Huben's FAS (Frequently Asserted Strawmen) [1/5]
Lazarus Long
>>> Part 1 of 5...
A short Critique of Huben's Frequently Asserted Strawmen
Huben periodically revises his FAS in an attempt to keep his name
in the UseNet public eye...preferring to issue his error-riddled
and nonsensical arguments as his statement rather than actually
confront any of his opponents when they point out his strawmen and
use of circular logic.
Huben's pseudo-arguments in Quotations.
This article will appear in full form on my webpage as
http://vaxxine.com/rational/huben-bs-fas.htm within the next few
weeks. (too busy to give it the thorough debunking that it
deserves)
"The purpose of this FAQ is not to attack libertarianism, but to help people
place libertarianism and its arguments in context. It is very hard to find
any literature about libertarianism that was NOT written by its
advocates."
This FAQ is not intended to attack libertarianism<snicker>...but rather to
bolster the ego of the author. Under the guise of an FAQ, Huben
creates many strawmen arguments and presents out of context statements
as a vehicle for his attack on libertarianism.
"The editor and primary author, Mike Huben , has 20 years experience in
debate over electronic networks. Much of that has been with religious
believers and creationists, and this colors some of the arguments and
examples. No judgement or personal offense is intended, though there is a
substantial amount of ridicule of arguments (based in large part on my
belief that it is the most effective antidote to pompous argument.) I
welcome recommendations for alleviating offense while retaining the sense
and humor of the arguments."
The author is a pompous creator of strawmen arguments who never
hesitates to use out of context quotations in his masturbatory ego
stroking.
"WHAT IS LIBERTARIANISM?
Libertarians are a small group whose beliefs are unknown to and not accepted
by the vast majority. They are utopian because there has never yet been a
libertarian society (though one or two have come close to some libertarian
ideas.) These two facts should not keep us from considering libertarian
ideas seriously, however they do caution us about accepting them for
practical purposes."
Of course, no political philosophy has ever approached it's
ideals... something that Huben neglects to mention. He is also
disingenuous in his claiming that libertarianism is utopian. I
would defy him to show anyone who claims that everyone would be
equally successful or well off in a libertarian society. In other
words.. False argument #1.
"STRATEGIES FOR ARGUMENT
Many libertarian arguments are like fundamentalist arguments: they depend
upon restricting your attention to a very narrow field so that you will not
notice that they fail outside of that field. For example, fundamentalists
like to restrict the argument to the bible. Libertarians like to restrict
the argument to their notions of economics, justice, history, and rights and
their misrepresentations of government and contracts. Widen the
scope, and"
Actually, Huben is either mistaken or again being disingenuous,
as libertarians have argued their view in the field of social
structures, and from a purely philosophical view.
"their questionable assumptions leap into view. Why should I accept that
"right" as a given? Is that a fact around the world, not just in the US? Are
there counter examples for that idea? Are libertarians serving their own
class interest only? Is that economic argument complete, or are there other
critical factors or strategies which have been omitted? When they make a
historical argument, can we find current real-world counterexamples? If we
adopt this libertarian policy, there will be benefits: but what will the
disadvantages be? Are libertarians reinventing what we already have, only
without safeguards?"
Huben apparently has not read any of the writings of libertarian
philosophers such as Macahan, Narveson nor examined carefully the
arguments presented by David Friedman. The disadvantages and
possible pitfalls are presented in the writings of these authors
along with the acknowledgement that not everyone will have the
same success.
"LIBERTARIAN EVANGELISTIC ARGUMENTS
Evangelists (those trying to persuade others to adopt their beliefs)
generally have extensively studied which arguments have the greatest effect
on the unprepared. Usually, these arguments are brief propositions that can
be memorized easily and regurgitated in large numbers. These arguments, by
the process of selection, tend not to have obvious refutations, and when
confronted by a refutation, the commonest tactic is to recite another
argument. This eliminates the need for actual understanding of the basis of
>>> Continued to next message...
--[Rational Anarchist BBS]-----------------------------------------------------
Lazarus Long 350:2/100
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims
may be the most oppressive." (C.S. Lewis)