RELIGION - CONT'D
Part #2 - Libertarianism is not a religion
In order to demonstrate this part, we will use mostly inductive reasoning. This is so because as we have shown above, religion is not objective and therefore there is very little we can use deductive reasoning for. Our process of proof will consist in showing that there are very little parallels between religion and Libertarianism. We can do so because over decades many scholars of comparative religions have provided us with commonalities between religions. If these commonalities do not apply to Libertarianism this is proof that we do not treat Libertarianism as a religion.
Note: as there are as many Libertarian tendencies as they are Libertarians, we will use commonalities between the largest Libertarian streams as our arguments.
The following points are taken from the book "Religions of the World" written by Niels Nielsen.
Point #1 - Most religions include belief in the supernatural (spirits, gods, God) or belief in some other Ultimate Reality beyond, yet connected to, human experience and existence.
Libertarians reject the idea that Libertarianism is anything but a human process. They do not idolate nor mystify its capabilities. Libertarians urge people to think, not to believe. Libertarians firmly believe that religion and any other personal belief system is just that, personal and as such it has no bearing on Libertarianism.
Point #2 - Religions distinguish between the sacred and profane (or ordinary) in terms of time, space, objects, and people.
Libertarianism does not have "special days" or "holidays", "sacred" symbols or objects and in and by itself it does not require nor desire a hierarchical structure of political control. As a matter of fact, such structure goes against most Libertarian tenets because it diminishes personal freedom which is paramount.
This is not to say that in the future Libertarian states would not exist which may adopt "special days", "sacred" symbols and a hierarchical structure. It may happen. As a matter of fact, if our theory of Political Evolution is correct, we will see such states. However, the extent of such sacred elements would always be significantly lower than in a Democracy.
Point #3 - Religions strongly encourage or require prescribed ritual activities for individuals and communities of faith.
Libertarianism does not encourage or require any ritual(s) whatsoever. Libertarianism considers that such rituals are purely a personal choice.
Point #4 - Religions commonly promote a moral code or ethical principles to guide individuals and communities.
Libertarianism is based on the idea that our rights on properties are absolute. As such, mutually agreed voluntary arrangements (i.e. contracts) are the basis for coexistence. These contracts do not prescribe any moral or ethical code beyond the idea that our rights of property are absolute, unless one desires such codes to be included. Beyond that, every person is free to practice or not practice any moral or code of ethics they may desire.
Point #5 - Religious life engages and incorporates common emotional and intuitive human feelings.
Libertarianism does not provide, engage, incorporate or otherwise relies on anything other than the self-preservation instinct, and most certainly not in common human feelings. If anything, Libertarianism is the opposite of that because it encourages voluntary contractual agreements which are the exact opposite of gut reactions.
Point #6 - Religions both encourage communication and provide ways to communicate or connect with the divine.
Libertarianism is all about dialogue…just the minimum amount necessary to stroke a voluntary deal. Beyond that, it's entirely your choice. If you would like to speak to God or your cat, Libertarianism has absolutely nothing else to add or comment.
Point #7 - Through sacred stories, the religions provide a coherent worldview.
Libertarianism does not have sacred stories but what it does have is history and statistics. They both provide a coherent worldview but they cannot be understood as "sacred" under any circumstances because they are both subject to scrutiny, interpretation, re-interpretation and change. There is nothing sacred about them.
Point #8 - Religions organize life for individuals--including dress codes, personal sacrifices, and appropriate occupations--in the context of their respective worldviews.
Beyond the requirement of voluntary contracts for all our properties (for which we have absolute rights), Libertarianism do not organize anything. If anything, Libertarianism is an anti-organization system. In a Libertarian system order does happen, but it is self-developed. There is no hierarchy determining what people must or must not do.
Point #9 - Religions require and promote social organization and institutional forms to carry out the necessary functions of worship and leadership, preserving orthodox teachings and practices.
Libertarians are pretty much against all kinds of governments or at least for tiny ones. As such, Libertarianism does not require any social organization or institutional forms unless, again, they are tiny. Even in these remote scenarios, these tiny organizations have tiny roles least of them to teach and preserve Libertarianism because this would go against its very basic tenets of freedom.
Point #10 - Religions promise an inner peace and harmony despite the vicissitudes of life. Libertarianism makes no promises other than let everybody seek for themselves what kind of inner peace and harmony they may desire, if any. To do otherwise would to go against the most basic form of freedom.
Point #11 - Religions typically offer a future hope through the coming of a new age or a better existence in the afterlife. Again, Libertarianism makes no promises other than let everybody seek for themselves what kind of future hope or new age they may desire, if any. To do otherwise would to go against the most basic form of freedom.
Point #12 - Religions must propagate themselves through the recruitment of new members and procreation within the community of faith. Libertarianism frees people from artificial limits imposed by political dictatorships. If these people wish to return to their old ways, that is fully acceptable and not interfered with by Libertarianism. If Libertarianism propagates it will do so through convinced people, not through some sort of recruiting system or community of believers. We believe that Libertarianism is strong enough by itself to prevent this from happening. It is also a tenet of our evolutionary Political Theory. Big changes in political systems go only one way, although in the short to medium term there are all kinds of side currents and counter-trends. We believe that Libertarianism is here to stay but if it cannot do that by itself, then we are mistaken and our political evolutionary path is different. This could happen although we don't think so.
CONCLUSION
The main reason why Libertarianism is so difficult to introduce is because their main proponents put forward mostly objective elements. As such, these arguments are difficult to attack because the opposition uses subjective elements indoctrinated into them by the Democratic system. What can objective reasons do against quasi-religious belief? Nothing.
Libertarianism is about results while Democracy is about faith. Libertarianism is about tangibles while Democracy is about intangibles. Libertarianism is about personal responsibility while Democracy is about articles of faith. And how do we fight faith? We can't. History teaches us that faiths crumble from the inside out. Faiths die only when their practitioners are fully convinced of their errors and not before. This is entirely consistent with our views of Political Evolution (see for example The Three Laws of Political System Change or Political Systems Lifecycle). As Libertarians we may believe in religion or we may not. That is not the point. The point is that we believe in Libertarianism because throughout history it has shown better results than Democracy. However, we are also aware that any political system is flawed and therefore subject to obsolescence and death. We are also prepared to get rid of Libertarianism the second it proves to be worse than the next best political thing. We don't take Libertarianism as an article of faith and we never will because Libertarianism is not a religion.
This is our choice. Yours may be different. You may still blindly believe in Democracy despite all the indications of decrepitude. That's OK. That's your choice. One warning though, when it finally crumbles and crushes you, don't complain we didn't let you know in time.
Note: please see the Glossary if you are unfamiliar with certain words.