Reconciling libertarianism with veganism and environmentalism

[Allison-vega]

I am curious if there are any libertarians on this forum here. I consider myself libertarian on the basis in that I am against the use of force and free trade. On the other hand given our history of exploitation of animals and resources, I am not sure what to think. Although we have done a lot of good in some areas, we haven't exactly had a good track record. What are some of your thoughts?

[Jebus]

I think people are not smart enough to be given too much freedom. However, I prefer heavy taxation on actions that cause harm to society, such as meat eating, cigarette smoking, petrol consumption, rather than laws that forbid the action.

[brimstoneSalad]

I think people are not smart enough to be given too much freedom. However, I prefer heavy taxation on actions that cause harm to society, such as meat eating, cigarette smoking, petrol consumption, rather than laws that forbid the action.

Heavy taxation, and well funded public education against them. This seems to be what works. Naturally, we don't want a repeat of prohibition, or the war on drugs (although it's harder to believe people would go as far for meat, I imagine many people would grow meat in their basements).

[Allison-vega]

As much as I don't want to admit it, I agree with you. I don't think most people are very smart or even willing to open their eyes. I really love the ideas that libertarians share, but they just don't seem to notice what's happening in the world. You can't blame it all on government, or even large corporations. The fact that most of us can't even get our own families to see the insanity of the meat industry, and how we treat animals alone convinces me were not mature enough real freedom.

[Volenta]

I don't think it's hard to see that laissez-faire capitalism can not be reconciled with veganism. Certainly not with all the information hiding and misinformation the market could pull off without serious consequences if the state is unwilling to intervene. The only argument in favor you have now is that animal agriculture is heavily subsidized, so taking that away would increase the price of meat, which would most likely result in less meat being sold. I don't think it will drive people into veganism for ethical concerns though.

You also put 'environmentalism' in the subject title, which might be even more problematic to reconcile with right-wing libertarianism. Again, you could say that the state has real good relations with fossil fuel companies, which if broken would make it harder for them to make profit. But make no mistake; just because they do not have a state to back them up doesn't mean they will disappear.