Tags: Libertarianism
Isms 05 Apr 2007 12:10 am
Libertarianism
Libertarianism is often associated with freedom, conservativism, etc. But is liberty an appropriate end in itself?
“Liberté, égalité, fraternité, ou la mort!”(Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood, or Death!) — French Revolutionary Slogan
The platform of the Libertarian National Committee begins as follows:
As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others.
I was listening to a sermon entitled Liberated into Bondage and in part of it there is reference to the law of the year of jubilee, which is in Leviticus 25. There are various laws about returning lands to their original owners, and redeeming those sold into slavery or else they will go free on the 50th year. This is hardly a mere economic incentive package, or even the restoration of civil liberties to those who had sold them for economic reasons. In verse 55 it is written: “For unto me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” So, the purpose of liberty is servanthood. We are never ‘free’ from service to our Creator.In the context of submission to lawful authority, in 1Pet. 2:16 Scripture says “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.”So really, individuals cannot be sovereign over their own lives. Only God is sovereign, and one may live in obedient freedom in Christ, or in slavery and bondage to sin. Those are the two options.But coming back to the LP platform, the Statement of Principles begins:
We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the cult of the omnipotent state and defend the rights of the individual.
The State isn’t God either. So it is right to defend the rights of the individual. This is why Libertarianism is associated with freedom, because it stands against civil government that would attempt to be God.However, the Statement of Principles continues:
We hold that all individuals have the right to exercise sole dominion over their own lives, and have the right to live in whatever manner they choose, so long as they do not forcibly interfere with the equal right of others to live in whatever manner they choose.
In other words, they claim that individual sovereignty is only limited by where it might collide with the individual sovereignty of others. That sounds like it could become a very tangled web to sort out.However, true liberty comes from being free in Christ and obedient to His Law. And liberty on a civil level comes from godly rulers who use biblical standards for what the civil government should, and shouldn’t, do.So in summary, “Liberty” is not a valid end in and of itself. While some of the goals of Libertarianism may be biblical and stand against governments that are out of control, the fact remains that individuals and nations alike should pursue liberty only by being obedient to God.[ update Here’s a good and extensive article on the topic entitled Why LIbertarianism and Christianity Don’t Mix by C. S. Hayden. ]