Mark W.
Posted on 01/11/2002 8:57:38 AM PST by vannrox
Just what is a Libertarian?
(The party & philosophy)
Out of the many political philosophies that exist, one of the most misunderstood is libertarianism. It is frequently labeled part of the “extreme right”, or it is merely associated with drug legalization. Truthfully, there may be several definitions of the term, but in general, libertarianism encompasses all or most of the following: strong support of individual civil liberties, social tolerance, and private property; belief in the positive powers of the free market; and an espousal of constitutionally limited and greatly reduced government. To put it succinctly, the libertarian believes in the freedom of individuals to pursue their lives as they see fit, as long as they cause no harm to others, with minimal governmental interference.
Libertarian thought is rooted historically in the ideas of many of the Enlightenment thinkers, including John Locke, Voltaire, and Adam Smith, as well as many of the founding fathers of America, including Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Paine. Many libertarians prefer to call themselves “classical liberals”. Their philosophy has also been influenced by writer Ayn Rand’s “Objectivism”, and various free-market economists, including Milton Friedman, F.A. Hayek, and Ludwig von Mises.
To more clearly illustrate libertarian thoughts and beliefs, it is helpful to see how these ideas would affect certain issues being debated at this time. Specifically, Freedom of Speech,
(Keep in mind that libertarians, like most people, don’t agree on everything. In fact, their emphasis on individualism gives rise to a great deal of disagreement.)
The international scene (including military defense),
Taxation,
and, of course, Drug Prohibition.
Libertarians are strongly supportive of the civil liberties detailed in the Bill of Rights of our Constitution. They maintain that the Constitution does not grant us these rights, but instead recognizes those rights we naturally possess by virtue of our humanity. Included in these rights is the freedom of speech. Unlike many other supporters of free speech, the libertarian sees it as having a connection with property rights. For example, many would claim that to deny the publication of a certain person’s ideas or works would be censorship. The libertarian would say that you can publish anything you would like on a printing press you personally own, but to force someone else to print it would be coercion.
Another area in which libertarians have a unique philosophy is that concerning international affairs, military defense, and police functions. Many in the libertarian movement believe that the only legitimate functions of government are to provide military protection and law enforcement. They would oppose those “entangling alliances” that Jefferson mentioned which lead to treaties like NATO and organizations like the United Nations. They believe these can lead to unnecessary entanglements with other nations, and may ultimately usurp the sovereignty of the individual.
When it comes to the issue of taxes, it is helpful to reflect on the libertarian’s view of property rights. The libertarian view is generally that an individual should have the right to do with his property what he will, as long as it is not causing harm to someone else. In this case, the property being considered is the money an individual has earned. If the result of your labor is money, then it belongs to you, not the government. If another individual came along and took your money from you without your consent, it would be considered theft by our legal system. The libertarian views it as no less a crime when the government takes your money without your consent via taxation. (In those cases where taxation is “necessary”, libertarians prefer the taxes to be low and only minimally intrusive.)
The aspect most often associated with its philosophy by people only marginally familiar with libertarianism concerns the subject of drug legalization. What should be remembered is that the libertarian advocates personal freedom, which they believe includes the right to make decisions concerning your own body. They would argue that today’s drug prohibition is very similar to the alcohol prohibition of the 1920’s, which helped spawn a great deal of criminal activity, profiteering for criminal gangs, and turned otherwise peaceful, law-abiding citizens into criminals. (Of course, if the use of drugs by an individual causes them to harm another, that person must take responsibility for their actions, and must make restitution or receive appropriate punishment.) They also believe that the “drug war” has largely been a failure in its goals, and has diverted law enforcement away from other, more serious crimes.
Libertarian philosophy can be applied to most any issue being debated in our time. By looking at the four areas of freedom of speech, international affairs, taxation, and drug policy, it is easy to see that libertarian thought at its most basic level agrees with Jefferson’s statement, “That government is best which governs least.”
Written by Deanna Corbeil
Like I said before, try reading the article first.
Good try!
If my memory serves me right, McAinal has NEVER been the torch bearer for the Republican Party or Conservatives. McAinal has NEVER won the nomination of the Republican Party for President.
However, you can't say that about Hairy Brown, who is THE torch bearer of the Libertarian Party and Libertarians, of which you claim to be one of.
While Democrats and Republicans continue to lie, lie, lie, Libertarians stand for actual concrete principles. This scares both Republicans and Democrats, and frankly makes them angry. The brainwashing of America has lead way too many down this path. There seems to be no hope. Freedom and liberty only have meaning to libertarians. Both Republicans and Democrats believe that freedom and liberty are contingent upon what they want, i.e. their agenda. If it weren't for the brainwashing, both sides would come to see that libertariansm is the only philosophy that truly recognizes EVERYONE'S rights.
RUN FOR THE HILLS!!! RUN FOR THE HILLS!!! SOMEONE IS INGESTING SOMETHING I DON'T WANT THEM TO!!! RUN FOR THE HILLS!!!
Federal hate crimes - Don't know everything about it, but if someone gets hurt there would be hate anyway involved. Can't see there being one hate valued more over another.
Yes, I agree with Libertarians on issues of property rights, taxation, etc. However...
Take a look at a libertarian thread on just about any topic and you'll see the following:
FR Resident Libertarian: Yep! The federal tax system is an outrage.
FR Resident Statist: Libertarian! All you're interested in is smoking your pot!
Libertarian: Well, the WOD is an outrage, but this is about taxes.
Statist: See? Again with the drug issue! Is that all you can talk about?
Check it out CA Guy. You can't miss the pattern on any libertarian thread.
And oppose subsidies, so we are anti-farmer
Being one of the more vocal libertarians on FR, I readily admit that foreign policy is the main policy I disagree with. IMO, its not practical, and you summed it up pretty well as to why.
Good try! It's why I think I can say there are Addiction Warriors in the Libertarian Party!
I don't need to do any soul searching. I am a libertarian (note the small 'l'). You have yet to refute one portion of this piece or address anything I have posted to you. All you have managed to do is try to directly tie me to Harry Browne and offer me a arm chair course in philosophical soul searching.
Note also that I'm not a Libertarian, I'm a conservative with a libertarian (small "l") streak.
Mark W.
Mccain is in a position that does de facto damage to not only freedom, but also conservatism, more so than Browne has, or ever will do.
BTW, your childish misspellings do justice to your infantile attitude.
keep it up--it really shows off your lack of principle
Ah, the old if it's illegal it must be harmful argument. Do you realize that 400,000 people die every year because of tobacco? Your circular logic has sprung a leak and will someday fall flat.
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