A Pun By Any Other Name...
Over at Light of Reason, Arthur Silber keeps the political label debate going:
I've always liked the phrase "radicals for capitalism." I think it's accurate in terms of the broader issues involved, and it's a fighting creed. That's why, if I have to describe myself politically, it's the phrase I use.
Arthur might be onto something here. While I still like "Federalists," their opposition was known as the Anti-Federalists. And we all know what happens when Federalists and Anti-Federalists collide.
OK, you particle physics guys can wipe the Dr. Pepper off your monitors now.
I posted this at Light of Reason, too:
Lately I've been calling myself a Personal Responsiblitarian.
But, the problem is not the label we choose for ourselves, but that which is chosen for us by others. For it is in that pigeonhole that we will live or die. The only thing the label does is provide others with a shorthand for referring to us. From there, depending on their perception of that label, we will be celebrated or marginalized. But, it is harder for people to dismiss that which they cannot pigeonhole.
As for attracting others to join under whatever label is chosen, I know people are attracted to a readily identifiable brand. However, there may be more strength without a label, because what binds this group most strongly is a belief in the sanctity of the individual and group identification may undermine that. As soon as you put a name on it, many people who might otherwise be attracted will start growing suspicious and looking for reasons to splinter instead of reasons to cohere. A label is as limiting as it may be liberating.
Don't forget that the Whigs were the sucessor party to the Federalists *and* that Hayek called himself an Old Whig.
