The Libertarian Party

When asked about the Koch Brothers being libertarian, and therefore capitalism is bad, a user on another platform illustrated why their form of capitalism (crony capitalism) isn't in line with libertarianism. I believe he summed it up quite well: "You're 10 years old and decide you want some money, so you open a lemonade stand. Your expenses are 10 cents a glass, and you sell it for 50 cents a glass. Now say your younger 8-year-old sibling sees these profits you're making and wants in. He sets up his own stand, right next to yours, and charges 25 cents per glass while having the same expenses. He's making less money than you were, but now you're not making any. Now you have 2 options to be competitive in the market place. You can either provide a higher quality glass of lemonade/lower your price, or you can create a false barrier to entry to keep him out of your market. Now only 1 of these things has a negative impact on your bottom line, so instead, you decide to lobby your parents. You tell them how an 8-year-old just isn't responsible enough to run a lemonade stand. You tell them how people could get sick and die if he serves them bad lemonade or doesn't follow safety procedures. Then you proceed to give your parents a note called the "health and safety for all Americans and anti-puppy slaughterhouse act." This act sets the minimum age to open a lemonade stand at 10 years old, due to health and safety concerns. Now you've just bought yourself 2 more years free of competition where you can charge whatever price you want for your lemonade It's lobbying and deals like this that allow people like the Koch brothers to exist. There's a reason why all wealthy big businesses aren't libertarians: they need these laws and regulations to reduce competition. Without it, there's no way they could exist in their current state." ~ Dan Gaddert