Libertarianism
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==Heroes== | ==Heroes== | ||
| − | Libertarians are known to love [[Ayn Rand]] | + | Libertarians are known to love [[Ayn Rand]]. |
| − | Many of them also spread [[Ron Paul]] propaganda on internet forums. | + | Many of them also spread [[Ron Paul]] propaganda on internet forums in order to get people to vote for him. |
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||
*[[Rugged individualism]] | *[[Rugged individualism]] | ||
*[[Free market]] | *[[Free market]] | ||
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== References == | == References == | ||
Revision as of 03:13, 26 November 2007
Libertarianism is a political position which holds that "the government which governs best is the government which governs least". The term was stolen from anarchists, who were the only people referred to as libertarians before the 1970s. They now push themselves as the real libertarians despite hundreds of years of libertarian-socialist history that says otherwise. Libertarians are not anarchists, however; their lack of concern for the community, their belief in capitalism, and their interest in just enough government to protect their wealth contradicts the anarchist philosophy.
Libertarians claim to advocate for extensive individual rights. However, they do not advocate that the government protect individuals from corporate corruption, consumer rights, or corporate globalization. In this way, they actually hurt most individuals and instead "protect" the wealthy and their profits.
In the United States, they are closely associated with opposition to gun control, government surveillance, entitlements, and prohibitory drug policy. They also tend to be civil libertarians. While the American Constitution, particularly the enumeration of rights in the first ten amendments (the aptly named Bill of Rights), supports extensive liberty, Libertarians are rare in elected office; cynics have suggested that refusal to provide adequate pork to their district hurts their chances in legislative elections. The narrow usage of "libertarian" as a label is also a cause, as someone who takes "moderate libertarian" positions is frequently called a "free-market liberal/Democrat" or a "pro-____ rights conservative/Republican."
There is a distinction sometimes drawn between "small-l" and "big-L". Small-l libertarians believe there is a general blanket term for people who believe in minimal governmental interference in peoples' civil rights, while "large-L" refers to members of the United States Libertarian Party, which espouses a strongly laissez-faire, explicitly small-government platform and therefore leans strongly to the right on many economic issues.
When used in a philosophical sense, a libertarian is simply someone who believes in free will.
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Quotes
Many political groups are hostile to Libertarianism, below are some quotations:
- "A Libertarian is just a Republican who takes drugs." -- Bob Black.
- "Libertarians secretly worried that ultimately someone will figure out the whole of their political philosophy boils down to "Get Off My Property." News flash: This is not really a big secret to the rest of us." -- John Scalzi[1]
- "He always pictured himself a libertarian, which to my way of thinking means 'I want the liberty to grow rich and you can have the liberty to starve.' It's easy to believe that no one should depend on society for help when you yourself happen not to need such help." -- Isaac Asimov
- "That's libertarians for you - anarchists who want police protection from their slaves." -- Kim Stanley Robinson
Heroes
Libertarians are known to love Ayn Rand.
Many of them also spread Ron Paul propaganda on internet forums in order to get people to vote for him.
See Also