Political Theory

Re: What symbols do libertarians have? Do libertarians need symbols?

John James — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 19:31:53 GMT

fakename:
I suppose I mean that any libertarian symbol must state, by virtue of the ideology it represents, that "you may either work together or not".

I don't see why. The basic tenets of libertarianism are nothing more than non-aggression and property rights.

Everything pretty much falls within those two things. Capitalism is simply what occurs when non-aggression and property rights are observed...namely, capital accumulation, division of labor, and free trade. I think these things are encapsulated quite well in the symbols above.

For example:

The colors of the symbol are yellow (or gold) and black. Yellow is a reference to gold, which was the market chosen money. So it's a reference to free market money, and by extension the free market and capitalism. Black is a reference to anarchy. Anarchy, or an-archy, means no rulers.

The shape at the top of the symbol represents a handshake, which is the most typical expression of a voluntary agreement.

(And of course, the V stands for Voluntary).

The same essentially goes for these:

...where the A is a common symbol for anarchism, and of course the dollar sign and "C" represent capitalism. Even the simple black and gold flag encompasses the main spirit of what is being relayed.

I also like the porcupine, as it seems to embody non-aggression. Obviously property rights is not made obvious in that one, but still. It makes for a great mascot if you're into that kind of thing...

Re: What symbols do libertarians have? Do libertarians need symbols?

fakename — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 18:04:01 GMT

We appropriate symbols as we see fit and discard them as we see fit. This is not merely a movement. Movements always serve some purpose, some goal, some aim. There is no goal or aim to liberty... liberty is just precisely the absence of imposed goals and aims. Hence, liberty-minded people use a variety of symbols whenever it suits their purposes, or don't when it does not.

Clayton -

I like this answer best; I never thought about how we could use any symbol we like depending on the context.

Re: What symbols do libertarians have? Do libertarians need symbols?

fakename — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 18:01:04 GMT

I'm not quite sure what you're talking about.

For one thing, capitalism is all about division of labor and free trade. How you think a computer mouse, or even a pencil gets made without people "working together as one", I have no idea.

For another, you haven't seen these?

I suppose I mean that any libertarian symbol must state, by virtue of the ideology it represents, that "you may either work together or not". This is opposed on the opposite side, by the hammer and sickle which states that "we must all work together".

I think the same can be said of other symbols: nazism's swatstika which uses shared racial struggles as constituting the unique work of the party, the cross which represents shared suffering as a compelling reason to work together.

But libertarian symbols only represent shared indifference towards being together or not and as such, do not carry the "punch" that I think these other symbols have.

Re: What symbols do libertarians have? Do libertarians need symbols?

Marko — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 08:19:12 GMT

Re: What symbols do libertarians have? Do libertarians need symbols?

Minarchist — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 05:39:32 GMT

How about the crossed-out beehive? : )

I invented it, far as I know - refers to Oppenheimer's metaphor for the State. First there were bandits periodically raiding people, like a hungry bear raiding a beehive - but the beehive gets destroyed in the process. Then, in the birth of the State, the bandits got smart and started farming their victims, like a beekeeper farms a beehive. The beehive in the symbol stands for the beekeeper, the State.

And my signature....

Apiarius delendus est, ursus esuriens continendus est - the beekeeper must be destroyed, the hungry bear must be kept at bay.

To complete the symbol, I suppose it should include a bear in a cage, but that's beyond my Windows Paint abilities...suppose you could do it yellow and black too.

Re: What symbols do libertarians have? Do libertarians need symbols?

Anenome — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 02:26:13 GMT

I'd fly the black and yellow any day, and the B&Y-V also.

Re: What symbols do libertarians have? Do libertarians need symbols?

SkepticalMetal — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 01:47:48 GMT

I would not use the V for Vendetta symbol, as Alan Moore is an anarchist in...well you know...the traditional sense.

Re: What symbols do libertarians have? Do libertarians need symbols?

Clayton — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 01:34:14 GMT

We appropriate symbols as we see fit and discard them as we see fit. This is not merely a movement. Movements always serve some purpose, some goal, some aim. There is no goal or aim to liberty... liberty is just precisely the absence of imposed goals and aims. Hence, liberty-minded people use a variety of symbols whenever it suits their purposes, or don't when it does not.

Clayton -

Re: What symbols do libertarians have? Do libertarians need symbols?

My Buddy — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 00:55:27 GMT

Re: What symbols do libertarians have? Do libertarians need symbols?

John James — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 00:52:40 GMT

I'm not quite sure what you're talking about.

For one thing, capitalism is all about division of labor and free trade. How you think a computer mouse, or even a pencil gets made without people "working together as one", I have no idea.

For another, you haven't seen these?

What symbols do libertarians have? Do libertarians need symbols?

fakename — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 23:02:31 GMT

Libertarian being defined in the broad sense, does libertarianism have any symbols which serve both as a visually attractive symbol and a means of propagating the message?

I ask because I've noticed that totalitarian statism especially, but all forms of statism, are logically able to do things like carry-out mass rallies or have popular symbols. Libertarianism however, seems unable to do this by the very fact that the ideology contradicts it or at least doesn't imply that all people should work as one, therefore eliminating pageantry (which is something that I think every mass movement needs).

Does libertarianism even need to be a mass movement?