mary ruwart

Libertarianism: Purists vs. Pragmatists

September 17th, 2008 10:50 am  |  by Mike Miller  |  Published in Activism, Big Government, Constitution, Individual Responsibility, Libertarianism, Liberty, Politics, liberator online, mary ruwart  |  5 Responses

I’ve been reading a lot of griping lately about how the Libertiarian “purists” are preventing the party from ever gaining traction, and the self-described pragmatists are compromising important principles in order to get the drooling masses to join ranks.  So it was quite fitting that Mary Ruwart (who would have been the Libertarian Party’s nominee if not for Bob Barr) has written on the subject in the latest issue of the Advocates for Self-Government’s Liberator Online:

Ask Dr. Ruwart

Dr. Mary Ruwart is a leading expert in libertarian communication. In this column she offers short answers to real questions about libertarianism. To submit questions to Dr. Ruwart, see end of column.

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Is compromising libertarian principles necessary to spread libertarian ideas?

QUESTION: I’ve been frustrated by some libertarians who think that “compromising” libertarian principles is the best way to get the libertarian message accepted by the public, on issues including mandatory health insurance and campaign finance restrictions. When I disagree with them, I am derided as a “purist.” How do I answer them?

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