Libertarianism

:This article is about libertarianism, a liberal individualist philosophy favoring private property (the most common meaning of the term today in the US, Canada, the UK and most other English-speaking countries). See libertarian socialism for the libertarian philosophy favoring socialism. The article "Libertarianism (metaphysics)" deals with the concept of libertarian free will. See also civil libertarian.

Related Topics:
Liberal - Individualist - Libertarian socialism - Libertarianism (metaphysics) - Civil libertarian

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Libertarianism is a political philosophy{{ref|PoliticalPhilosophy}} that holds that all individuals should have the liberty to do as they wish with themselves and their property as long as those actions do not infringe on the same liberty of others. Thus, liberty is equalized among individuals, with no individual having more liberty than any other. As libertarianism is an advocacy of negative liberty, it is asserted that no person (or government) may initiate coercion. Libertarians make "coercion" specific by defining it as the use of physical force, the threat of such, or deception (fraud) that alters, or is intended to alter, the way individuals' would use their property (including their body) if those elements were not present. Coercion is ethically permissible only when employed in defense against an initiation. This ban on initiation of force, called the non-aggression principle, is central to the philosophy of many libertarians and is often predicated on the principle of "individual sovereignty" or self-ownership.

Related Topics:
Political philosophy - Negative liberty - Coercion - Fraud - Non-aggression principle - Self-ownership

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Libertarians generally believe that governments should be held to the same moral standards as individuals. Thus, they oppose most or all governmental initiation of force, even if it is supported by a democratic majority. Libertarians believe that if individuals are not initiating coercion against others, then government should leave them in peace. As a result, they oppose criminalization of victimless acts (or as the ancient common law maxim says: Volenti non fit injuria --to the willing person, no legal wrong is done). This opposition to coercion also extends into the economic realm. They oppose government intervention in the economy (other than to forbid businesses from engaging in coercion or fraud); while some oppose all taxation, most support only enough taxation as they believe necessary to protect individual liberty. Most support the existence of government but advocate reducing the size and scope of government to the essential functions of protecting individual liberty, private property, and a free market. The more radical anarcho-capitalist libertarians oppose all taxation, maintaining that these functions should be performed by voluntarily-funded institutions. The Libertarian International Organization sums it up by stating it works to replace all coercive government programs with voluntary alternatives, defining Libertarianism as a movement to promote rights and the liberty thereof by people developing non-coercive solutions to problems.

Related Topics:
Democratic - Victimless act - Private property - Free market - Anarcho-capitalist - Libertarian International Organization

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Criticism of libertarianism from the left tends to focus on its economic aspects, claiming that capitalism of a radical laissez-faire (free market) character undermines individual liberty, or is not in the best interests of society and the economy. Both left- and right-wing critics claim that libertarian ideas about individual economic and social freedom are untenable or undesirable. Libertarianism's proponents claim it to be a sound rethinking of classical ideologies and a rejection of harmful statist policies, resulting in its increased popularity. Libertarians claim that personal responsibility, private charity, and liberal economic policies (laissez-faire) are more effective, and/or more ethical, in eliminating poverty than forced transfers of wealth.

Related Topics:
Capitalism - Laissez-faire - Free market - Statist - Increased popularity - Responsibility - Charity - Liberal economic policies

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