Neil Peart, the Bleeding Heart Libertarian...Pt. 2.

In Part 1, I gave a general background of the connection Neil (and Rush) had to Ayn Rand. My conclusion—there wasn’t much of a connection. And, like Neil said about it…he was a kid. How are we to understand Neil’s self-description as a bleeding heart libertarian? His own words are the best place to begin, so I return to the Rolling Stone interview from 2012. He said: 

“Now I call myself a bleeding heart libertarian. Because I do believe in the principles of Libertarianism as an ideal – because I’m an idealist. Paul Theroux’s definition of a cynic is a disappointed idealist. So as you go through past your twenties, your idealism is going to be disappointed many many times. And so, I’ve brought my view and also – I’ve just realized this – Libertarianism as I understood it was very good and pure and we’re all going to be successful and generous to the less fortunate and it was, to me, not dark or cynical. But then I soon saw, of course, the way that it gets twisted by the flaws of humanity. And that’s when I evolve now into . . . a bleeding heart Libertarian. That’ll do.” 

So, Neil had a very “idealist” understanding of what libertarianism is and, to him, it included generosity to those who are less fortunate. Contrast this sharply with typical libertarian thinking, especially the Ayn Rand version, which basically says that if you are less fortunate you deserve to be. While something like a strong work ethic is a virtue, it gets twisted to say being less fortunate is always and without exception the fault of the one who suffers. It is not my job to help you when you won’t help yourself!

But for Neil, it would seem, human solidarity and care for others is not a contradiction to individual liberty and freedom. It is an extension of it. We may be individuals, but we are individuals who comprise a community. The health of the community makes it easier to be a healthy individual and healthy individuals invest in the health of the community (I can’t help thinking that Neil’s devotion to Aristotle was influential to him). 

Neil’s idealism was disappointed by life experience. Libertarianism turned out to be something other than he believed it was. He still held on to the ideal, however, which I am sure for him meant the freedom “walk our road together” or to “run alone and free” if we choose. But his life experience matured and tempered the ideal, leading him to call himself a bleeding heart libertarian (words that I don’t believe I have ever seen paired together anywhere else). 

No one, regardless of political convictions, wants to be impeded from “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” We all want our freedom. But how much better to live that freedom with a bleeding heart than a stone cold one. Here I will conclude with a video made by Alex, Geddy, Tom Morello, and Tim Commerford contrasting United States health care with Canadian healthcare. My guess is that Ayn Rand would call them all communists.