So what explains the prevalence of libnerdtarianism? I'd like to tell you I've studied this deeply and amassed a wealth of historically-informed speculation about it, but honestly, I haven't. I do, however, have a half-assed theory. It goes like this: nerds spend their formative years being turned into surly loners by the taunts and abuse of their intellectual inferiors. Since they've essentially been rejected by society, they reject society right back, embracing a political philosophy which raises "the individual" (read: them) above all else. Nobody ever cared about them, after all, so why should they care about anyone else? The nerd may grow beyond this feeling in adulthood, but the sense of being outside society is likely to linger.
So liberalism, with its ostensible focus on the common good, is of course right out. And while the selfishness at the core of conservatism makes it more attractive, the expected expressions of compassion—twisted and limited though they are (love the fetus, but the kid's on its own)—still require too much of a communal focus. No, libertarianism of the right-wing American variety is perfect for the nerd because it gives political expression to his (yes, his) childhood isolation; he wants to be left alone, and he's more than willing to return the favor.
>>73921424
Which is somewhat sympathy-inspiring, of course, but that's only part of the story. As already noted, the nerd is generally smarter than the people who abuse him, but his fatal flaw is that he comes to see this intellectual superiority as a mark of an overarching superiority. After all, isn't it intelligence that sets us apart from the beasts of the field? So in any rational assessment supremacy of intelligence should equate to overall superiority, right? Honestly, he can be a real jerk about it.
>>73921465
So the notion of meritocracy that's inherent to Ayn Rand-style libertarianism, which elevates the superior (read: smarter) man (read: him) above all others, holds near-infinite appeal for the nerd; basically, he wants very much to see the establishment of a system in which the one with the biggest brain gets all the money and chicks. Well, ok, maybe the chicks part is a bit of a stretch, but the nerd is nonetheless deeply interested in having society organized such that the smartest people are rewarded the most (read: financially) and are left alone to enjoy the fruits of their labors (read: to keep as much of that money as possible), because he's convinced that he's one of those smartest people. And with the rise of the Internet, the ability to monetize nerdly talents has never been greater. In other words, the nerd favors libertarianism in large part because he's confident that in a libertarian meritocracy, he wins.
All of which is why right-wing Randian libertarianism—with its deification of self-interest, its testy rejection of altruism or any other form of communal responsibility, and its tantalizing promise of an intelligence-biased meritocracy—is tailor-made as a nerd philosophy. The wonder isn't that so many nerds become libertarians, but rather that any of them manage to become anything else.
>surly
>ostensible
>deification
>tantalizing
TIL I can't speak academic English at all.
Yes and now.
There's just as many libertarians who are fit, athletic and into outdoor stuff. The hermit loner type
>>73921529
I was essentially a libertarian until I realized social darwinism is shooting myself in the foot and arranged marriage is the only way socially inept autists like us got wives and families in the past.
I'm not a socialist by any means but a wife isn't a commodity.
>>73921424
>right thumb on joystick
>left thumb on D-pad
>>73921424
Libertarianism is not about autistic lonership or backstabbing individualism, but of people voluntarily exchanging to improve their condition. You can gift or do acts of compassion, too. This is much more human than forcing you to hand over part of your earned money to the state, so that a part of this money goes to irresponsible people, and another part to the pockets of the governants.
>>73923438
imo there's two lines of "libertarianism"
one is the true constitutionalism, states rights, southern perspective that's just as much about community and the land but its strongly against things like government taking away property and killing small business.
THEN there's the Jewish randian corruption of libertarianism into corporate cocksucking and money worship.
>>73921927
tryhard English
>ftfy
>>selfishness at the core of conservatism
>>pro-abortion rhetoric
ok nvm. This would be a good article if written by a conservative or traditionalist but no, it's definitely written by a feminist neoliberal of the worst kind
