The Libertarian Party


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This page contains links to Web sites of interest to Libertarians and to those interested in political issues as well as my own Libertarian-related items.

Table of Contents:


Libertarian Links:

Liberty
Web The Libertarian Party
NORML the premiere marijuana and hemp legalization group in the United States


Introduction to the Libertarian Philosophy:

The Libertarian Party is the main organization espousing the Libertarian Philosophy. Of course, like any diverse group of people, even when united behind a vaguely coherent ideology, there are different strains and levels of libertarian followers. The philosophies and viewpoints that I set forth hereinbelow do not represent the entire spectrum of libertarian thought, but merely my take on the same. I would probably be termed by many Libertarians as a Right-leaning moderate Libertarian.

The basic philosophy of libertarianism can best be summed up by Thomas Jefferson's famous statement "That which governs least governs best." This is, of course, a simplification, because libertarians are not anarchists (despite a waggish notion that libertarians are anarchists who wear suits). We believe in government and believe that government has legitimate purposes and functions. It is merely a matter of degree, but a significant degree to say the least.

To expand on Jefferson's single sentence statement, libertarians believe that government's function should be limited to the protection of one person's basic rights from encroachment by force or coersion by another, and the protection of the nation from foreign invasion and threat. This means libertarians believe it is NOT the government's duty to protect a person from himself, to regulate non-violent non-harmful behavior, to legislate morality, to prosecute victimless crimes, to promote social values, et al.

Another simplified way to view a libertarian philosophy is that it combines a social freedoms espoused by Liberals with the economic freedoms espoused by the Conservatives. We libertarians like to think that we take the best of each of the Democratic and Republican ideologies and throw out all of the garbage.

In a libertarian society, people do not think of the government as their surrogate parent. Unfortunately, today, whenever any thing goes slightly awry, people raise the cry and hue "There oughta be a law!", rather than try to fix things on their own. More laws means bigger government. Bigger government means more taxes and more authority dictated by the government, reducing our personal freedom to act as we see fit.

Below is a list of issues libertarians support:

Over the course of time, I will go over each of the specific items above in greater detail.


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This page last updated June 25, 2008