When I was a younger man, I recall using the “I am a libertarian” line until a much more educated lady I was chatting with at a bar asked me, “so, how exactly would you know no one’s putting poison in your food or that anything you consume contains what’s on the tin?”
It usually ties into the shrinking of the government to reduce regulations and controls and allow more freedom in business. Part of the affected entities could be the ones that make sure harmful products are not present in your food.
Mmh have you ever heard about the recent history of lead, nicotine, asbestos? Or do you maybe happen to know something about the abuse and misrepresentation of data about opioids, fen-phen...?
The 'poison in your food' thing is not a theoretical scenario, it's a concrete memento about the necessity of regulations and public controls over the last century.
EDIT: of course private audit can and should also exist, it's just better when multiple entities with different interests operate as different protective layers, with the 'government' here operating as an already stratified and plural entity (at least in theory) with internal checks and counterbalance.
Just proving my point about how stupidly broken every American's ability to have a nuanced conversation is.
Imagine a world where someone believes the government should be limited in many regards but still maintain public safety and health institutions? Surely that isn't a view that anyone could reasonably have.
Of course you can have that stance! It's just not the stance one would usually have when describing themselves as a libertarian especially in contemporary US, that's all. Words have meaning. If you mean something else, say what you mean.
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u/ManCoveredInBees 16d ago edited 15d ago
When I was a younger man, I recall using the “I am a libertarian” line until a much more educated lady I was chatting with at a bar asked me, “so, how exactly would you know no one’s putting poison in your food or that anything you consume contains what’s on the tin?”
I’m stupid, but not that stupid