Inside the Cold, Calculating Libertarian Mind

Perhaps more intriguingly, when libertarians reacted to moral dilemmas and in other tests, they displayed less emotion, less empathy and less disgust than either conservatives or liberals. They appeared to use "cold" calculation to reach utilitarian conclusions about whether (for instance) to save lives by sacrificing fewer lives. They reached correct, rather than intuitive, answers to math and logic problems, and they enjoyed "effortful and thoughtful cognitive tasks" more than others do.

The researchers found that libertarians had the most "masculine" psychological profile, while liberals had the most feminine, and these results held up even when they examined each gender separately, which "may explain why libertarianism appeals to men more than women."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1...%3Darticle



Libertarians confirmed for super rational macho men.

Liberal spokesperson Sandy Mangina released a statement, "This research hurts my feelings, men shouldn't be judged by their political philosophy but instead by the content of their Whole Foods shopping baskets"

The libertarian calculus is significantly different than the hedonistic calculus in that using force is only warranted to prevent force. Any positive good coming from using force is discounted from the calculation.

No cold calculation would discount results based on feelings that "force is only warranted to prevent force."

Libertarians confirmed for super rational macho men.

So what you're saying is that the Libertarians actually think about things before making a decision and weigh the pros and cons instead of reacting emotionally w/o thinking about any consequences? Sounds like a good group of people if you ask me!

I said cold was clearly an emotional attack. The calculation is still a calculation. If you do not discount the benefits of coercion, slavery can be justified as good. Since a libertarian could never live with the idea that slavery is good, we must discount the benefits of coercion.

Please present your calculations in which slavery is good.

Without of course, using your feelings as to what good is....

Cause it seems to me that any good you confiscate from your slave is just transfer, not additional good. Any greater good would have to rely on the premise that a slave creates more good when it will be confiscated by you than if he gets to keep it for himself. I don't think you can justify that premise. In fact, it is quite apparent that a man will create more good if he gets to keep it.

Well, libertarians do seem to see a lot more things in mostly-black and white terms, whereas everybody else sees various shades of gray all over the board.

Lets face it, the cold, calculating libertarian mind is what has progressed humanity throughout its history. Life can be a very logical place, and most animals act very logically as well in order to preserve their self-interests. If there is anything left for other animals, fine, but first you have to make sure YOU survive.

I'm going to need you to shut up and do what you're told, sir...or this won't go well for you. (i'm really in a hugging mood today...guess it's the LIBERALterian inside).

it's already been proven in studies that libertarians are essentially emotionless and amoral:

http://www.plosone.org/article/in...ne.0042366

but let's call libertarians what they really are -- republicans who want to smoke dope and get laid.

So what you're saying is that the Libertarians actually think about things before making a decision and weigh the pros and cons instead of reacting emotionally w/o thinking about any consequences? Sounds like a good group of people if you ask me!

So what gives with you loving to tax people so much?

The premise is fairly obvious. We imagine a situation where those who fail to remain willfully gainfully employed are put into forced labor and are given room and board. As a result, they have better living conditions and produce more value than they would when they are willfully idle.

Further evidence on the productiveness of slaves can be seen in ancient Egyptian and Roman architectures. The same sort of grand scale and high durability is simply not seen with regular, non-slave labor.

That study is what the article refers to, and if you actually read the study, it specifically states that the results do not mean libertarians are amoral.