11th
The Problem With Cosmotarians
My friend Greg Newburn, one of the funniest people I know, has a really good post on his blog regarding “cosmotarians,” or libertarians who make a big point of being “citizens of the world” detached from base, low-class inclinations like “patriotism,” “country,” or whatnot.
The inciting incident actually took place a couple of weeks ago, after the US lost to Ghana in the world cup, and the somewhat well-known libertarian Gary Leff Tweeted: “Just don’t get tribalism. Why should I get excited about #usa goals?”
The message: You idiots with your patriotic tendencies… it’s so irrational of you to care about what Team USA does.
Here’s Newburn
I simply don’t believe Leff doesn’t “get” why Americans would cheer for the U.S., Ghanaians for Ghana, etc. I’m sure Leff wishes he embodied the mechanical rationality that would completely eschew even the most benign loyalty to one’s country. But he doesn’t, because no one does. Not even Will Wilkinson, and he hates America. There’s a reason our Spanish brothers are gathered in huge squares to watch today’s final, and there’s a reason they’re not rooting for the Netherlands. I can’t explain the visceral loyalty to one’s country, but to pretend you don’t understand that such loyalty exists, or that it’s completely mind-boggling in every context, is simply ridiculous.
This is the key point, and it represents a real failing on the part of most libertarians. In their attempt to embody “homo economicus” or “rational man” to the ultimate degree, they’ll absurdly deny obvious things like: We care more about our countrymates than we do others… we care more about our neighbors than we do people in the neighboring town, etc.
Sure, there’s an elemant of “irrationality” to care about what Landon Danovan is doing thousands of miles away. Technically it doesn’t effect me. But somehow it does, and to deny that, or to try to “logic it away” is silly, and ultimately undermining.
