--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have permitted cynical political…" description: "\"“We have permitted cynical political reactionaries and the spokesmen of large corporations to pre-empt these basic libertarian American ideals. We have..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40f/murray-bookchin-2587_libertarian_we-have-permitted-cynical-political-reac_1889786.png" --- # We have permitted cynical political reactionaries and the… ![“We have permitted cynical political reactionaries and the spokesmen of large corporations to pre-empt these basic libertarian American ideals. We have permitted them not only to become the specious "voice" of these ideals such that individualism has been used to justify egotism; the "pursuit of…” quote by Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40f/murray-bookchin-2587_libertarian_we-have-permitted-cynical-political-reac_1889786.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40f/murray-bookchin-2587_libertarian_we-have-permitted-cynical-political-reac_1889786.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40f/murray-bookchin-2587_libertarian_we-have-permitted-cynical-political-reac_1889786.png) > ““We have permitted cynical political reactionaries and the spokesmen of large corporations to pre-empt these basic libertarian American ideals. We have permitted them not only to become the specious "voice" of these ideals such that individualism has been used to justify egotism; the "pursuit of happiness" to justify greed, and even our emphasis on local and regional autonomy has been used to justify parochialism, insularism, and exclusivity -- often against ethnic minorities and so-called "deviant" individuals. We have even permitted these reactionaries to stake out a claim to the word "libertarian," a word, in fact, that was literally devised in the 1890s in France by Elisée Reclus as a substitute for the word "anarchist," which the government had rendered an illegal expression for identifying one's views. The propertarians, in effect -- acolytes of Ayn Rand, the "earth mother" of greed, egotism, and the virtues of property -- have appropriated expressions and traditions that should have been expressed by radicals but were willfully neglected because of the lure of European and Asian traditions of "socialism," "socialisms" that are now entering into decline in the very countries in which they originated.”” [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Libertarian ideals have been co-opted by corporate and reactionary forces, distorting individualism, happiness, and autonomy into tools for greed and exclusion. **In simple terms:** Libertarianism is often misused by powerful interests. Key Takeaway Guard against co‑option of liberty. Themes politics libertarianism co‑option social justice Mood critical urgent Type political philosophical When to use this quote - activism - policy analysis - community organizing Key Concepts ideological distortion corporate capture radical appropriation Questions to Reflect On - What strategies can protect radical ideas from dilution? - How can communities reclaim true libertarian principles? A Different Perspective Opposing co‑option can be difficult due to entrenched power structures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Libertarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libertarian/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ## Related quotes > [There isn't much point arguing about the word "libertarian." 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Political collectivists are no longer much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/the-anti-individualist-enemies-that-ayn-rand-battled-are-still-the/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [ I think for a lot of people, it's just where their saturation point was. Once you get into the \[Donald\] Trump stuff and the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cross/i-think-for-a-lot-of-people-it-s-just-where-their-saturation-point/) [David Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cross/) > [Before I met Ayn Rand, I was a logical positivist, and accordingly, I didn't believe in absolutes, moral or otherwise. If I couldn't prove…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/before-i-met-ayn-rand-i-was-a-logical-positivist-and-accordingly-i/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) ## More by Murray Bookchin > [I know one thing: that you can do a lot of things but if you don't educate people into conscious anarchism it gets frittered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-know-one-thing-that-you-can-do-a-lot-of-things-but-if-you-don-t/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [I regard individuality as the most precious trait we have, because without it there is no creativity, there is no consciousness, there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-regard-individuality-as-the-most-precious-trait-we-have-because/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [In the 60s there were a lot of things which were anarchistic. 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Needs are tailored by the mass media to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/the-phrase-consumer-society-complements-the-description-of-the/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [I believe in a libertarian communist society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-believe-in-a-libertarian-communist-society/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [ “\[W\]ithout changing the most molecular relationships in society — notably, those between men and women, adults and children, whites and other ethnic groups, heterosexuals… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/w-ithout-changing-the-most-molecular-relationships-in-society-notably/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [ The most important thing \[anarchists\] can do is educate themselves, develop a propaganda machinery in the form of books and periodicals, a literature, engage… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/the-most-important-thing-anarchists-can-do-is-educate-themselves/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [I was a Stalinist in the '30s. 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The system deploys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/capitalism-far-from-affording-privileges-to-the-middle-classes-tends/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [“Finally, “industrial society,” to use a genteel euphemism for capitalism, has also become an easy explanation for the environmental ills that afflict our time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/finally-industrial-society-to-use-a-genteel-euphemism-for-capitalism/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) [Explore all 159 Murray Bookchin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) ## More Libertarian quotes > [I believe in taxation and health care that is outside the usual libertarian mandate, because I don't want people to have to suffer. 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I'll use my office to take another American's money and give it to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/vote-for-me-i-ll-use-my-office-to-take-another-american-s-money-and/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) > [“Socialists and Progressives confuse compassion and compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-samaan/socialists-and-progressives-confuse-compassion-and-compulsion/) [A.E. Samaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-samaan/) > [Using a broad brushstroke, I think Libertarian - most of America are socially accepting and fiscally responsible. I'm in that category. 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It must always be unpatriotic to support your government against your country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-t-byington/it-must-never-be-unpatriotic-to-support-your-country-against-your/) Steven T. Byington [Browse all 1,410 Libertarian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libertarian/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We have permitted cynical political reactionaries and the spokesmen of large corporations to pre-empt these basic libertarian American ideals. We have permitted them not only to become the specious \"voice\" of these ideals such that individualism has been used to justify egotism; the \"pursuit of happiness\" to justify greed, and even our emphasis on local and regional autonomy has been used to justify parochialism, insularism, and exclusivity -- often against ethnic minorities and so-called \"deviant\" individuals. We have even permitted these reactionaries to stake out a claim to the word \"libertarian,\" a word, in fact, that was literally devised in the 1890s in France by Elisée Reclus as a substitute for the word \"anarchist,\" which the government had rendered an illegal expression for identifying one's views. 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