overlap between libertarianism and liberalism.

This is all from a U.S. point of view.

FluffyPotato ,

Do you mean ancaps? Because I'm pretty sure most libertarian would be for universal healthcare. I have heard Americans use libertarian for ancap which are pretty opposing ideologies, I'm not sure what's up with that.

surewhynotlem ,

American libertarians hate anarchy and love order. They believe there should be zero government to enforce that order. They also believe they should not be held to any laws.

There's not a lot of thinking behind those eyes.

barsoap ,

Anarchy and order are very much not opposites (There's an O in the logo!), you might be thinking of anomie which means the absence of (legal, social) norms.

From the random yanks I see on the net the dividing line between ancap and libertarian is how open and/or conscious they are about their radicalism, though even ancaps of course fall short of admitting that they're neo-feudalists. Basic differentiating factor from ordinary monarchists is that they want their King (not too uncommonly, it could also be a Queen) to rule by grace of capital instead of god. Which, if you ask Stirner, isn't really much of a distinction both are spooks.

fuckingkangaroos ,

Don't expect unbiased learning about politics on Lemmy.

irotsoma ,
@irotsoma@lemmy.world avatar

American "Libertarians" consider liberty as self-sufficiency, not just freedom from a government, but from being required to contribute to society as a whole.

postmateDumbass ,

Also, their liberty to exploit you for profit.

Cybermonk_Taiji ,

While still having unfettered access to all the benefits of the society while shouldering none of the responsibility.

It is entirely a selfish toddler political philosophy.

Etterra ,

Libertarians: maximum freedom for everyone!

Everyone: what about healthcare?

Libertarians: you're free to die in a gutter!

SanndyTheManndy ,

With the general state of health in America, it's probably better for the fit 0.1% if they don't have to share healthcare resources with the rest.

stoly ,

It’s not really about liberty, it’s about freedom from taxes and consequences. They don’t get far enough in the reasoning to understand that they would benefit.

Trebuchet ,

Don't forget lowering the age of consent

isles ,

But I'm 20 and healthy, why should I have to pay for healthcare for mrs. sickey over there? Did she even try being born without a chronic illness? Doubt it.

stoly ,

Because eventually you will be old and sick. It’s short sighted not to consider that.

DarkCloud ,

Libertarianism is just values free Capitalism.

njm1314 ,

Capitalism has always been values free

DarkCloud ,

...and it co-opts and usurps other value systems.

DMBFFF ,
@DMBFFF@lemmy.world avatar

NAP is a value.

DarkCloud ,

It's a theory that in reality already mostly doesn't exist. You can hire a range of body guards, personal security people, bounty hunters, and self-proclaimed bad asses to fuck people up.

...the more money you have the more connected you are, the more stuff like that you can do.

NAP is a theory that requires people with money "respect" rather than chilling in the forts they've already built in this system, let alone a more free market one.

NAP is a pipedream Libertarians have circle jerks about but like most of their theories would be utter vaporware in practice.

DMBFFF ,
@DMBFFF@lemmy.world avatar

What would happen in the 5 most murderous states in Mexico, or in Haiti, if everyone there had a machine gun?

Would the rich and powerful carry themselves with as much swagger as they do now?

DarkCloud ,

This is all besides the point. Libertarianism is values free Capitalism, and NAP is a pipedream.

Capitalism usurps all values other than profit. It's toxic.

DMBFFF ,
@DMBFFF@lemmy.world avatar

Is libertarianism synonymous with capitalism?

What values are devoid of profiting?

If say, a socialist argued that the average Russian in 1960 was better off than in 1880, and while technology played a positive role, so did the political system, then wt:thon would be arguing that socialism—at least that variant—has profited the average Russian more than monarchy—at least that variant.

and please answer the questions in my previous post, regardless on how it's probable that neither of us have enough information and knowledge to answer something so hypothetical, with a great amount of authority.

TokenBoomer ,
Allero , (edited )

I'd argue we should give voice to actual libertarians instead of trashing them here.

Like, otherwise you at least don't help people find how actual libertarians respond.

Cybermonk_Taiji ,

"actual libertarians"

Sure buddy, no true Scotsman huh?

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