The thing is, I'm not a libertarian.
I never really have been, not since I learned that war is the killer app of the state.
Libertarianism is utopianism. With the same possibility of success and occurrence.
So I don't subscribe.
There's some things contained in libertarian dogma that do make sense.
Such as not being responsible for the actions of third parties you have no control over.
This is why I am not responsible for someone getting killed by a car that I sold.
This is why I am not responsible for the people murdered with a gun that is stolen from me.
I literally did not do it.
That's not libertarian, that's simple common-law liability. It's in Blackstone for crying out loud.
It's a boilerplate item going all the way back to Jolly-Ol'.
It spares us from the endless cycles of feud and vendetta.
Let's accept that I am only responsible for the things that I cause to happen, and not things that are out of my control.
It means that anything I make cannot be held against me if someone else misuses it. Even if they die.
It doesn't matter what it is.
It means that anything I sell is now owned by the buyer, and what they do with it is on them. Even if someone dies.
It doesn't matter what it is.
To say, "except for..." is saying that everyone is responsible for anything they make or sell forever.
Even if you think it doesn't say that, it doesn't mean you're right just because you're specifying an exception.
Once you've made someone responsible for the actions of others in one instance; you've created precedent to make them responsible for the actions of other in other instances and with other items.
Learn how the legal traditions of the Anglosphere work!
Hey Angus;
ReplyDeleteBut you take the fun out of all the victimology out there.....You Meanie..
Seriously, you are correct, we have what was given us was the ability of "Choice", holding somebody else responsible for your poor choices is disingenuous at best