There is equivalence by result.
There is equivalence by result.
Even if accurate, there is more to political belief than social issues.
But even with social issues, when the left and libertarians come to the same conclusion, it's often for completely different reasons.
Ask a leftist if, since they support legal recognition of gay marriage, they also support recognition of polyamorous (multi-partner) marriages. The majority I've dealt with go stark-raving angry. When it comes right down to it, leftists don't see gay marriage as about freedom to arrange one's life as one sees fit; they see it as overthrowing "patriarchy," "tradition," "the market," or whatever pet bogeyman they've latched on to.
Speaking for myself, I support equal legal recognition of traditional, gay, and polyamorous marriages. I believe that traditional marriage is the best arrangement for most people, but that there are exceptions. Even if there were no exceptions, it would still be a matter of arranging one's life as one see fits.
Where the left see certain things identified as "socially liberal" as a tool to some collectivist-utopian dream, the libertarian right come to those conclusions from the basis of individualism.
It's no wonder that most polyamorous households I know (I know four) are more to the political right than the nation as a whole.
Equivalence of result does not equal equivalence of reason. For that matter, the equivalence of result with regard to social issues, is an illusion. The goal of leftism (I refuse to call it liberalism) is that of the collective. The goal of libertarianism is the goal of individualism.
What about all the issues where libertarians reach the opposite conclusions from liberals --taxes, property rights, affirmative action? And libertarians are split on the abortion issue.