What is it about libertarianism that so appeals young college students? Is it the subversive appeal of identifying with a third party? Or could it be the feeling of ideological satisfaction that comes from basing every political belief on a pure philosophical system, without regard to the messy realities, necessary compromises, and pragmatic concerns of real-world politics?
They say if you’re not a liberal at age 20, you have no heart. And if you’re not a conservative by age 40, you have no head. Maybe we should add that if you are not a libertarian at age 25, you may be on your way to being headless in middle age.
We’ve all had our libertarian phase, haven’t we?
In today’s feature story at The College Fix, recent Bryn Mawr College graduate Julie Ershadi reports on this year’s Students for Liberty conference in Washington, D.C. Among the facts in her article is this little nugget:
No doubt due to the heightened tenor of the tortuous American election season, political discussion dominated some of the formal and many of the informal conversations at ISFLC. Presidential candidate Representative Ron Paul won 71% of the vote in the straw poll. This fact, announced during the closing remarks, was met with resounding cheers and applause from the audience.
Only 71 percent at a libertarian students conference? Looks like Paul needs to shore up his base!