mini-fisking Cameron

From Cameron's conference speech:

But freedom can too easily turn into the idea that we all have the right to do whatever we want, regardless of the effect on others. That is libertarian, not Conservative - and it is certainly not me.

I have always considered myself a libertarian, and still do. Whilst I accept that the true definition of libertarian is argued about, I believe Cameron has his definition wrong here.

The one rule that I believe is fundamental to libertarianism is that you should be left alone by the state as long as you extend this grace to others. If you don't interfere with anyone else, then you shouldn't expect anyone else to mess around with you. For Cameroon to snatch this founding rule away from libertarians is naughty - although I can understand his wish to distance himself from the "freedom anarchists" who actually have nothing to do with freedom at all, just anarchy.

This rule is quite useful at understanding where to draw the line in state policy, and I reference it daily. It means, on the whole, that people should not be prevented from certain actions but should be punished if the results of these actions impact others.

In theory this is a perfect and fair approach to legislation....only problem is that the world isn't perfect. There are many situations where we would all agree to scrap this rule.

Take drink driving as a perfect example. No one in their right mind would suggest it should be legal to drive drunk UNLESS you crash into someone else. It wouldn't work, mainly because due consideration to the potential consequences are not considered before the action takes place. This means that a wider programme of legislation, enforcement and making the practice socially unacceptable is a far more successful route in saving lives.

So the golden rule isn't so much golden as bronze - but it's worth using nonetheless. Just with a bit of caution, that's all.

But if you think libertarian is a confused term, don't even get me started on socialist. If most people understood the type of governance system they were voting for when they ticked a red box then we'd get 99.9% of the vote every time.