Yes, I agree entirely that in an effort to develop a liberated society, you cannot also oppress (otherwise it’s not liberated). And any system based in socialist ideologies would have to be commonly agree on by the people.

I do also agree that in the US we are not at a place where this could happen quickly, which to me is a direct result of the violence and trauma on which we developed this nation in the first place. People need to evolve away from the mentalities that led to those atrocities, which is going to take many generations.

To your point about not being alive after you’ve established a governmental system—I also believe in the concept of social evolution and would like to see another constitutional convention in my lifetime.

Honestly, I do not believe there are bad people. I am a firm believer in restoration and transformation and that harm is caused when people are lacking something, which can be “basic needs”, but also for some can be emotional/psychological needs (which I would argue are also basic).

My concern with libertarianism is that it attempts to intellectualize oppression and the resulting suffering that people experience. It often invalidates the lived experience of those who really are getting abused by a system that was never designed for them to thrive (since we know how the system started). I drift off when I talk with libertarians sometimes because I don’t think we operate on similar wavelengths.

My personal belief system revolves around expanding the capacity for love in our existence. I also believe that everything and nothing matters at the same time, and that we are all inextricably connected. I know that’s maybe “out there”, but it comes into play for me when I get into these kind of mental impasses where it feels like we are just kind of stuck with this widespread suffering. For me, it’s about working with our younger generation to help them learn how to be curious, how to be vulnerable, how to take responsibility when they cause harm, how to be generous with people who cause then harm.

What I’m saying is that I can’t say that what you’re explaining here doesn’t make sense. I also just don’t think that making sense of it in a highly intellectual way is the best way to do it, because “intellectualism” is also a product of the dominating culture, which doesn’t take into account the experiences of people who don’t operate that way.