Join us at this week's meeting of the Philosophy Club in Auerbach 320 this Wednesday, Oct. 29, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. as Brian Skelly presents: the Lie of Libertarianism: Enforcement of Freedom of Speech as the Core Duty of Legitimate Government.
Look around and you will see that world history has been reduced to an all-out, open struggle between what we can call the world or democratic community: all those striving for a culture of universal ownership on the one hand and those who reject democratic community as an entailing insufferable loss of control for those presently in power, a threat to their prospects for future wealth in the form of the growth of the public sector adequate to effectively regulate the private sector. Those who oppose the movement to democratize the world – and for the most part they are no longer hiding – do so out of ambition to dominate and control the world through an ever more deregulated private sector, while keeping the growth of the public sector at bay, even violently and haphazardly tearing it down all (or mostly) in the name of libertarianism, which sometimes goes by other names now, but refers to the combination of a laissez faire private sector with a minimally existent public sector, touted by the claim that human liberty and prosperity are collectively best served in this manner.
Of course, the so-called libertarianism of today is already a misnomer in the sense that they do want some kinds of big government, including especially law enforcement, the military, beefed up borders with concomitant restrictions on immigration and migration, and an economic nationalism that would make Adam Smith wince. Of course, libertarians would be thrilled with our farming out some of these functions to the private sector, in the form of, say, private militias and for-profit penitentiaries and charter schools. (See attached for complete document).
To join meeting online, click here or scan the QR code:
Questions? Contact Brian Skelly at bskelly@hartford.edu or 413.273.2273.
An ongoing weekly tradition at the University since 2001, the University of Hartford Philosophy Club is a place where students, professors, and people from the community at large meet as peers. Sometimes presentations are given, followed by discussion. Other times, topics are hashed out by the whole group.
Presenters may be students, professors, or people from the community. Anyone can offer to present a topic. The mode of presentation may be as formal or informal as the presenter chooses.
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