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Libertarianism
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Libertarianism is Humanist, in that it is the allowance for each man to be his own. The ideal is to be free from inhibition, both physically and mentally, as well as one can be without encroaching on other’s rights. One’s ability to make and act upon free decisions is his potency and the condition to be a free man. To be free is ... to be equal to another man; it cannot remain true to itself by conceding that a person can be allowed fewer rights than another. The development of the free man’s potency is the final aim (Escape From Freedom ©1941 by Erich Fromm [New York, New York: Avon/Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1965], pg. 184).
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Libertarianism is a political philosophy which advocates individual rights and a limited government. Libertarians believe individuals should be free to do anything they want, so long as they do not infringe upon the equal rights of others. They further believe that the only legitimate use of force, whether public or private, is to protect those rights. For libertarians, there are no 'positive rights' (such as to food or shelter or health care), only 'negative rights' (such as to not be assaulted, abused, robbed or censored). On the Nolan Chart, libertarianism rests in the upper right quadrant, or that of high economic freedom and high personal freedom.
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LIBERTARIANISM: BOGUS ANARCHY Peter Sabatini A distinct mainstream movement specific to the United States, Libertarianism had its inception during the 1960s. In 1971 it formed into a political party and went on to make a strong showing in several elections.1 Libertarianism is at times referred to as ``anarchism,'' and certain of its adherents call themselves ``anarchists,'' e.g., the economist James Buchanan.2 More significant, the work of US individualist anarchists (Benjamin Tucker et al.) is cited by some Libertarians.3 Accordingly, it may rightly be asked whether Libertarianism is in fact anarchism. Exactly what is the relationship between the two? To properly decide the question requires a synopsis of anarchist history. The chronology of anarchism within the United States corresponds to what transpired in Europe and other locations. An organized anarchist movement imbued with a revolutionary collectivist, then communist, orientation came to fruition in the late 1870s.
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Libertarianism does have a lot of philosophical literature which is much more sophisticated than the evangelistic and bumper sticker arguments critiqued above. However, much of it can be critiqued as fundamentally flawed. James K. Galbraith, criticizing many economists, might well have been criticizing libertarians when he wrote (in a letter in Slate, Nov. 5, 1996):
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Libertarianism, or self Government, is the philosophy held by the founders of this country and the philosophy expressed in the Declaration of Independence. This philosophy is the essence of American culture. Libertarianism asserts that all people are free born and self-owners, endowed with the unalienable rights to life, liberty and justly acquired property. In order to protect these rights, government is granted limited powers by the people. Libertarianism advocates tolerance combined with personal responsibility. From tolerance comes justice and peace.
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To start off, Libertarianism is highly axiomatic. Note how the above quote touts its logically consistent approach. There's a set of rules to be applied to evaluate what is proper, and the outcome given is the answer which is correct in terms of the moral principle of the theory. Are the religious thinking connections starting to become evident? This doesn't mean there can't be religious-type schisms in applying the axioms (for example, there's one regarding abortion). But in practice, the rules are simple and tight enough to produce surprisingly uniform positions compared to common political philosophies.
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