There is no difference between libertarianism and the party they formed.
If you don’t adhere to pure libertarianism then fine, but you can’t tell people that those things are not libertarian.
The party is where libertarians with the courage, put their confused and elusive white wine theories into actual political positions and enter the political arena.
On your favorite soapbox again I see.
Good. Makes it interesting.
And you are wrong. Very wrong.
SOME libertarians formed the Libertarian Party.
Just like some whigs came to the republican party. Not all did.
You pollute the discussion with your insistence that the two are the same. Things are much more complicated than your simple viewpoint. And it is your viewpoint.
/johnny
I see libertarianism as a tendency in American poltics. The party is the distilled version of it, but the tendency has more impact than the party.
Many of the strategy and tactics around business issues, like regulation, taxes - comes from the libertarian point of view. Reason Magazine's take on drugs and prostitution haven't gained much traction in the GOP, but if you go read their articles about regulations, government agencies, or analysis around specific topics they appear to be setting the mainstream GOP agenda fairly frequently.