I don't mind debate, that's why I am participating. I just wonder how materialism (upon which Marxism is based) could acquire such a prominent position in libertarianism. It's flabbergasting and disturbing because the position of anti-IP libertarians and Marxists on intellectual property is identical and for identical reasons.
The same goes with "FRB is fraud." I can understand that people are skeptical towards FRB (just like I understand that they think IP law is broken) but from here to conclude that FRB is fraud is a complete mystery. I have btw, written an essay on Fractional Reserve Banking for those interested:
http://onarki.no/blogg/2011/04/fractional-reserve-banking-vs-pure-gold-standard/I know a ton of libertarians that are pro-IP and don't consider FRB to be inherently fraudulent. Most of them adhere to the Austrian school (which is the only school that seems rational to me), and most of them love the works of Ayn Rand. But they don't necessarily agree with
everything that comes out of either camp.
I often quote Rand and Rothbard even though they aren't always compatible. But both of them did a
great deal of good. What worries me is the rivalry that I sometimes witness between Objectivists and Austrians. I won't dismiss Rothbard because Rand "shunned him". (And I won't dismiss Mises, Reisman etc for that reason either). I don't mind that people disagree, but I think it's sad when Objectivists try to discredit Austrians, frantically avoid quoting them (even though they often
have to in order to support their arguments), embrace supply siders etc, only because
some of their supporters would disagree on certain issues.
I suspect that you refrain from calling yourself a libertarian in order to distance yourself from anarchists, Rothbardians, anti-IP and anti-FRB people, and maybe even Rothbard himself. I don't see it that way. I don't think you have to be anti-FRB or an anarchist to be a "libertarian". (Yes, I've read some Objectivist literature on "libertarianism", but I don't endorse their definition.) I align myself with people like you because we agree on 99% when it comes to politics (considering the socialist, welfare state, corporatist plague that is so prevalent today). I applaud every attack on the collectivist mentality, and I won't stop promoting Atlas Shrugged even though my Objectivist neighbor calls Rothbard a liar. Like Rand said: "Mises in economics". And like Mises said: "... but Atlas Shrugged is not merely a novel. It is also (or may I say: first of all) a cogent analysis of the evils that plague our society, a substantiated rejection of the ideology of our self-styled "intellectuals" and a pitiless unmasking of the insincerity of the policies adopted by governments and political parties.".
And, to quote someone else: "Baby, this shit we got together, it's so good we gotta get the government in on this shit. We can't just share this commitment between us. We need judges and lawyers involved in this shit, baby. It's hot!"