‪Penn Jillette: Reconciling Atheism with Libertarianism‬

Penn Jillette answers Big Thinker Adam Lee’s question about how he reconciles two world views: his atheism with his libertarianism.

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Complete entry

Posted by Howard  on  01/31  at  11:04 AM

I guess that I'm sort of like the old pilot in the bar talking to the lesbian. Then someone ask. "Are you a real pilot?" I thought I was, but now I think that I may be a lesbian? I thought that I was a republican, but I actually may be a Libertarian. H Sewell

Posted by Peter Wicks  on  01/31  at  11:11 AM

Nice talk. The main just seems to be that we should start by stopping doing things we "know" are bad - like "killing people we don't know for reasons we don't understand" - and then we can discuss whether we still need government for things like bridges.

There are a number of problems with this, however. First of all, one person's idea of what "we all know is bad" will differ from another's. Secondly, it all seems a bit straw-mannish. He complains that people assume libertarians don't want government even to build bridges and organise education (and some of them indeed talk as if they don't), and then himself argues as if anyone (he cites Dawkins) who thinks we need the state for those things has a "condescending" view of the public.

In other words, if his talk was entitled "five things government should stop doing" then we could have a discussion about those things, but if he's going to set himself up as a defender of libertarianism then he needs also to have the discussion about bridges.

Another confusing thing about the talk vs the title is that, apart from the fact that he is responding to Dawkins and doesn't explicitly refer to any kind of god, it seems to have nothing whatsoever to do with atheism.

At one point in the talk he says, "I'd like to think that people are overwhelmingly good." So would I, but on the whole I prefer to stay in touch with reality.

Posted by ral  on  02/01  at  07:37 AM

Thanks for the article. For info on people using voluntary Libertarian tools on similar and other issues, please see http://www.Libertarian-International.org , the non-partisan Libertarian International Organization...

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