Get There From Here

I read this article on why Ron (and Rand) Paul have it wrong on gay marriage. I mostly agree with the point that libertarians are not succeeding because of some ideological utopian idea. I think that’s one of the problems I have with libertarianism in that it ignores the world we live in.

I certainly think marriage should not be codified. We ought to be able to marry who we choose, in the ceremony of our choosing. I don’t think churches should have to marry any particular couple, and discriminatory or not, that should be their choice. We ought to be taxed as individuals, and separately. We can easily handle any deductions allowed by splitting them among the people involved. We can have joint ownership of property; we can set inheritance as we like, and it ought to be strongly advocated that we do so. We can give power of attorney for medical decisions, and we should have rights of children specified when we give birth, adopt, etc., to all those involved.

But we can’t change that today.

We have to “get there from here” and since marriage is codified in law, we should first start by granting those rights to all consenting adults, including polygamists. Spell out the legal obligations and responsibilities, and then work towards extracting marriage from law. It will take time, and it’s a journey, but libertarians need to present a path to follow.

I’d say the same thing about health care. Employer decided health care is a mess and doomed to fail. It’s not portable and brings up all the issues of pre-existing conditions among people. We ought to be able to buy health insurance (or life insurance or car insurance or anything) and if employers want to subsidize, they can work with vouchers.

The same thing with social security and other money/government issues for the most case. I don’t have a great plan for welfare, food stamps, and other safety nets, nor do I know the best way to handle education, but overall we ought to be looking for paths to get places, not unfeasible quick fixes or secular solutions.