Libertarian Standard Time

Tonight I attended a libertarian meeting, in the Los Angeles area, for which no one else came. I waited over an hour, then left.

This is the 4th time, in the past several years, that I was the only one to attend a Los Angeles libertarian meeting that had been announced and promoted on websites and email lists.

It's not just me. I once went to another supper club (that was supposed to run from around 7 - 11 p.m.), saw no one there, waited, then left. I later learned that other libertarians had arrived, one by one at different times, saw no one there, and left.

Back in the 1990s, I heard some LP members jokingly refer to Libertarian Standard Time -- a self-deprecating reference to many libertarians' inability to be punctual or organize efficiently.

In the early 2000s, I attended local libertarian meetings and supper clubs about 20 times a year (there are many in L.A.). Now I only go about twice a year, partially because I don't have time to waste on "hit and miss" games.

I'm sure some libertarian groups are well organized, but the Libertarian Standard Time joke implies that disorganization is also widespread. A disregard for punctuality or time commitments seems endemic to libertarian culture. Maybe some libertarians imagine themselves to be "free spirits" who can't be bound by the "tyranny of timetables."

The sorry truth is, Obama style socialism is more efficient than are many libertarian run organizations.

Libertarians, instead of getting all preachy to the American public about "the efficiency of the free market vs. socialism," would do well to first clean up their own acts. They should demonstrate efficiency, rather than just talk about it.