Category Archives: Libertarianism

Libertarianism (part 3 of 3, made with Spreaker)
Source: http://www.spreaker.com/user/bostonred_1/libertarianism Libertarianism is a set of related political philosophies that uphold liberty as the highest ...

By: Boston Red

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Libertarianism (part 3 of 3, made with Spreaker) - Video

Libertarianism (part 2 of 3, made with Spreaker)

By: Boston Red

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Libertarianism (part 2 of 3, made with Spreaker) - Video

Stereotyped for decades as pro-pot, pro-porn and pro-pacifism, libertarians are becoming mainstream.

Fair or not, Ron Paul epitomized to a swath of voters the caricature of a goofy grandpa who invests in gold, stockpiles guns, sees black helicopters whirling overhead and quotes Friedrich Hayek.

His ride into the sunset combined with an evolving electoratess move away from hot-button social issues gives a new libertarian guard the opportunity to rebrand their governing philosophy as more reasonable, serious and compatible with the Republican Party.

Led by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), libertarians hope to become a dominant wing of the GOP by tapping into a potent mix of war weariness, economic anxiety and frustration with federal overreach in the fifth year of Barack Obamas presidency.

(Also on POLITICO: 12 GOP senators back Paul on gun filibuster)

The countrys continuing fixation on fiscal issues, especially spending and debt, allows them to emphasize areas of agreement with conservative allies who are looking for ways to connect with Republicans who arent passionate about abortion or same-sex marriage. A Democratic administration ensures consensus on the right that states should get as much power as possible.

Ron Paul, who has been speaking at college campuses since retiring from the House to Texas at the end of the year, feels that more Republicans are either engaging or co-opting the ideas he spent a career espousing on monetary policy, foreign policy and civil liberties.

The viewpoint of the libertarian is weve been doing the wrong thing for a long time, he said in an interview. The group thats in Washington now is going to have tremendous opportunity because theres a lot more disenchantment.

Its better late than never, he added.

Paul and his allies see the re-examination of their ideas as a return to the Republican tradition. The party nominated Barry Goldwater in 1964, who was by any modern conception one of them. Ronald Reagan proclaimed in a 1975 interview that libertarianism is the heart and soul of conservatism. But small-government westerners were not enough to forge a winning coalition, so the former California governor cozied up to Southern evangelicals ahead of 1980.

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Libertarianism goes mainstream

Maher lib

HBO

Bill Maher on Friday trashed the current wave of libertarianism, singling out Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as "intellectually stuck in their teen years."

"New rule," Maher said on "Real Time with Bill Maher." "Libertarians have to stop ruining libertarianism. Or at least do a better job of explaining the difference between today's libertarian and just being a selfish prick."

Maher, who has described himself as libertarian in the past, said that at some point, "libertarianism morphed into this creepy obsession with free market capitalism" based on Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged."

"Her book has a strange appeal to people who are kind of smart, but not really," he said.

He said libertarianism as it stands now has gone "nuts."

"To everyone who keeps trying to shame me about abandoning my libertarian moorings, my message is this: I didn't go nuts, this movement did," he said. "Like when you see a stoplight, your reaction should be 'Great, an easy way to ensure we don't all crash into each other,' not, 'How dare the government tell me when I can and cannot go? Seatbelts? I refuse to live in a nanny state. I'm an individual and I want to soar free as an eagle -- right through the windshield."

Content warning -- some strong language:

Excerpt from:
Bill Maher Bashes Rand Paul & Paul Ryan for ‘Ruining Libertarianism ’

Editor's note: Yahoo News asked young libertarian-minded voters to share why they're drawn to the either the Libertarian Party or to libertarian political principles in general. Here's one first-person account we received this week.

FIRST PERSON | My name is Nancy Hernandez. I'm 33 years old, and I am probably on the Department of Homeland Security's terrorist watch list. I live in a small city called Van Buren, which is located on the Arkansas-Oklahoma border. I've lived in this area most of my life, and I love it here.

I am also a staunch constitutionalist. As a result, though I'm not registered with the Libertarian Party, I have very strong libertarian leanings. I believe in the right to the right to bear arms, personal liberty, small government, and free enterprise. I believe that more government is never the answer to any problem that our nation is facing, and I believe that the current size of our government is a hindrance, rather than a help, to our economy. It is also a massive threat to personal liberty, and the U.S. Constitution.

There was a time when I was blinded by the words of the two bigger parties. In fact, until recently, I was a registered Democrat. It was inevitable that I changed my registration.

On July 4, 2009, I took my first real steps toward libertarianism. I realized how much it angered me that Independence Day had become nothing more than an excuse to party and light fireworks. Few people even stop to think about what the holiday actually symbolizes. This anger resulted in an open "Letter to America," which later resulted in a book called "Letters From an American Woman," (which can be found at Createspace.com) that I co-authored with my best friend.

The process of writing this book included a great deal of research that made me even angrier. I uncovered legislation, introduced by both Republicans and Democrats, that is designed to strip liberties and grow government. For instance, many people know about the Patriot Act, but how many of you have actually read the text? Then there is Presidential Directive 51, signed by Bush 43, which gives the president unprecedented and far-reaching powers.

