I once had a most enlightening conversation with a young Libertarian who happened to be a self-employed graphic artist. He had no health insurance. During the course of our meeting of the minds, the subject of health care came up. I (being me) put forth the effectiveness of a single-payer health care system or, at the very least, a “public option” to drive down the cost of health insurance through competition. I also stressed how “single-payer” or “public option” would help people like him (the self-employed), and just because it came from the government, he should not reject it outright.

He responded as any self-respecting free man would by telling me that he did not want to be part of a “Nanny State.” This uninsured, self-employed graphic artist went on to tell me, “I am young and healthy. Why should I pay for all those free loaders in the system?” I asked, “What if your young healthy uninsured ass gets hit by a car?” He thought about it for a few minutes, and said, “They must take me to a hospital. They can’t just let me die!”

There in lies the problem with my so-called free Libertarian buddies: if the world were as simple as your philosophy, you would all be dead.