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I’m all for the “Libertarians don’t understand that abdicated responsibility is usurped by tyrants”. The problem I have with that mindset (when used to justify fascistic strong men) is that strong men are in a position to prevent me from taking responsibility.

It’s great that Milei is charismatic and convinces people, but what ultimately matters is that he’s giving people the chance to be responsible, giving them the freedom to succeed.

And yes, as a Libertarian I believe freedom is asserted, not received. What we need is not a society of sheep lead by a lion, but a society made up of lions, which is explicitly what Milei has told Argentinians. So strong individuals yes, just no unconditional submission to one, regardless of charisma.

Alexander and Napoleon, admirable as they were on some things, were terrible tyrants and murderers, by the way. There is no wisdom in choosing your tyrant, but in rejecting tyranny.

Alekandar Svetski 2y ago

That’s a fundamental misinterpretation of the word strong. Strong doesn’t mean that you tie someone’s hands behind their back so you can beat them in a fight.

That’s weakness.

The word strong is most closely related to responsibility. Both are determined by what one can bear. They are carrying capacities.

Second of all, Alexander and Napoleon were far from Tyrants. They were perhaps the men of the highest virtue who ever lived. Maybe only second to Christ in character.

Conflict is a natural part of life and war is but a natural, more complex, human manifestation of conflict. It’s a natural part of conquest. And it’s the ONLY reason we are here today. Conflict is just as important as cooperation, and one cannot exist without the other.

But that’s a deeper topic.

One I’ll write about in the future

With regards to the “strength” discussion above, Breedlove and I recorded the best episode we’ve ever done on Monday. That will be out in Jan, but we covered this topic in great detail. This was the essay / source material we referenced:

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