Libertarianism: Bill Evers- 'How to Convince a Socialist to Become a Libertarian'

Source:Libertarianism- Bill Evers, talking about Socialists and Libertarians.

"Bill Evers was a resident scholar at Stanford University's Hoover Institution (and is currently a research fellow there) and also served as Assistant Secretary for the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development in the U.S. Department of Education from 2007-09.

In this lecture from 1985, Evers speaks at a Libertarian Party of California event about convincing socialists to become libertarians. He talks about dismantling some of the preconceptions socialists have about their own beliefs by using framing devices such as the socialist calculation debate to show adherents how the political dimension in central planning eventually takes over the entire system."

From Libertarianism

How to convince a Socialist to be Libertarian: first of all good luck. You might as well try to convince Palestinians and other Arabs that Israel has been right from all along and there is no need for an independent Palestinian state. Or try to convince Jews that the State of Israel should've never been created in the first place.

Socialists believe in what the state can do for the people with their money. And Libertarians believe in what people can do for themselves with their own money. And Libertarians also believe in maximize freedom across the board. That individuals have the right to live their own lives as they see fit, as long as they are not hurting innocent people with what they are doing, they should be free as long as they aren't hurting innocent people's freedom,

Socialists do believe in the state as far as improving people's lives and making society as equal as possible, but Socialists are pretty diverse on social issues. And depending on what type of Socialists you are talking about, people who I would call leftist statists, people who not only believe that the state has the responsibility to make sure that all people are living as quality of a life as possible economically. But that the State also has the responsibility to make sure that people are living as safe as possible, even if that means protecting people from themselves.

And there are Socialist Liberals who are socialist on economic policy, but more liberal-libertarian on social issues. That government shouldn't try to protect people from themselves. Because they can't and it's Undemocratic and statist.

If you really are a Libertarian and you're not against government all together, you just don't want government running people's lives for them and you want government to do just the basics and be as decentralized as possible and you believe you have snowballs chance on a hot, sunny day in Arizona of finding common ground with a Socialist, talk to the liberal wing of the socialist movement. People who don't want government interfering into people's personal affairs. The non-nanny statist wing of the socialist movement. As well as the Communists who don't believe in freedom at all.