On Why I Am Not A Libertarian

 I begin with the question: 

Is the 'Prisoners Dilemma' demonstrably descriptive of reality? (aka - do Prisoner's Dilemma's exist?)

The short answer is: Yes.

Hence regulation is required. I'm talking of course about the (only) form of libertarianism, that calls itself "libertarian" - the dominant form in the United States. Where should this be offending any libertarians that hold the definition:

Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, emphasizing free association, freedom of choice, individualism and voluntary association.

In which case I would expect virtually everyone to be libertarian, but I'd be inclined like Burger King; who surrendered its brand in the Australian market having built too much equity in 'Hungry Jacks' to surrender the traditional definition of libertarians to what it has come to mean in the US.

But either way, I should say that the existence of prisoner's dilemmas in real life situations is simply sufficient for me to not be de facto skeptical of government regulation or government as an institution, there are many other documented psychological phenomena and legal precedents that prevent me from signing on/having any enthusiasm for libertarianism:

Tragedy of the commons, The Dunning-Kruger effect, Confirmation bias, Misrepresentation, Economic Bubbles, Market Failures, Economic Rents, The Bystander Effect, Group Think, Natural Monopolies...

Such that, while acknowledging the replication crisis that is hitting the field of psychology particularly hard and calls for questioning of how strong something like 'the bystander effect' is, this list is non-exhaustive of documented phenomena that I would require satisfactory exclusion to entertain any suggestion that maximizing individual autonomy leads to maximizing wellbeing.

Lastly, the global pandemic, as of writing ongoing and beginning in 2020 provided an excellent opportunity to observe different political ideologies tackle the issue.

Broadly speaking, the right has answers to a pandemic - border closures, lockdowns, quarantines, expanded police powers etc.

The left also has answers to a pandemic - welfare state, public healthcare, free testing, expanding public debt, public spending.

Libertarians - ???

Though they are a political minority, I've looked and those ??? still stand.