What is Libertarianism

What is Libertarianism?

Libertarianism is a philosophical and political ideology. Libertarians believe that individual freedom is the most important human right. Libertarians believe you have the right to live your life as you see fit, not as others tell you to live it. Libertarians believe you have the right to do whatever you want, as long as you do not infringe on the right of others. The libertarian philosophy is the closest to an objective basis for law we can muster. No longer will laws be passed as the arbitrary whims of ignorant self interested politicians. People will once again be responsible for their own actions. Most importantly, libertarian politics will benefit more people to a greater extent then any other political system, without violating the individual civil liberties of the citizen. At the 2000 election, the libertarian party was the third largest party in this nation and had 170 elected officials in office, 10 times more than the 'Reform party' and 3 times more then the 'Green Party'. The Libertarian party had 256 candidates running for the house, the 'Reform party' only has 37 and the 'Green party' only has 45. The Libertarian party has raised 2.7 million dollars in 1999 from private donations, Libertarian presidential candidate Harry Browne turned down the 'election welfare' the US government dishes out to the candidates. The libertarian party has 205,000 registered voters, almost twice as many as the 'Green party' and the 'Reform party' and is on the ballets in ALL 50 states. Neither the Reform or Green party can make such a claim. -

Peace, Defense, and International Affairs
Libertarians feel defense and law enforcement are the only things government should be involved in. The US Government should adopt a policy of Non-aggression and de-militarize foreign aide. Libertarians are decent people and feel that the world can use all the help it can get, but shoving guns in peoples faces in other countries does nothing but instill hatred and animosity toward the United States and its people.

Trade, Immigration, and International Economics
As with their friends in the economics profession, there is nearly universal agreement among libertarians that free trade is the best policy. Most libertarians also believe in free immigration and emigration. They believe that borders should be completely open, because, ideally, it benefits everyone involved.

Regulation and Property Rights
Regulations limit an individual's choices, especially their choices about what to do with their property. Many environmentalist regulations, zoning and rent controls, and occupational safety and other labor regulations, are implemented with good intentions. But, libertarians argue, they often have unintended consequences which are far worse then any problems that could arise without the zoning and regulations. For example, minimum wage laws usually cause unemployment among the very people they are intended to help. Libertarians believe people can make personal, voluntary choices about what they buy and who they buy it from. Private "watchdogs" like Consumer Reports or Underwriters Laboratories will compete for business helping people make 'informed' decisions about purchases. Competing 'regulatory' businesses will perform the work of the governments regulatory systems better, faster, and cheaper. Competition is the healthy incentive for innovation.

Free-Market Environmentalism
Businesses often pollute the environment, and sometimes even devastate natural resources through overuse. This happens when the businesses do not have to face the costs of what they are doing to the environment. The US government has the oft-mentioned 'superfund' which is another word for 'corporate welfare'. The Superfund pays for the clean up and sterilization of places that the companies who caused it should be paying for. Your tax dollars pay for companies to pollute the environment. The damage done to the air and water is what economists call an "externality," an external cost that doesn't impact a company's bottom line. Free-market environmentalists argue that the way to improve the environment is to internalize the externalities. Once property rights are clearly defined, people serving their private interests will end up serving the public good.

Science, Technology, and Internet Issues
libertarians have a strong interest and appreciation for all sorts of science. But they don't believe government involvement is justified here. Most believe that applied research and even "pure science" do better when they are not hampered by government regulation or "helped" by politicized government funding from organizations like the National Science Foundation and NASA. Furthermore, libertarians are not afraid of the changes that science and technology bring. Although we cannot predict how these advancements will change our culture or living patterns, libertarians have confidence that free people can turn almost anything to their advantage. Libertarians feel strongly about not limiting research and development in areas like genetic research, cloning, cryptography and the Internet, and other things that directly increase the quality of life for every person on the planet.

Gun Rights
Libertarians argue that in the long-run decentralized gun ownership is the best way to prevent coercion and violence. This was the original intent of the American Founding Fathers when they wrote the Second Amendment to the Constitution. Through history, authoritarian governments have often limited gun ownership as a way to keep their subjects in check. The dozen or so states that have legalized 'concealed carry' have seen significant drops in violent crimes, including murders and rapes. Criminals do not go after people they suspect of having a gun. This has not led to a 'old west' atmosphere. And in fact leads to safer societies with fewer incidences of violent crimes.

Free Speech and Civil Liberties
Freedom of speech (as with any other kind of freedom) should be jealously guarded. Most people generally agree with this sentiment, but in practice it is rarely enforced. Libertarians also strongly support other Constitutionally-protected civil liberties such as the right to be secure in one's possessions, the right to due process, and the right to equal treatment under the law. Equality under the law (a.k.a. "the rule of law") is one reason, among others, that many libertarians oppose affirmative action.

