Reviving MLK's Dream: Why Today's World Needs to Judge by Character, Not Color
Why Modern DEI Initiatives Might Miss the Mark on King's Dream - A Viral Debate on True Equality
While today’s inauguration of Donald J. Trump as our 47th president should not overshadow that today is also a U.S. national holiday honoring the efforts of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a socialist who was also a leader for racial equality and nonviolent, nonaggressive protest. While his socialistic tendencies were clear, some of his actions and speeches merged into some libertarian principles (e.g., civil rights, freedom of speech, property rights, and economic freedom).
Kings adhered to the Libertarian Party’s non-aggression principle (the NAP) and advocated for change without violence. This was during the huge civil rights movement in the U.S. King was hardcore about securing the individual rights and freedoms for African Americans — not special class rights, just equal to whites. This is a strong principle of libertarianism. King believed in the inherent dignity and equality of individuals, regardless of their skin color, religion, political party, etc. This is a principle we all share with King and Libertarians.
In this vein, King was a strong advocate for freedom of assembly and freedom of speech. These were necessary components of nonviolent protests against unjust laws, and they are rights we all hold dear, as enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
King also strongly advocated for equal property rights for all Americans, ending redlining so African Americans could build generational wealth through real estate. I agreed with his efforts to end discrimination by ending the government’s own discriminatory property rights practices; however, King went too far in his vision for “economic justice,” as it helped keep the very people he was trying to help into heavily subsidized housing they would rarely escape from—for generations. The government should protect property rights and not subsidize property for decades.
King properly railed against government policies that enforced racial segregation and discrimination, which aligns with libertarian critiques of government overreach when it infringes on our personal freedoms.
Another thing Libertarians have in common with Martin Luther King, Jr.’s work is the opposition to the Vietnam War, which was just another means of keeping the war machine alive. The spending on the Industrial War Complex could have reduced the U.S. federal debt by $286 billion rather than increasing it.
King also spoke about the importance of personal responsibility, moral integrity (advice he should have taken himself), and character development, which resonates with the libertarian principle of individual responsibility rather than reliance on government solutions. Though, later in life, he went down the slippery slope of universal basic income and more government handouts.
While King was flawed on many levels, from a libertarian standpoint, he believed in equal property rights, civil rights, free speech, and equal government treatment. He also would likely not favor today’s DEI, or at least how it was implemented. King would favor a modern-day meritocracy and advocated for equality where individuals are judged by "the content of their character" rather than "the color of their skin."