Libertarianism for the Masses

One of my self-appointed missions as a “lay” libertarian is to tell the world about the blessings of liberty and to persuade my conspecifics to adopt libertarian viewpoints. The foundations of libertarianism have been laid and are sustained by the some of greatest intellects, but the movement is pitiably small. What, I wonder often, would it take to give libertarianism mass appeal? I found an interesting table on the Internets showing the practical significance of IQ at http://www.geocities.com/rnseitz/Definition_of_IQ.html , and this set me to thinking about just who American voters are and how they might think.

Libertarianism appears to me to appeal to the intellect and may well have most of its following on the “right side of the Bell Curve” so to speak. But this constituency is, at best, 20% of the population. Libertarians will never win over all of this 20%, because many of them benefit from the state and see themselves as most likely to be in the ruling classes. Being smart does not guarantee ethical or moral superiority. (I, for one, have a massive IQ, but this is so counterbalanced by character flaws that I have never achieved more than a position in the middlebrow legal profession and I have, to my shame, devoted a considerable part of my career to service to the state.)

The key to victory over the forces of the state lies with “Joe and Judy Sixpack” in the 85-115 IQ range. This is 50% of the population. These are the “sheeple” whom we must work to disillusion, and they are unlikely to be swayed by intellectual arguments, however elegant and however brilliantly made. Indeed, they have a streak of anti-intellectualism that renders them immune to reasoning in many cases. They are, in my opinion, better reached through moral and emotional appeals. Their moral capacity is not inferior by any means, and these are the “salt of the earth” that contributes the most to the wealth and health of the country.

The 20% below 85 IQ are probably out of reach, since they will almost certainly go for anyone who promises them ponies.

How do libertarians reach these folks in the middle? The GOP, to some degree, appeals to the libertarian impulses of this constituency by claiming to want smaller government and more freedom, and libertarians need, in the first instance, to convince them that the GOP is blowing smoke up their *****. Beyond that, we need to figure out how to make freedom desirable rather than frightening. I am open to suggestions, and I would love to see the libertarian intelligentsia apply itself to this problem more vigorously. We will never become free by lobbying the ruling classes to let us alone. We have to mobilize ordinary people.