JakeStarkey
Diamond Member
- Aug 10, 2009
- 168,037
- 16,522
- 2,165
- Banned
- #121
I like the original poster's definition of libertarian (though it doesn't describe me). It seems like today, people's definition of libertarian is very different. Alot of people seem to equate libertarianism with small government, rather than a government that is willing to actively protect personal liberties. Similarly, there's an association of libertarianism with laissez-faire economics without protecting individual noneconomic liberties such as reproductive rights, vices (drugs, gambling, etc.) and the rights of criminal defendants. Libertarianism, like Constitutionalism, is something that some people like to throw around when it supports their point of view and ignore the rest of the time.
Well we know that small governments are much less likely to infringe on somebody's liberties than a large government, and that if they do it's easier to rectify. We focus on economic liberty because it's just as important as any other liberty. As for the social issues you mention, not all libertarians agree on those things. Contrary to popular belief there is no libertarian consensus on abortion.
As Rothbard saw matters, libertarians are committed only to defining the permissible use of force. They are free to adopt whatever attitudes they wish towards peoples lifestyles, so long as they respect rights. They are emphatically not required to be "social liberals".
What Is Libertarianism? by David Gordon
Kevin, tell that to a war lord in China in 1000BC or a Mississippi county sheriff in the 1930s.
Government of any size can be coercive as anything in the history of mankind.