Also of concern is The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. There are many more, and I cover some of them in my Yahoo! Voices article, The Coming U.S. Revolution. I discovered the true extent of the nation's current financial problems, and the extent to which our legislators are willing to go to deceive the American public.

Since writing my book, I pulled my children (ages 5, 11, and 14) out of public school, took steps toward going "off the grid," such as buying a generator and building wind turbines, started a garden, and I have begun stockpiling food. There are those who have begun calling me a conspiracy theorist, but I disagree. What I am is an American citizen who has done her homework, done incredibly in depth research, and I have reached intelligent conclusions. Our government is collapsing in upon itself, and our only hope as a nation may very well rest with the Libertarian Party.

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Commentary: Libertarianism Is America's Last Best Hope

Fischer - The Dangers Of Libertarianism.

By: Rodrigo rodrigues

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Fischer - The Dangers Of Libertarianism. - Video

Cultural libertarianism

By: greenghost2008

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Cultural libertarianism - Video

Welcome to the Libertarianism.org Youtube Channel!
A 30-second trailer introducing Libertarianism.org #39;s Youtube channel. Subscribe for updates!

By: LibertarianismDotOrg

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Welcome to the Libertarianism.org Youtube Channel! - Video

Conservative leaders are changing their opinions on marriage equality.

Between Sen. Rob Portman's (R-Ohio) recent announcement that he supports marriage equality and the spate of similar sentiments being voiced at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), it seems that every day the media is highlighting another powerful conservative figure speaking out in favor of marriage equality, and this is undeniably a victory for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movement. However, even as we savor the welcome impact of this bipartisan support, a note of caution is advised: Much of this trend can be credited to an increasingly prominent libertarian strand in the conservative movement, and it would be unwise to mistake this philosophical shift as a victory for LGBT equality. Libertarianism will not lead us to victories on behalf of the LGBT community, because it is based on a premise that is fundamentally at odds with equality for the LGBT community.

Libertarianism can be praised for its consistency. While liberals and conservatives both vacillate between favoring big government in some situations and decrying government intrusion in others, libertarians call for limited government across the line. But its value of being a completely pure ideological position is dwarfed by the weakness of it being completely untenable.

Libertarianism tells us that freedom is the ultimate good and that it should be maximized, so in order to accomplish that, we must limit government intervention, which restricts free action. Here's the problem with that premise: Freedom isn't simply the absence of government. It's the absence of any force stopping people from doing what they have a right to do. If we take away government, we aren't left with freedom; we're left with anarchy.

Put another way, freedom isn't my right to live unless someone stronger wants to kill me; it is my right to live even if someone stronger wants to kill me.

The concept of freedom is based on the ability to exercise rights, and that ability doesn't exist without some mechanism in place to ensure that all people can actually do so. Freedom needs the existence of government. The argument that more government means less room in our lives for freedom is logically no different from the argument that more cookie dough leaves less room in the oven for cookies.

Achieving LGBT equality will require ensuring the freedom to exercise equal rights, which includes the right to get married, but also the right to work, access fair and affordable housing, make use of public accommodations and live in communities and go to school free from fear of violence, harassment and intimidation. The libertarian premise that without government intervention everyone would be free to do what they want is simply a myth for marginalized communities. True equality for the LGBT community will require government intervention.

The newly anointed standard bearer of the libertarian movement, Rand Paul, has all but announced that he will be running for president in 2016. Before Paul became the darling of some civil libertarians for staging a 13-hour-long filibuster on the use of drone strikes and becoming the Solomon of the marriage equality fight (spoiler alert: The government doesn't have to recognize marriage equality if it stops recognizing marriage!), he was best known for criticizing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as an example of government overreach.

To be fair, that controversial position is not, as many incorrectly claimed, an endorsement of discrimination. Instead, it is based on the view that private enterprises and organizations should have a "right" to decide for themselves whether to discriminate, and, presumably, that the rest of us have a right to withhold support from businesses that choose to discriminate, thus making it financially unattractive for them to continue doing so. However, without government protection, the freedom of vulnerable communities to engage in all aspects of public life becomes contingent upon whether the majority so abhors the notion of discrimination that it bands together and makes it financially untenable for businesses to discriminate.

Though Paul is (fortunately) not in a position to jeopardize the Civil Rights Act, the no-government philosophy he champions poses a real threat to the legislative priorities of the LGBT community. The LGBT community needs laws that would offer protections similar to the Civil Rights Act, such as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), the Housing Opportunities Made Equal Act (HOME) and other federal legislation that will guard against discrimination. The unrealistic notion that equality can be achieved without government enforcement and protection of fundamental rights and freedoms is not a workable solution to LGBT discrimination. In the fight for LGBT equality, the notion that libertarianism can sustain us is a dangerous myth.

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Maya Rupert: The Myth of Libertarianism and the Fight for LGBT Equality

introduction to libertarianism

By: John Winters

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introduction to libertarianism - Video