Where are all the Former Libertarians?

I am sure that I am not the first person to make this observation, but it seems as if there are very few people who have converted from libertarian or anarcho-capitalist to one of the more mainstream viewpoints on the political spectrum.  I never hear about anyone in the Republican or Democrat camps saying in an interview, "You know, I used to believe in the sovereignty of the individual and in doing all that we can to defend individual rights, but now I have seen the light and joined the Democrat party.  I realized after all that it is in fact morally justified to take some money from neighbor A and give it to neighbor B if he really needs it (or if he seems like a likely voter)." 

Am I wrong here?  Can someone provide counter examples?  Where are all the libertarian defectors? 

Where are all the former libertarians?

3 comments:

  1. More than that, even, is the fact that VERY few people who I have seen reject the paradigm has fully understood it. Perhaps 2, of all of the criticisms of Libertarianism I have read...

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  2. Why is it that people can only view libertarianism through absolutist glasses? People, in general, rarely have huge shifts in their political beliefs, at least not rapidly.

    There are a lot of people I know (myself included) who have become more moderate/minarchist in their outlook over time (and vice versa).

    But for the most famous example of all: Ron Paul becoming a Republican after running for President as a Libertarian...

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  3. Ron Paul changed his political party affiliation but he never changed his political philosophy.

    ReplyDelete

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