Libertarianism (Latin: liber, “free”) is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as its principal objective. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and freedom of choice, emphasizing political freedom, voluntary association and the primacy of individual judgement.

For months, nay, years, I have been wanting to write about the shortfalls of libertarianism.  It’s been difficult because who in America, other than outright fascists, would argue with liberty and freedom of choice?

But finally FINALLY we have an illustrative example come to the fore.  And I’ve been blogging about it recently (a lot) and now I can make a simple tie-in without expending too many words.

Let’s go to the money quote from libertarian extraordinaire and 2012 Presidential candidate, Ron Paul:

On Monday, Rand Paul, the son, hedged a little:

Paul was asked to weigh in on vaccines, after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), a likely rival for the GOP nomination in 2016, said Monday morning that there should be “some measure of choice” for parents leery of vaccinating their children.  “I’m not anti-vaccine at all, but most of them ought to be voluntary,” Paul, an ophthalmologist, said Monday on the “Laura Ingraham Show,” in a segment circulated by the Democratic National Committee along with criticism of Paul’s views.

UPDATE:  Later that day, Rand Paul was asked a follow-up, and said this with respect to vaccines:

I think they’re a good thing but I think the parent should have some input. The state doesn’t own your children; parents own the children and it is an issue of freedom.

Huh. So parents own their children (that’s libertarian?!?) and not only have the “freedom” to expose their property to deadly illnesses, they have the freedom to expose your kids to deadly illnesses.

The thing is — and I certainly can see why the anti-vaxxers hate this — IT TAKES A VILLAGE to get rid of some of these diseases.  All or most children had to be vaccinated before measles made its disappearance and the beginning of this century.  The same can be said for many more diseases.

The same holds true for other areas of human endeavor — the economy for example.  Libertarians think the self-interest and the invisible hand of Adam Smith will take care of everything.  Nope:

Neighborhoods, communities, villages, cities, societies — depending on the situation — can succeed and improve the quality of life where “individual freedom” cannot.  Does that mean socialism and communism is the way to go?  Of course not.  But libertarianism — the polar opposite of socialism and communism — is just as ineffectual for most things.

There is a balance between individual rights and the common good. This should be obvious, but hardcore libertarians seem to believe that the mere assertion of a right is sufficient to end a public argument. It is not, when the exercise of that right has unacceptable public consequences, or when the sum of likely choices is dangerous to a community.

Turning to the issue at hand, vaccines provide protection through two means.  The first is direct protection.  I get a shot for something and the probability of me getting that particular disease declines dramatically as my immune system now knows how to fight that type of invader.  The second is indirect protection via herd immunity.   If I get a shot, I go from being a possible vector and transmitter of a disease to another unvaccinated person to a very low probability of passing the disease along.  Herd immunity only works when the vast majority of the population already is immune to a disease as the probabilities of a current carrier bumping into a receptive individual is fairly low if the general population is overwhelmingly vaccinated.

So the point of vaccinations is to protect not merely ourselves, but the community. To not vaccinate is to threaten the array of trillions of antibodies and T cells that decades of vaccination have built up in our bodies/  We drape a web of germ-fighting agents not just in ourselves, but around our most vulnerable neighbors. To not vaccinate is to affirm an overweening individuality. It’s a form of selfishness.

The best results come when everybody does what is best for themselves and for the group.  Adam Smith was wrong.  So are Ron and Rand Paul.  And the anti-vaxxers.