Originally Published 7/28/25 on TheTorch.media.
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So many people who run the Libertarian Party are self-made. And I think we all know why that is.
Neurodivergence among libertarians is neurotypical. I mean, how often do we meet freedom-obsessed ‘normies’? Hardly ever. It’s why we struggle to keep ballot access. Freedom is a popular idea, but so is safety. So is expediency. So is comfort. And most people are not do-it-yourselfers.
This meme works because the government will essentialize in the obfuscation of its activities.
Do-it-yourself critical thinking is going out of style.
So, while it may be impolitic to say, Libertarians’ obsession with employment is remarkable because it’s nothing more than judging others for their ability to submit to authoritarianism disguised as capitalism.
It’s Darwinism at its best. It’s intentionally devaluing those who are square pegs who should be accommodated. It’s shaming people for not wanting to sacrifice their independent spirit on the altar of consumerism. It’s seeing the “losers” as not cunning enough to escape poverty without direction. But not everyone is an entrepreneur.
Blue-collar gig workers need not apply.
To earn their respect as an independent worker, you must be wealthy.
And that elitism is why we don’t get elected. It’s the dual-natured spectre of anarcho-capitalism: the idea that when it works well and the captains make sure everyone has proper equity, it works amazingly, but when it fails, those same “caring” captains don’t go down with the ship.
But ultimately, your value is not dependent upon your ability to take orders from those who are most likely your inferiors simply because they could stack more cash by hook or crook.
People with money don’t often have to come up with ideas. It’s another reason why some of our country’s most talented people are chronically underemployed.
Many of them are L/libertarians.
As a result, most libertarians are not happy to be told what to do. We spend our whole lives trying to find ways to maximize our freedom under crony capitalism, and sometimes part of that is eschewing job requirements and building the flexibility to provide additional labor to the cause.
For instance, Ayn Rand famously suffered in poverty in her later years and collected Social Security. There’s even a tiny Facebook group about it, and one against it that only has one member. The argument is a non-starter because she was forced to pay into the system, but despite her unemployment, she is still considered by many to be one of the giants of libertarian thought.
Mine is Ron Paul, who, ironically, happened to be independently successful financially because that should certainly be an ideal, but it should never be required to wield political power.
The Reality On The Ground
Let’s take a good, long look: it’s hard out there for a bitch, and a lot of people are struggling right now. Many of those people around the Party are the aforementioned bullied politicos.
Don’t even get me started on underestimating the hustle required to make money as a freelancer while being a party activist; it’s nearly two full-time jobs for many of us. This is especially true on gig apps, with technocratic conditions demanding a lack of informed consent and other work conditions that threaten income security.
Thus, this insult is nothing more than a projection of the failure of responsible leadership exemplified by self-made Party officers exploited to provide political cover to people who use and abuse your donations and shame the working-class for not providing more as a means of keeping you out of power.
The through-line of all of this is the implication that one needs to be able to submit to authority to be a party member, which would certainly explain the litmus testing and high-school hazing dynamics we are currently witnessing in the party, most spectacularly on the LNC.
Moreover, most working-class people lack the education and institutional authority necessary to embezebel (oops, keyboard Freudian slip, but I’ll leave it) on their own. Even Angela McArdle left behind enough evidence to elicit calls for criminal charges.
Always a classic.
Working people’s job, just like in the major parties, is to work harder to support Mean Girls on political welfare once they’ve stolen the Party and cleaned out its coffers. Which is to say nothing of the financial posturing of empty, cheap suits who, for all we know, are faking their Instragram lifestyles.
They’re not supposed to have a say. How uppity of them.
So sure, let’s not blame this on “wealthy” self-employed people desperately trying to maintain appearances. Let’s insult the hardest workers, those who give their hearts and souls while facing survival threats, over their employment status, instead.
But it’s not the electrician or the gig worker stealing your money through fiat and fraud, is it?
And while we’re on the subject, I also reject seniority.
When I was a Democrat, the phrase I heard most often was “wait your turn.” Now I’m hearing rumblings about needing experience on boards to qualify for Party seats.
Just stop. Please.
Being an expert on parliamentary procedure says absolutely nothing about one’s character or values.
If anything, too much experience at the levers of power makes it easier to be unethical if one is in it for personal gain. By only electing the most monied and most “experienced” to seats in the LP, we are making the same mistake the major parties make.
LET PRINCIPLED, TALENTED PEOPLE COOK.
If you have money, and they’re doing the work, please support them with what you can offer.
Because this is what y’all have been doing since 1971:
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