What is Libertarian?

[straydoglogic]

TweetHow much liberty is good for the individual?
How much government do we need?

The libertarian, or "classical liberal," perspective is that individual well-being, prosperity, and social harmony are fostered by "as much liberty as possible" and "as little government as necessary."

These are open-ended answers that leave a lot to explore: What's possible? What's necessary? What are the practical implications? The unsolved problems?

At the Institute for Humane Studies, we encourage individuals to learn more about libertarianism by hosting summer seminars, providing fellowships, and sponsoring journalism and public policy internships .

Review the many definitions below to deepen your understanding of the libertarian political perspective. If these ideas interest you, see the options on the right or at the bottom of this page for ways to get involved in the libertarian community — whether you are in or out of school, or whether you’re just looking to learn more or you want a job supporting these ideas.
According to Libertarianism: A Primer by David Boaz, Free Press, 1997.

Libertarianism is the view that each person has the right to live his life in any way he chooses so long as he respects the equal rights of others. Libertarians defend each person's right to life, liberty, and property-rights that people have naturally, before governments are created. In the libertarian view, all human relationships should be voluntary; the only actions that should be forbidden by law are those that involve the initiation of force against those who have not themselves used force-actions like murder, rape, robbery, kidnapping, and fraud.

According to Funk and Wagnall's Dictionary

lib-er-tar-i-an, n. 1. a person who advocates liberty, esp. with regard to thought or conduct.... advocating liberty or conforming to principles of liberty.

According to American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition, 2000.

NOUN: 1. One who advocates maximizing individual rights and minimizing the role of the state.

The Challenge of Democracy (6th edition), by Kenneth Janda, Jeffrey Berry, and Jerry Goldman

Liberals favor government action to promote equality, whereas conservatives favor government action to promote order. Libertarians favor freedom and oppose government action to promote either equality or order.

According to Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000. © 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation.

Libertarianism, political philosophy emphasizing the rights of the individual. The doctrine of libertarianism stresses the right to self-ownership and, by extension, the right to private ownership of material resources and property. Advocates oppose any form of taxation and favor a laissez-faire economic system.

According to What It Means to Be a Libertarian by Charles Murray, Broadway Books, 1997.

The American Founders created a society based on the belief that human happiness is intimately connected with personal freedom and responsibility. The twin pillars of the system they created were limits on the power of the central government and protection of individual rights. . . .

A few people, of whom I am one, think that the Founders' insights are as true today as they were two centuries ago. We believe that human happiness requires freedom and that freedom requires limited government.

The correct word for my view of the world is liberal. "Liberal" is the simplest anglicization of the Latin liber, and freedom is what classical liberalism is all about. The writers of the nineteenth century who expounded on this view were called liberals. In Continental Europe they still are. . . . But words mean what people think they mean, and in the United States the unmodified term liberal now refers to the politics of an expansive government and the welfare state. The contemporary alternative is libertarian. . . .

Libertarianism is a vision of how people should be able to live their lives-as individuals, striving to realize the best they have within them; together, cooperating for the common good without compulsion. It is a vision of how people may endow their lives with meaning-living according to their deepest beliefs and taking responsibility for the consequences of their actions.

[JsJs24]

TweetGood post. The word liberal has been stolen from the dictionary to mean something entirely different. Modern liberals are the left wing radicals that we refer to today as liberals. Classic liberalism is what libertarians represent. Ludwig von Misses is a great economist to check out to learn about true liberalism. Thomas Jefferson was a liberal in the classical sense. Today most people don't even know there is a different meaning of the word, and have no clue what a classical liberal is. Let me add one point though. The protection of liberty and the classification of people comes down to two types, which hardly anybody talks about nor understands the meanings of. Individualism vs collectivism. These two ideologies are all that matter in the world. You are either a collectivist or an individualist. If you advocate government intervention into the private lives of citizens for decision making and other burdensome reasons, then you are of the collectivist class. Need more info go research it, but that is it in a nutshell. The two party system supports collectivism, which is why we have been on a long and steady path to totalitarianism, the only end for a democracy.