In the US, we seem to only talk about two political parties.
Don’t like taxes?
Republican.
Want more social programs?
Democrat.
But the fact is, there are more political philosophies and affiliations than you might
think.
One of these is “libertarianism”, and it has grown increasingly popular over the
past few elections.
Never heard of it?
That’s fine, a recent poll found that even amongst self-described libertarians, nearly
a quarter had no idea what the word meant.
So what exactly is libertarianism?
Well, the most well known version is the one that grew out of the 1960s counterculture
movement in the US.
In short, the libertarian philosophy says that everybody should have absolute freedom
to live their lives how they see fit, as long as they respect everybody else’s right to
do the same.
This generally means that most libertarians advocate for minimalist government on the
basis that it should have no say whatsoever in the decisions a person makes about his
or her life.
This is a pretty Republican leaning ideal.
At the same time, libertarians stress social freedoms, like the right to gay marriage and
abortion.
In a nutshell, Libertarianism appeals to people because it combines both political worlds.
That may be why the Libertarian party has been called the third largest party by both
membership and popular vote in the US.
But Libertarianism is unique in it’s own way.
It tends to support what is called a “night-watchman state”, where the only function of a government
is to protect it’s citizens from being injured or defrauded.
Thus, government should only consist of a military, a police force, and a court system.
Additionally, some libertarians think agencies like the FDA are intrusive, because they try
to regulate what you can and can’t ingest.
Safety laws, like seatbelt or helmet requirements, are also considered to be violations of freedom.
Libertarians also tend to lean towards drug legalization, getting rid of welfare, and
supporting gun rights.
However some tenets of libertarianism have glaring problems in the real world.
One real world example of limited government and a free market occurred in post-Communist
Russia.
Without government support, Russia’s roads and banks collapsed, inflation skyrocketed,
and many old and jobless people were left helpless.
Libertarianism sounds like a good idea, but like a number of other political philosophies,
it may be a bit too idealistic to actually work.
Still, if lower taxes, legalized marijuana, and the freedom to do whatever you reasonably
want sounds good in theory, it just might be the party for you.
There’s a fine line between libertarianism and anarchy in the world of political philosophy.
To learn more about what anarchy is all about, take a look at our video here.
That video can also be found in the description below.
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