This file is copyright of Jens Schriver (c) It originates from the Evil House of Cheat More essays can always be found at: --- http://www.CheatHouse.com --- ... and contact can always be made to: Webmaster@cheathouse.com -------------------------------------------------------------- Essay Name : 919.txt Uploader : Email Address : Language : english Subject : Politics Title : A libertarian point of view Grade : b School System : Grand Valley State University Country : USA Author Comments : short but decent Teacher Comments : Date : 9/15/96 Site found at : alta vista search -------------------------------------------------------------- I find it difficult to pin down or sum up my positions on things into one easy description or theology. I definitely am libertarian most frequently, I tend to go the way of individual rights and small government. However I am not strictly libertarian. I believe that small government is the best government. I believe that most people are intelligent enough to think and fend for themselves. Government shouldn't involve themselves in that which can be taken care of by individuals or their families or communities. The most important thing that a government can do is protect the right s of the individual. A government should reserve the rights of the individual in any case provided their actions are not harmful to others. I believe that along with individual rights and small government there are other important things that government should keep in mind. I believe in a strong sense of community, this prevents the need for government to intercede in taking care of individuals. Also very important in my theology is a strong belief in the laws of capitalism. The laize' faire outlook on the economy is very important because it lets the individual determine not only their own fate but also that capitalism allows the individual or a community to change their environment around them. Whether or not the government is involved less important to me than whether or not the people affected can handle things without the government. Health care is one of those all important issues that affects absolutely everyone. With how important health care is to the entire nation it isn't something that should be left to the government to operate. Health care affects every baby that is born and everyone needs it at some point in their lives. This is why government should have as little to do with health care as possible. Health care should be a private industry, privately owned and operated. This would allow the laws of capitalism to govern health care. This would increase the quality of health care in general and also decrease the price of health care as opposed to if health care were a totally government run agency. However I do believe that the government should regulate health care. Their are certain things that the government should regulate within the health care industry. Because health care is such a hugely important issue that affects so many people it is one of the few things that requires that government be included in regulation. One of the things that the government should regulate is the schooling of doctors. All doctors should have to pass an exam that would allow them to become doctors. Government would also have to regulate pricing and profit of hospitals and other health care related institutions. This would be to guard against unfair pricing and profit in an industry that is susceptible to such things. Government would also have to keep a close eye on medical monopolies. It would be easy for companies and/or hospitals to obtain a monopoly in certain areas and it would be left to the government to make sure that a fair amount of competition. Similar to my stance on government involvement in health care is my stance on government involvement in schooling, social security, unemployment etc. Schooling, like health care, is an issue that effects everyone and therefore requires some but minimal government involvement. Certain things about schooling make it inherently difficult to introduce into a system of private ownership as well as regulate or have it be government run. The fact that schools naturally are only going to cover a certain area make it extremely open to monopolies in the private market. I believe that the government shouldn't be totally responsible for education. Schooling should be privatized like health care and then just regulated by the government. The governments goal in regulating schooling should not be to totally control it but to simply make things a little more equal in comparison to each other. One of the important things that the government should regulate is the amount of dollars spent per children at each school. Regulating the amount of dollars spent does not mean however making every school spend an equal amount per student but that the government should simply put a minimum and maximum dollars per child regulation in place. Their also should be an agency that routinely inspects and rates schools on all of the aspects of schools. This would allow each school to be categorized and ranked so that people could decide which school they would like to send their children to. Another of the few things that the government should regulate having to do with schooling is teaching certificates. Teachers should have to pass a test set up by the government, similar to that which lawyers and doctors would have to take. Schools being privately owned will allow schools to pay teachers more for their services and thus make it a higher demand job and bring in smarter and better people than might otherwise have been teachers. Schools also would become more efficient all around and also I think that students would be forced to be more interested in their education if it wasn't mandatory and their parents were having to pay for it. Schooling would generally be better if government were less involved in it. My theology I don't think really dictates which way I should think about the issue of capital punishment. Capital punishment is more of a moral issue which I don't really think is included under a libertarian theology. I believe that in a truly free and equal libertarian society no one would have the right to take the life of another. I think that taking the life of another would be the ultimate infringement on the individual rights of another and therefore has no right in a truly libertarian society. Unemployment benefits are an issue that is easy for me to asses. Unemployment benefits should be provided for those who cannot provide employment for themselves by normal means. This would include people who are simply mentally unable or disabled for any reason. This also would include mental illness such as Alzheimer's. Also included would be the physically disabled such as war veterans or people who are just physically incapable of working. In the end most of my own theology is dependent on the idea the least government is best government and that the government should only be involved in the most very basic and essential things that the country may need. Also importantly is that I think that what the government can do without getting directly involved it should. If the government can regulate, encourage or discourage things without getting directly involved than it should. Most importantly if the government can not get involved at all, directly or indirectly, then it should. --------------------------------------------------------------