There has been quite a bit of debate in libertarian circles about whether we should waste our time reasoning with leftists. In general, my views have been that this is largely a waste of time and leads to unproductive conversation. In a sense, I was proved wrong but I still agree with my general analysis on this issue, but some clarification is needed. After a productive conversation with my friend, percussionist, and an intelligent and open-minded Marxist I think it’s important to remind all libertarians that not every leftist is completely unreasonable and indoctrinated with progressive propaganda. I compared my talk with him with a random girl I matched with on Tinder and tried to see how reasonable she really was. I was able to get my friend to realize that the wars are a far bigger for humanity than not letting refugees into America. He had never really thought of it that way, and it definitely sparked some new thoughts in his head. The girl on the other hand, responded as you would expect a progressive SJW to respond. Choose your battles wisely, and use this short list which can be used to reason with certain leftists:
- You must have a previous friendship established, which grants you much more clout and trust in the other person’s head
- You must have these debates in person, as body language, tone, etc. is a very important part of any message
- Ask the right questions that will allow them to think about certain issues in a new light
Listen Here:
Reasoning with Leftists: The Strategic Position
Source: Gimme Liberty