The Paradox of Radical Libertarianism

The radical libertarianism favored by may LP members bears an eerie similarity to . . . Communism! Remember, Communism was, in theory, a society of unanimity where the state had “withered away”; this is precisely what many LP members favor. And the fact that there was to be no private property in the Communist society is of no consequence, since the failure of any individual to establish a claim to property is in no way at variance with libertarian teaching. And the fact that Communism in practice varied greatly with Communism in theory is also of no consequence; idealism in practice frequently deviates from idealism in theory. Which makes one wonder whether a type of “pure” libertarianism in practice would result in the same type of repression as what occurred under Communism.