1385
Penn Jillette is No Longer A Libertarian (lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/politicalmemes@lemmy.world
396 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 
Seriously abridged version of this alongside the clown makeup removal meme In 2008, Jillette stated that there is not enough information to make an informed decision on global warming, that his gut told him it was not real, but his mind said that he cannot prove it.[48] As of 2014, he has changed his position and now believes that climate change is occurring.[49] He stated in 2008 that he "always" votes Libertarian,[47] and endorsed Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson for president in 2012[50][51][52] and 2016.[53] However, he participated in vote swapping in 2016 by voting for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the swing state of Nevada, in exchange for "10 or 11" of his friends promising to vote for Johnson in blue states like California and New York.[54] In 2020, Jillette distanced himself from aspects of libertarianism, particularly surrounding COVID-19. In an interview with Big Think, he stated, "[A] lot of the illusions that I held dear, rugged individualism, individual freedoms, are coming back to bite us in the ass." He went on to elaborate, "[I]t seems like getting rid of the gatekeepers gave us Trump as president, and in the same breath, in the same wind, gave us not wearing masks, and maybe gave us a huge unpleasant amount of overt racism."[55]
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 25 points 2 years ago (3 children)

There used to be a time back when libertarianism was anti-capitalist. Then right wingers stole it and turned it into a circus.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 3 child comments
    •
  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago

    Yep, in fact the first known person to describe themselves as libertarian was anarcho-communist Joseph Déjacque^[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianism#Libertarian_socialism_(1857%E2%80%931980s))]. It was only around the 1940s in the US where it turned into a term meaning liberal.

    As a trivia note, there's a socialist caucus in the US Libertarian Party, at least when I checked a few years ago. Quote from Vermin Supreme in 2020, who takes influence from Peter Kropotkin and Situationism among others:

    [The US Libertarian Party] has a spectrum. It has a left and right spectrum going on there. I’m talking to older lefties. It’s like, “You do know they have a Libertarian Socialist Caucus. Did you know that?”. Add they’re like, “Really?”. That simple fact that the Libertarian Party has a Libertarian Socialist Caucus, just that alone tends to make people really have to reconsider what they think that the Libertarian Party is. My own campaign is causing people to take a second look at it. I’ve got a fair amount of political goodwill and capital, and certainly I’ve taken some hits for my involvement with the Libertarian Party, but I have found so many beautiful people and they are quite receptive to the concept of mutual aid.

    I do not endorse or justify that party as a whole, again, this is a trivia note.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago

    I think this citation on Wikipedia pinpoints the turning point. Yet another thing ruined by conservative McCarthyism?

    Russell, Dean (1955). "Who is a libertarian?". Foundation for Economic Education. Archived from the original on 28 November 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.

    Many of us call ourselves 'liberals.' And it is true that the word 'liberal' once described persons who respected the individual and feared the use of mass compulsions. But the leftists have now corrupted that once-proud term to identify themselves and their program of more government ownership of property and more controls over persons. As a result, those of us who believe in freedom must explain that when we call ourselves liberals, we mean liberals in the uncorrupted classical sense. At best, this is awkward and subject to misunderstanding. Here is a suggestion: Let those of us who love liberty trade-mark and reserve for our own use the good and honorable word 'libertarian'.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent