What Libertarians Should Learn From Radical Socialists

"When radical ideas emerge potential revolutionaries always face the agonizing decision: should one compromise the utopian vision in the hopes of more realistic change or should one remain consistent to one’s principles until the singularity of revolution is brought to fruition?  This binary struggle is not exclusive to any one particular ideology or movement.   It is the classic dualistic struggle of radical versus moderate; idealism versus pragmatism.  Radical movements also face the possibility of having their ideas partially and disarmingly absorbed into mainstream avenues of power.  Libertarians are certainly grappling with this today.  Their efforts are split into the two mostly mutually exclusive directions of electoral and apolitical means.  To ensure that libertarianism as a movement does not repeat the mistakes of their predecessors, libertarians need to heed this examination of radical politicking which will be teased out through the illustrative example of the socialist movement during the Progressive Era and the preceding Populist movement."