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Why do some people accuse libertarian socialists of stealing our name from "libertarian capitalists"?
This cropped up among the answers to another question.
We, libertarian socialists, have been calling ourselves *libertarian* since the middle of the 19th century.
The word libertarian comes from an open letter from Joseph Dejacque, an early anarcho-communist, to Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, an early mutualist. It was widely used by the early 20th century; for example, one well-known anarcho-communist text is the "Organizational Platform of the Libertarian Communists," using the term, of course, to distinguish voluntary communism (libertarian communism) from Marxist-Leninism (state socialism). I disagree with the Platform, but it's an important example.
"libertarian capitalists" have only been using the term since the middle of the twentieth century.
And anyway, it's ironic when minarchists accuse anarchists of not being libertarians. Of course some people, on each side, condone non-state aggression, but some people in any political movement condone aggression.
P.S. The further details didn't crop up, rather, one answerer accused us of stealing their name in the answers to another question.
P.P.S. Of course, libertarian communism is one kind of libertarian socialist. I'm not an (anarchist) communist, I'm an (anarchist) mutualist. I actually favor free markets and oppose presently-existing state-subsidized capitalism.
1 Answer
- Anonymous1 decade agoFavorite Answer
Its because the anarcho-capitalists are a bunch of little whiners!! jk
I think the reason why any anarchist group uses the word libertarian to describe themselves to others is because people usually see anarchism as a negative belief and they associate it with chaos (im sure you know all about this ; )
I use the term libertarian socialist to describe my beliefs to others because i am hoping that they don't know that its actually anarchism. When i tell people that i am an anarchist (using the exact word anarchist), communication normally shuts down and i don't get anywhere with my explanations...
In school, kids are taught that anarchists are bad, but they aren't taught much about libertarians...
We (anarchists) should stop arguing over stupid things such as what we call ourselves and who is right or wrong. All its doing is dividing us. We need to remind ourselves that we are first and foremost anarchists who are fighting for the same freedoms... sorry for the rant : )