I See a Hand in the Back...

I've always wanted to ask a libertarian this question, but I've never actually met one. At least, not one who was out of junior high school. Like anarchists, libertarians just seem to outgrow themselves once they visit the real world. Do you think their reluctance to stick to it stems from the realization that they actually have to work for a living and that they aren't going to win the lottery or get whisked off to some fantasy castle somewhere?

But that's not the question. And since we have one who, I presume, is of at least driving age hanging around of late, let's ask him. Now, as I understand it, libertarianism embodies a belief in individual liberty as secured through the ownership and defense of property--so long as you aren't infringing on another's rights, of course (this seems to be the warm, fuzzy underbelly of libertarianism; call it Ayn Rand's fuzzy navel.). Libertarians, it would seem, feel that everything can be reduced to a property relation. In addition, government functions, which they reject, could be performed as easily, and more effectively, by private interests. In a libertarian society, each person's freedom is assured by his right to dispose of himself and his property as he sees fit (this begins to sound like the "Ah do'n wanna pay them thar taxes!" argument). It's live and let live. Butterflies and rainbows and yaaaay!! swingsets!

The question, at last! is this: what do libertarians think is going to happen when Bill Gates buys all the property there is to be had, and you have to drag your monkey ass to work everyday to pay the exorbitant rent on your GatesCo. mobile home, which sits in the middle of Gatesborough country. In effect: what happens to the propertyless? The homeless? The unlucky?

Or DO you think you're going to win the frickin' lottery?