A "libertarian" is not the same thing a "classic liberal".
"Classical liberalism" is the term used to designate the ideology advocating private property, an unhampered market economy, the rule of law, constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion and of the press, and international peace based on free trade.(Mises website)
"Libertarianism is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as its principal objective. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and freedom of choice, emphasizing political freedom, voluntary association and the primacy of individual judgement."(wiki)
My issues with libertarians is their primacy of individual judgement...
If Jefferson was as you say, a "libertarian' they would still be hashing out the Constitution...
This country is chock full of idiots that think their rights end at the tip of your nose...letting individuals decide drugs and deviant sexual behavior as normal and within their rights as it's their "primary individual judgment"
Forgetting about the cost to our culture and society as a whole...
Thats why we have a representative type government or are supposed to have one...to give voice to reason and general consensus...not "primary individual judgment"
A rhetorical fig-leaf for moral-statists who happen to also prefer economic liberty.
Thats why we have a representative type government or are supposed to have one...to give voice to reason and general consensus
No, in the United States we have government to secure our unalienable Rights, among these Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.