Is Jerry Brown a libertarian? Click here to find out.

Libertarian Party

    I choose the libertarian party. From the perspective of Zionism, Liberalism aligned to some extent. Libertarians believe that all government is extremely flawed and therefore we should have as little of it as possible. We believe that government is completely necessary for certain things. It is here to protect innocents. We have government so the police can arrest murderers, so Monsanto can’t hire Blackwater to enforce their rules against farmers, and for a military that protects our country from foreign aggressors. We understand that human nature is awful and must be harnessed in some regards. We also understand the those who harness our nature are just as bad, so when we give them power, they can inflict more harm to us. This is what happens with government, so while it is necessary, it needs to be as small as possible to not hurt individuals necessarily. On issues, libertarians believe that the government should have no legislation regulating: drugs, gay marriage, health care, rent, medicine, etc… Essentially we want the government to be as small as possible.

Jerry Brown

    For my politician I choose Jerry Brown, the governor of California. Even though he’s a very liberal democrat raised in San Francisco, we can see that in his past, as the chair of the democratic party, he’s taken a very hardliner stance on crime. This includes how he created minimum sentences for rape and murder among other crimes. It’s estimated that violent crime has decreased 33% since he’s been elected. Past this his policies reflect socialist sentiment. His policies have helped bail out evicted homeowners and created the rainy day fund. Overall it seems he takes the side of the individual except when it comes to crime although recently he’s recently reduced the maximum sentences for certain crimes.

Libertarian Perspective

https://www.lp.org/gop-federal-spending-soars-new-boss-old-deficit/

    This article discusses certain fiscal issues in America today. It talks about how citizens should not have to buy health insurance, that is a decision that they should make. It is no right of the government. The article also tells us how much debt were still in even with our new and glorious leader and talks about how we should get read of income tax. The point of view is very conservative although it does not align well with many republican options. They just want to take control of the own lives. This party believes that they know what they need better than the government. Because this comes from a place of self reliance, we can also assume that many of these libertarians are relatively well off which affects their views on the somewhat socialist agenda often perpetuated by the left. Of course many libertarians take pride in being self made so why should the government take their hard earned resources and give them to other people.

Jerry Brown Perspective

http://www.jerrybrown.org/we_need_your_help

    This article from Jerry Brown is appropriately titled “We Need Your Help”. It discusses prisons in california and how little they work. The article tells us that when Jerry Brown became governor, the recidivism rates were close to 70%. It also brings to light how we have no rehabilitation programs within our prison and then suggests that we vote for a bill that will help mitigate these issues. His point of view is very liberal and comes from a place of compassion but also logic. He would like as many people as possible to live good, happy lives. If people are rehabilitated in prison and become better citizens, they will live more productive lives and not upset the happiness of others. Jerry Brown relies on the notion that the benefit of the individual is the benefit of the society in order to provide rationale for many of his ideas and policies.

Jerry Brown vs Libertarianism

    Jerry Brown and Libertarianism have some stark contrasts. Brown believes in big government. It seems he feels that the government can be very beneficial to individuals while libertarians feel that it primarily hurts the individual. Libertarians think the government is here to guarantee some slight sense of security while Brown thinks it can go far past that. Brown’s ideology doesn’t address the people he harms when making his policies, mainly by taking a lot of there money in tax revenue. Many liberations don’t address how helping out someone else you don’t know, can make society better and therefore your own life better.

How might political parties and politicians influence an individual’s political beliefs?

If you were to only listen to Jerry Brown you may believe that all people so awful they must be protected from themselves by themselves. That only through fierce legislation can we be safe. If you subscribed to purely libertarian beliefs you may believe that people are so awful, how could we possible imagine that it’s beneficial to give some of them power over the rest of us? You may always side with policies that call for less government control.