This month, however, I want to discuss the issue of witnessing. How can one witness libertarianism efficiently and painlessly ? I have already addressed some parts of this before, for instance when I discussed the Ransberger Pivot, a simple and powerful answer-framing strategy, or when I discussed how to counter statist code-words. Knowledge of these techniques is an essential part of your arsenal.
These techniques get their effectiveness from a fact which applies to all domains : arguments are rationalizations, and people usually come to believe on the basis of emotional appeal. Therefore, to be a successful activist, one must always keep in mind the emotional appeal held by the other person, not the arguments he is using as a shield. To recognize this appeal, detecting code-words is a good help. Understanding the source of the arguments is another.
Furthermore, the emotional appeal of statism is built on misconceptions and lies. Identifying these misconceptions and lies, and why they exist, permits us to defeat the appeal more easily. So in both cases, an understanding of the issues is vital.
Besides this more extensive study, however, there are other, quicker ways to witness libertarianism. Tools have been developed and used in the field with success. I want to give you three of these tools in this article : the Smallest Political Quiz, Browne's Question, and libertarian cards and pamphlets.
If you have been interested in politics on the Internet for a while, you have probably seen the World's Smallest Political Quiz, from the Advocates for Self-Government. If you don't know who the Advocates are, you should take a look at their web site : they are the most important libertarian activist group in the United States. They are the ones on the forefront and they have the tools you need.
The Quiz has made the news many times, as it has been used as a libertarian outreach tool around the United States and the world. It has many advantages : it's quick, painless, easy, and relatively accurate. What it does, is take your answer to ten policy questions and pin your political position on a two-dimensional graph.
