I'm beginning to think that libertarianism is actually a big part of the problem, on both sides of the political "divide". Right Libertarians say "keep your government hands off my riches" and if people are poor or without healthcare it's no business of the government; Left Libertarians say "keep your government hands off my body" and if fetuses are "terminated" that's no business of the government. I see both as failures of solidarity. They are a failure to see that we should not consider ourselves as solitary atoms moving through space untouched by the needs and dreams and gifts of others: we fail to see that we are parts of molecules and compounds that need one another as much as hydrogen and oxygen need each other to make water.
The question to ask of the Great Libertarian Civil War is, "Cui Bono?" Who benefits from all this noisy, trumped-up "conflict?" Is it possible that it is a way of preventing another faction - a faction that questions the libertarian premises of both "sides" - from having a seat at the negotiating table?
I imagine that amazing progress could be made on several fronts - abortion and healthcare, to name two - if both parties had the fortitude to kick their libertarian factions to the curb, and ask themselves what their constituents actually need.
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