Often, Libertarians encounter people who agree with our philosophy of individual freedom and personal responsibility, but they are not yet ready to make a change, and instead, defend the status quo. These people are almost ready to join our ranks, but they have a lingering allegiance to what they have always known.
A little over a week ago, I was reading one of my favorite blogs, written by Seth Godin, a marketing guy and professional author who has an interesting and unique take on many things. Often, his observations and findings contradict conventional wisdom, and they prompt me to think about things differently.
On August 29th, he wrote “The warning signs of defending the status quo,” and it turned on a light bulb (an incandescent, as long as they’re still legal) in my mind. Many of the things he discusses in it are the same things that you and I encounter when we encounter the people I reference in the first paragraph, and I thought it valuable to share some of those defenses, so that we can prepare our responses to the defenses of the status, often statist, quo.
Do we address these things when we talk with many of the people we would like to join us or vote for our candidates? Can we craft our words to address the thoughts that they may be considering, as they defend the status quo? Do we have an answer when they seem to:
- Consider the cost of switching before [they] consider the benefits?
- Highlight the pain to a few instead of the benefits for the many?
- Exaggerate how good things are now in order to reduce [their] fear of change?
- Undercut the credibility, authority or experience of people behind the change?
- Grab onto the rare thing that could go wrong instead of amplifying the likely thing that will go right?
- Focus on short-term costs instead of long-term benefits, because the short-term is more vivid for [them]?
- Fight to retain benefits and status earned only through tenure and longevity?
- Embrace an instinct to accept consistent ongoing costs instead of swallowing a one-time expense?
- Slow implementation and decision making down instead of speeding it up?
- Embrace sunk costs?
- Imagine that [their] competition is going to be as afraid of change as [they] are? Even the competition that hasn’t entered the market yet and has nothing to lose…
- Emphasize emergency preparation at the expense of a chronic and degenerative condition?
- Compare the best of what [they] have now with the possible worst of what a change might bring?
The next time you have a discussion with a potential Libertarian, can you address the defenses of the status quo they may bring into the conversation? For those of us who have never been a part of another political party or ideology, this is probably not something we consider when communicating, but it is certainly something to be ready to encounter. For those who have previously been Democrats or Republicans, think about what pushed you over the tipping point to join the Libertarian Party. Would it have been easier to join the Party if someone had addressed your defenses of the status quo?
