What is Libertarianism?
Libertarianism is a political philosophy that treats individual liberty as the central political value. Libertarians believe that adults own themselves and may make their own choices about work, property, speech, religion and personal life, provided they do not use force or fraud against others. From this starting point they argue for free markets, strong property rights, civil liberties and a government that is much smaller than most modern states. Most libertarians accept a limited state for defense, police and courts, while some reject the state altogether. In philosophy, the word libertarianism also refers to a view about free will, which is a separate topic.
Core beliefs
- Each person owns their own body and labor.
- The use or threat of force against peaceful people is wrong, including when done by government.
- Free markets and voluntary exchange should replace most government programs.
- Taxes and regulation should be kept as low as possible.
- Victimless activities, such as drug use between consenting adults, should not be crimes.
- Free speech, gun ownership and privacy deserve strong protection.
- Military intervention abroad should be avoided except in self-defense.
History
Libertarianism grew out of classical liberalism. Thinkers such as John Locke, Adam Smith and Herbert Spencer, who wrote The Man versus the State (1884), supplied many of its ideas. In the twentieth century the Austrian economists Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek, along with Milton Friedman, defended markets against central planning. The novelist Ayn Rand popularized an individualist ethic. Murray Rothbard combined Austrian economics with natural rights theory and helped shape the modern American movement. In 1974 the Harvard philosopher Robert Nozick published Anarchy, State, and Utopia, a leading academic defense of the minimal state. The United States Libertarian Party was founded in 1971, and think tanks promoting libertarian ideas spread from the 1970s.
Variants
Minarchists support a minimal state limited to police, courts and defense. Anarcho-capitalists want to replace the state entirely with private institutions. Consequentialist libertarians defend liberty because it tends to produce good results, while natural rights libertarians see it as a moral requirement. Left-libertarians accept strong self-ownership but hold that natural resources belong to everyone in some equal way. Paleolibertarians combine libertarian economics with more traditional cultural views.
Criticisms
Critics on the left argue that libertarianism ignores how poverty and unequal bargaining power limit real freedom, and that without public services and regulation many people would be left without protection. Egalitarian philosophers argue that property rights are not as absolute as libertarians claim. Critics on the conservative right argue that libertarianism neglects the moral and social institutions, such as family and religion, that make liberty possible, and that its views on drugs or immigration could weaken communities. Some economists argue that markets need more public goods than libertarians accept.
In practice
No modern country has adopted a fully libertarian system, but libertarian ideas have influenced policy debates on deregulation, tax cuts, school choice, drug policy reform, marriage equality and opposition to surveillance. Libertarian think tanks and parties are active in the United States and several other countries. Some reforms associated with libertarians, such as ending military conscription in the United States in 1973, drew support from a wider coalition.