Drug Prohibition
Libertarians advocate strongly economic and personal freedom. A significant part of personal freedom is the ability to make decisions about your own body. As an argument against drug prohibition, some people call this naive. They point out that taking drugs can impact people besides drug users themselves. Libertarians usually counter that innocent bystanders are harmed more by the global "war on drugs" than by individual drug use. Competing drug dealers have no way to increase market share then through coercion and violence, and children and innocent bystanders are killed in the process. Dealing of illegal substances single handedly funds crime in this nation. Criminalized substances cost exponentially more and are far more dangerous then legalized and regulated ones. The US government spends 300 Billion dollars per year on the 'War on drugs' and are making no progress whatsoever. The American experience with alcohol prohibition in the 1920s should not be forgotten. Making a drug illegal causes its price to rise and its safety to decrease, but does not stop its use. Alcohol prohibition made drinking an underground activity, made otherwise-peaceful drinkers outlaws, made huge profits for violent gangsters, and diverted prison space and law enforcement away from other serious and violent crimes. Drug laws do the same today. Of course, to a libertarian, freedom also means taking responsibility for your actions. If a drug user hurts themselves or hurts someone else -- by drinking and driving, for example -- they must be held strictly accountable.

Sex, Gambling, and Consensual Crimes
Libertarians generally believe in traditional moral values like monogamy and two-parent families, but a libertarian believes that moral values must be freely chosen. If someone else doesn't agree with your morality, you may avoid them, argue with them, or verbally condemn them, but you should not physically control them. In order for an act to be a crime, libertarians say, someone must be harmed - there must be a victim. Anything that's peaceful, voluntary, and honest should be tolerated regardless of whether we agree morally with it. Any contrary behavior is a form a bigotry and cultural elitism. Part of the price of our own freedom is allowing others to be free. This is the very definition of free. Freedom is not just what you or I considered to be free and make everyone else agree with. To many libertarians, tolerance is the most important social value.

Health, Welfare, and Social Security
Entitlements are the crux of the modern welfare state. So it's probably not much of a surprise to discover that libertarians believe that state-run welfare and health care are inappropriate in principle and hugely inefficient in practice. Allowing people to interact and trade freely, libertarians believe, greatly increases the health, welfare and security of all people, including the people the big-government programs are intended to help. Libertarians do not advocate a 'fend for yourself' system, but rather know that the private sector could do a better job helping the poor than the welfare state does.

Self-Reliance, Self-Help, and Psychology
Libertarianism is a fairly simple political philosophy. But many libertarians also believe that individual freedom and responsibility are important for personal fulfillment, not just for social peace and prosperity. Essentially, these libertarians believe that you should not expect others to be responsible for your happiness. You must take responsibility for your own emotions, and never think of yourself as a defenseless victim.

Education, Homeschooling, and Children
Some of the largest bureaucracies in the United States and around the world are related to government schooling. Since the late 19th century, government-funded, compulsory education has been the norm in industrially advanced societies. It has been so long since elementary and secondary education was private and voluntary that many people have difficulty fathoming the notion. As a result, this is an area where libertarian ideas stand in stark contrast to those of the general public. Many libertarians favor complete separation of school and state, while others favor school vouchers and charter schools, at least as intermediate steps. Both groups argue that education is better and more flexible when it is taken out of the hands of the state. In a world that is moving lightning-fast, the 19th-century one-size-fits-all schooling model sits like syrup in sand, slowing everything down and wasting our most precious resource: the potential of the human mind.

Taxes and Taxation
In almost any situation libertarians say that a higher (or new) tax is not the answer to whatever social problem for which the funds are needed. In fact, many maintain that any and all taxation is stealing, and that if it were done by anyone besides the organized group of people calling themselves the government it would be recognized as theft. To the extent that libertarians believe taxes are necessary, they support taxes which are low, flat and unintrusive. Providing enough funds for national defense and to protect the citizens civil liberties. Many libertarians have been active in the current movement to limit the arbitrary power of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Some believe a "flat" income tax is the best policy, while others argue that a national sales tax would be preferable.

Constitutions, Courts, and Legal Reform
Libertarians oppose most legislative solutions to problems, they believe that disputes should usually be settled through courts, either private or public. The judge-made common law, libertarians often point out, has evolved over centuries in Britain and in America and incorporates more wisdom than the political process could ever muster. Many libertarians believe that the common law is an example of a "spontaneous order." Still, libertarians do oppose the wave of frivolous law suits and outrageous tort settlement so prevalent today. Some libertarians favor a "loser pays" system such as Britain has, which would serve as a disincentive to frivolous lawsuits. Others would simply rewrite the rules dictating how tort cases are to be adjudicated.

Government Reform, Term Limits, and Privatization
Activists want to see real changes, even if they are only small steps towards freedom. Small steps can sometimes make a big difference in our lives and the lives of our children. While there is no libertarian consensus on any issue, many libertarians work for term limits, school choice, the repeal of civil asset forfeiture laws, jury nullification, Social Security privatization, medical marijuana, and more.