The clear-thinking Mr. Levy bothers to respond to a Todd Seavey post comparing feminists to Nazis (or something):
I believe that it is an undesirable cultural state of affairs that married women take their husband’s last names while none do the reverse; and that if the woman keeps her last name the children almost inevitably take the father’s. I think that this custom is explicable and understandable as a social-evolutionary or ev-psych outcome, but that it is not compatible with my best sense of fairness or equality. I think that it symbolically subordinates one person to another in a way that is undesirable, and that offends a similar part of my brain to the part that’s offended by coercive political subordination, though it is not an example of such subordination.
I do not favor, indeed actively oppose, the Quebec solution of effectively prohibiting women from taking their names. But I favor, and argue in favor of, cultural change in this regard. It is not my place “qua libertarian” to argue for this view, any more than it is your place “qua libertarian” to argue for gender-complementarity, but that doesn’t make either feminism or complementarity views that are analogous to Naziism, or *incompatible* with libertarianism.
What is the name for the intellectual category into which this belief on my part falls?
And if the name is “feminist,” then I can’t help but think that feminism, while orthogonal to ‘political libertarianism’ in Rawls-speak, is a central part of some of the comprehensive worldviews that will make up the libertarian overlapping consensus– and that that’s an attractive fact, and that it’s a part of my own. And, from within my comprehensive worldview though not “qua libertarian,” I’ll venture that gender-complementarity looks mighty tribalistic and collectivist the second it becomes a normative doctrine and not a purely explanatory one.
This isn’t undesirable, this is an outcome of fundamental psychological differences between the sexes. No wonder Ayn Rand did not want to associate with libertarians, this kind od equality is ridiculus.
I don’t think Kerry Levy sounds that good.
But Jacob Howley would be kickass.
[...] notice Kerry Howley quotes a comment left by Jacob Levy on my blog (defending feminism as un-fascistic) and headlines it “Reasons to Marry Jacob Levy.” Well, good for Jacob (and his real [...]
L’homme absurde est celui qui ne change jamais.
Thats great material, like your stuff, just passing to say hi!
Your blog is interesting! Keep up the good work!