Guest column: Libertarianism 101, by leader of The Cato Institute

By Robert A. Levy

Naples

Chairman, The Cato Institute

Libertarianism is a political philosophy grounded on these propositions: Adult individuals have the right and responsibility to decide important matters about their own lives, but they may not infringe on the equal rights of others. Governments role is to secure those rights. The key word, from the Declaration of Independence, is secure, not grant. We do not get our rights from government. Individuals have natural rights, independent of government. Thats a bedrock libertarian principle and, its fair to say, the Founders were libertarians.

Within that framework, consider the polemic against libertarianism by Rev. Michael P. Orsi (Libertarian Candidate Not Good, Naples Daily News, March 16) as reduced to five assertions:

1. Extreme individualism is contrary to the common good.

Libertarians understand the necessity of cooperation to attain personals goals. My colleague, Tom Palmer, observes that individuals can never actually be self-sufficient, which is precisely why we must have rules to make peaceful cooperation possible. Government enforces those rules. The risk, however, is that rules too extensive will produce, not a common good for all, but rather a veneer for a system of special favors to secure largesse for the politically connected at the expense of others. By contrast, individualism promotes the common good, spontaneously, as long as no commanding power preempts freely chosen actions.

2. Belief in every man for himself is incompatible with concern for the poor.

From an ethical perspective, it may be morally right to help the poor; but in a completely free society we should have a political right not to do so. Put differently, a theory of justice is not always congruent with a theory of politics. One can condemn bad conduct without empowering government to take remedial action. Yes, charity is a virtue. But government-compelled charity is a contradiction in terms a political act that negates real charity, which must be voluntary, not coerced.

As it happens, the evidence proves conclusively that more wealth including a greater abundance for the poor is a by-product of individual liberty.

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Guest column: Libertarianism 101, by leader of The Cato Institute