Whats your prospective on libertarianism ?

Question

Mark- I never realized anyone would consider liberty to be irrelevant.

Answer 1

anyone i ever met to say they were libratarians were conservatives in disguise to feel roguelike.doesnt impress me much

Answer 2

When you talk about libertarianism you need to distinguish between the libertarian ideology and the Libertarian party. The libertarian ideology is what America was mostly founded on, and is gaining in popularity. However, I am not a big fan of the Libertarian party because it has a lot of whack jobs in it, but I still vote for them sometimes because there usually aren't any better choices.

Answer 3

I support their stance on the drug war. Otherwise I consider the party generally irrelevant.

Response:
I don't recall stating anything of the sort. Libertarians do not hold a monopoly on their admiration of liberty. In Minnesota we have the DFL (Democratic/Farmer/Laborer) Party. If the labor party did not join the DFL, I would not equate a dismissal of Labor's broad relevance with a dismissal of labor's importance to our well-being. The difference is a value/ ideal and a party.

Answer 4

Being liberal and being libertarian is different. I wanted to clear that up for some who are unaware. The parties are different from the ideology, however, I am very libertarian in my way of thinking. The difference in Conservatism, Libertarianism, and Liberalism is as follows.

*Conservative* Wear your seatbelt because they say to!
*Libertarian* I don't feel it's right to get a traffic fine for not wearing my seatbelt. I am aware of the risks, and if I choose not to then the possibility of great harm to my body should be my punishment.
*Liberal* I will not wear my seatbelt JUST because they say to!


I know it all has to do with a lot more than the wearing of seatbelts, but it is just an example.
Libertarians feel as if everyone has the right to make their own decisions applying to themselves, just as long as they do not cause harm or hardship on anyone else.

What each person is will continue to be their business, I suppose...

We will continue doing this until....anarchy.

Answer 5

I don't think there are unifying principles amongst libertarians enough to generalize. Mind you, there are becoming few unifying principles within the 'major' parties as well.

I think it is time to rethink our parties, altogether.

I disagree with Lauren G, I think conservatives join libertarians in thinking seatbelt laws are a sign of the 'nanny state' and liberals are the ones who want to pad the corners of the world.

Answer 6

I like how they want to end the war on drugs and how they want to regulate and tax marijuana. I do not like how they do not believe the government should help the disabled, poor, undereducated or any other beliefs they hold. If libertarians ruled this country, the proverty rate would be much higher than 17% (what it is right now).

Answer 7

Libertarians are mostly hid in the moderate arms of the Republican and Democratic parties. The ideology is very sound, but like another poster said, the Libertarian Party has plenty of nut cases and thus cannot become a viable 3rd party.

Answer 8

Personally, I think libertarianism runs counter to everything the US was founded on. The founders in New England would be horrified to hear of its tenets and ideals. Of course, the Virginia settlers wouldn't have minded as much, except that a similar mindset was what got them in trouble and they recognized the need for the state to regulate certain behaviors (ie, John Smith and the policy of "you don't work, you don't eat"). The implication that the government has almost no function and has no role in economics or behavior modification is horrifying in this day and age. Would we prefer to allow companies to dump toxic waste whereever they wanted and put whatever they want in food and pay illegal immigrant wages? Would we want to eliminate any laws that stopped people from dangerous and anti-social behavior on the grounds that personal activities should not be regulated? It always seemed to me that libertarians, though admirable to some extent in their desire for personal freedom and mostly optimistic views of human nature, often tend to be dreamers.

IMHO, it's basically tricked out anarchism, with much worse music and slightly better literature.

Answer 9

We have a very good one here in Wisconsin.

Actually, to the extent that they see the faults of BOTH major parties (which the parties themselves seem incapable of doing), Libertarianism is just as valid a group as any. They propose that as long as you're not directly infringing upon someone else's rights and liberties, what you do in your "pursuit of happiness" is your business and nobody elses.

I can appreciate that........

Answer 10

There is no freedom of speech, rights, religion, writing, filming, and others in America...
You either rally with Bush and become a friend or be a foe.
It is sad, this country was built on rebellions and now it is dictatorship.