It seems like the vast majority of the time when I tell somebody that I am a libertarian, the response is a somewhat blank expression and the question, “You’re a what?”  At that point I have to decide based on who it is, when it is, and where we are, how much I am going to explain myself.  I usually fall back to one of two definitions. One is that we are fiscally conservative and socially liberal. (Or as famous libertarian Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller likes to say, “if you want to find utopia, take a sharp right on money and a sharp left on sex and it’s straight ahead.”  The other way I commonly use to describe a libertarian is that we more or less believe that people should be allowed to do whatever they choose to do with their own life, body, time, and possessions so long as they don’t interfere in anyone else’s ability to do whatever they choose to do with their own life, body, time, and possessions.

This usually serves as an adequate primer to give whomever I am talking with a basic idea of where I stand on things.  It does not however usually get people to think much about libertarianism or to understand that being a libertarian is a distinct alternative to being a liberal or a conservative.  Internet memes and images, even when they are accurate, often don’t help much more.

Let’s take a little closer look at what it is to be a libertarian.  The Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University in Virginia says,

The libertarian or ‘classical liberal’ perspective is that peace, prosperity, and social harmony are fostered by “as much liberty as possible” and “as little government as necessary.”

With a long intellectual tradition spanning hundreds of years, libertarian ideas of individual rights, economic liberty, and limited government have contributed to history-changing movements like abolition, women’s suffrage, and the civil rights movement.

Libertarian is not a single viewpoint, but includes a wide variety of perspectives. Libertarians can range from market anarchists to advocates of a limited welfare state, but they are all united by a belief in personal liberty, economic freedom, and a skepticism of government power.

One dictionary definition says that a libertarian is “a person who believes in the doctrine of free will.”  There are a ton of definitions for what a libertarian is.  The Advocates for Self Government have an entire page of different definitions.  The point is that there is not just one clear, concise, simple definition because libertarians are individuals and each individual sees things a little differently and each individual thinks about things at least a little differently than everyone else.  And that is a good thing.

People should be allowed to decide what is best for them.  When governments make rules, they must make broad arching rules that apply the same for everyone or differ based on specified criteria.  It is impossible though to define all of the criteria that make people individuals and so inevitably, government makes rules that aren’t quite right for many people.  The more we self govern, the more opportunity we have to make the right decision for ourselves.  The more decisions we make, the better we become at it. We may make bad decisions, and there are consequences to that.  But as long as we aren’t interfering with the rights of others to live their lives and make their decisions, we should be permitted to determine our own path as much as possible.

Now I’m sure some of you are saying something like “but we can’t get rid of government all together.” I agree with you.  Not all libertarians would agree with me, but I don’t think we  can eliminate all government.  Some level of rules and enforcement is needed to prevent people from interfering with the rights of others.  There are also certain services that just make more sense being run by government.  There are as many different types of libertarian as there are different types of Democrat or Republican. Some are extreme and have radical ideas (including anarchy) and some are moderate and just want decisions to be made with deliberate thought as to how that decision may impact the liberties of others. (I fall closer to this end of the spectrum.)  Like most things, libertarians are spread over a spectrum and do not stand together at a distinct point, but generally libertarians agree that our current government structure is much bigger than “as little government as necessary,” and therefore much bigger than we’d like.

These are my opinions.  I do not claim to speak for all libertarians.  In this blog, I do not claim to speak for anyone but myself.  What do you think?  Are you a libertarian?  Do you think I’ve adequately described our cause? Or do you think libertarians are conspiracy theorists that wear tin foil hats? Have I changed your perspective at all?  Please leave your thoughts in the comments below or suggest a topic for a future post. Remember that I believe that everybody is entitled to their opinions, so I ask (actually I insist) that all comments remain polite and respectful.  If you want to see future posts, please be sure to subscribe to receive future posts by email.