In the span of just weeks, the US government has experienced what may be the most consequential security breach in its history—not through a sophisticated cyberattack or an act of foreign espionage, but through official orders by a billionaire with a poorly defined government role. And the implications for national security are profound. First, it was reported that people associated with the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had accessed the US Treasury computer system, giving them the ability to collect data on and potentially control the department’s roughly ...
It’s always been generally anti-authoritarian, which shares a lot of overlap with libertarians. Now you’re seeing the distinction become clear between who’s anti-authoritarian because they realize that nobody should have a boot stamping on their face, and simps that are fine with it as long as they’re wearing the boot.
The libertarian movement was originally left wing and was co-opted by anarcho-capitalists. The original meaning was very anti-authoritarian, but not the one adopted by the Libertarian party. Real libertarians see one of the government’s primary purposes is populist opposition to financial dominance by oligarchs. Libertarians see any government action as definitionally oppressive and blindly pays homage to oligarchs and the “free market”.
It’s “Libertarian” not “libertarian”. The Libertarian party stole the name and applied it to anarcho-capitalist fascism which is the exact opposite of libertarianism. As a real libertarian, the double-speak really gets under my skin.
But yes, hacker culture was a prime target of the deceptive brand confusion and it worked perfectly. Corporations have gone from being cyberpunk villains to heros fighting “government overreach”.
Was HN always so…libertarian-coded? Or are my blinders just coming off now?
It’s always been generally anti-authoritarian, which shares a lot of overlap with libertarians. Now you’re seeing the distinction become clear between who’s anti-authoritarian because they realize that nobody should have a boot stamping on their face, and simps that are fine with it as long as they’re wearing the boot.
The libertarian movement was originally left wing and was co-opted by anarcho-capitalists. The original meaning was very anti-authoritarian, but not the one adopted by the Libertarian party. Real libertarians see one of the government’s primary purposes is populist opposition to financial dominance by oligarchs. Libertarians see any government action as definitionally oppressive and blindly pays homage to oligarchs and the “free market”.
It’s “Libertarian” not “libertarian”. The Libertarian party stole the name and applied it to anarcho-capitalist fascism which is the exact opposite of libertarianism. As a real libertarian, the double-speak really gets under my skin.
But yes, hacker culture was a prime target of the deceptive brand confusion and it worked perfectly. Corporations have gone from being cyberpunk villains to heros fighting “government overreach”.