In the modern era of politics, it is rare to see anyone who isn’t Democrat or Republican become one of our major choices. Both parties have changed their views and sides and become too radical or loose with their morals. You could list the third party candidates that were successful in their run for the presidency on one, maybe two hands. Even parties like Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln were just Republicans in disguise.
Libertarianism is a political party that “respect for individual rights [are] essential precondition for a free and prosperous world, that force and fraud must be banished from human relationships, and that only through freedom can peace and prosperity be realized,” According to lp.org.
This can translate into many things. Everyone deserves freedom, and that freedom should not be infringed upon in every aspect of someone’s life. Specifically, the “right to engage in any activity that is peaceful and honest.”
Their slogan seems very encouraging and even states that freedom brings diversity. Many consider libertarians to be on the conservative side, but their open statement does not reflect that ideal. For instance ”Individuals own their bodies and have rights over them that other individuals, groups, and governments may not violate.” This can be translated to paying for your sins or being free with your right to choose.
This is where the ideals can split off as some of these loose translations can either be taken as, let’s say, conservative or liberal. Even though the Libertarian party claims to not lean left or right, there will always be differing opinions and views. Here are some claims about each stance and their views.
Conservative-Libertarian
Like the name suggests a conservative-libertarian tends to have more conservative viewpoints. This can range from anything like abortion, homeland security, immigration, or taxes. The idea for libertarians is that people are free, but not so free to hinder others’ freedoms.
“We find the libertarian worldview mostly appealing, but aren’t totally sold on open borders fanaticism, free-market purism, or dogmatic anti-government ideology.” According to Brad Polumbo of young voices writing in libertarian.org.
He goes onto state that conservatarianism is an emerging ideology. Just like Libertarians, they believe individual freedoms are important, but also understand that the government has its place. They believe immigration is an integral part, “even illegal,” is important to the economy. That being said the conservative stance is that if you want to live here you should have the right, but you need to go through the proper channels. Many support DACA, but adults who come here knowing they are breaking the law should be held accountable for their actions.
They also do not believe in abolishing government altogether. Many support capitalism but understand government roles in things like education and welfare. The legalization of drugs and prostitution is also a large difference with ideals. They believe that they should still be held as a social stigma, but do not completely agree with measures being taken to fight them.
Lastly is the pro-choice or pro-life stance on abortion. Conservatarians believe in pro-life stances and hold life in high regard as they believe that abortion should be outlawed, coinciding with the idea that your freedom should not hinder someone else’s freedom nor harm another person. Though it is argued when is it a baby, the pro-life stance fits with the interpretive moral code on libertarianism, although not all libertarians see it that way such as the 2020 presidential candidate, Jo Jorgensen.
Though Conservatarians are highly critical of many issues, they tend to have what Tyler Cowen, an economist, and teacher at George Mason University, would call a “State Capacity Libertarianism.” They believe the government has its place to protect our freedoms, but should not overstep its boundaries that hinder the freedoms of its citizens.
Traditional-Libertarian
Libertarianism is, at its core, liberal. Though just because they are liberal does not mean they fully align with the new democratic party views. In a sense, it is almost as close to anarchy as you can get without giving up entirely on the government. Capitalism is key, the government is sparse if not void, and freedom is freedom.
Ultimately though the original thought is to maximize individual power and limit government, economic, and social institutional influence. Though many compare it with socialistic, it goes beyond helping your neighbor, and it is helping yourself. It is not up to a government to provide but to uphold the freedoms of the individual. It is also liberalism that brought the idea of separating church and state.
When this ideology was founded, the ruling power was the catholic church and religious ideals. With the founding of the separation of church and state seeming to be a no-duh thought in our society, this was a big deal. We still see religious views coming into play with political candidates. Gay marriage was being held back because of religious thought, but according to a liberalist, this would have been against their right. If we had libertarians as presidents during these times or even in more points in office, an issue like LGBT rights wouldn’t be a thing because everyone deserves freedom.
It also proposed voluntarism “- philanthropy and donations-” in place of taxes. Though this is not necessarily the views of today’s libertarian, this is more a classic train of thought.
In today’s modern definition libertarian is “fiscally conservative and socially liberal.” Equality for all and open borders is a big difference in many other trains of thought. Even the Democratic party still wants restrictions while libertarians want as little as possible.
There are many trains of thought that Traditional-libertarians can follow, and with the economic side of things, traditionally follow laissez-faire capitalism. This is a form of capitalism where the individual economic exchange no intervention. Many argue this can lead to monopolies and business hierarchies rather than the government rule. Though given the ideas presented, if it came to restricting freedoms then the government could intervene. An extreme case would be human trafficking. Though this is a sick business venture in the eyes of some, if it restricts another’s right to freedom with slavery, then intervention will occur.
To put these ideas into practice would be difficult in today’s black and white world. Even if there are only two options, some of these ideas could be implemented more into the two major political ideologies ruling our country.
What to Choose
There is no right or wrong way of thinking of these political ideologies. Both have their ups and downs, their faults and bonuses. Every political idea comes down to what the individual wants and what benefits them. In a way, everyone has some libertarian thoughts. It was libertarian ideas implemented when founding this country and, though different, are the foundations for many political trains of thought.
Democrats and Republicans seem to be the only choices nowadays, but just remember that there is always someone else, not just the too hot or too cold options, but just right. There is no two trains of thought but thousands. Freedom is never an option that should be infringed, but that does not mean you should get away with murder either.
We as a people need to sit down and figure out what works best. You can be conservatarian but are pro-choice. You can be mostly traditional with more conservative views on the economy. The choice is yours to be more than just two parties and two ideas. Make the choice that suits you and be happy knowing you have a choice.
