Interesting read. I really liked a couple of the comments that followed because they are the question I always pose: How do we get there from here?
But the author unwittingly answered this. He calls libertarian the new middle. Its just not so. The middle is already occupied by reasonable Republicans and pragmatic Democrats. They've failed miserably over the past two decades to hold sway but the same forces that have divided congressional districts to favor one party or another will chew up and spit out a third party. I hope in time the left of the Republican party and right of the Democratic party will ignore their fringes and govern effectively.
The Libertarian Party has never polled above 7-8%. Ron Paul did the best ever of any of their candidates and all he did was help split the GOP vote.
Libertarianism sounds good, but it would require a utopian planet to work as designed. You know, where everyone did their own thing and only paid for the services they wanted from government. Basically, everyone would need to be in agreement, which could never happen.
We need roads, prisons, subsidized public transportation and many other services that would be "optional" to a true Libertarian. Prostitution and all drugs would be legalized and the magical "free market" would be the deciding factor and make everything thrive.
Police and fire services would be optional, like insurance, because everyone is left to their own devices. If your house catches on fire and you haven't opted-in to the fire services, your home burns to the ground. Free choice, free market. "Perfection".
Again, since there is no such thing as a free market except in theory, the utopian state of being that could never possibly exist that is required in order for it to work. It's easy to be a Libertarian and armchair quarterback "solutions" that make zero sense in the real world. Libertarianism only works on the hypothetical level.
I respect one Libertarian...Penn Gillette. A great entertainer and very smart, but not when it comes to viable solutions.