Further Thoughts on Marriage-Cultural Feelings
I wrote in an earlier post that liberty was a cultural phenomenon so it’s time to look at gay marriage from that vantage point. The majority view of what constitutes genuine family and marriage has a reciporal effect on the legal dimension. It doesn’t do enough to destatize the institution without a philosophical transformation on the nature of family and marriage. This means the promotion of an expansive conception of marriage that fully incorporates gay couples. Why is this important? Because a society ruled by less inclusive ideas wouldn’t be as pleasant for gays and lesbians to live in. They could face the prospect of being denied eligibility for family related privileges by numerous organizations. A good example would be hospitals denying gay and lesbian individuals familial visits to their sick partners.
The kind of cultural foundation that should underlay libertarianism is one conducive to people peacefully being their authentic selves. This is best served by an open ended perspective on the makeup of marriage that gives equal legitimancy to martial contracts/love between gays and lesbians.
I agree, but I think that the goal of any society, regardless of whether it is modeled on a libertarian ideology, should be to allow the authentic expression of self. I recognize the argument that most societal forms other than a libertarian one won’t allow this to happen. I am not convinced this is true. I think you also have to consider the economic relationships (the old Marxist comes creeping in!) and their impact. For example, I am not certain that a libertarian capitalist society would really allow for realization of self in the way I think you mean it.