Libertarianism, Explained - What is it? 

I was a Libertarian long before I ever heard the word Libertarian. It seems only natural that I have a right to my body and my freedoms and that no other man has more rights than do I. Or that any man has the right to impose his will on me as long as I am not violating anyone else's rights or freedoms. Why is Freedom such a hard idea for most people?

The crux of true libertarianism is essentially this: "Leave me the hell alone, I can handle my own affairs just fine." It's also really the only view that assigns people some measure of intelligence and demands that they be responsible for their own actions. You reap whatever it is you decided to sow; no one is going to tell you what that should be. Use your brain and figure it out for yourself.

I can sum up libertarianism in one word. "Freedom"

I think its not the government's job to have an answer for everything. Does that make me a libertarian?

I am a libertarian. I am pro choice. I believe in equality. I believe it is the womans choice. If someone kills a pregnant woman they should only be charged with one murder. If a man decides that he doesn't want to be a father then he is not to be held accountable for the well being of that child. A women who doesn't want a child is called pro choice, a man who doesn't want a child is called a dead beat. 100% equality, not just when it is convenient for someone.

I love this professor.

THE PARTY OF THE FUTURE!!!

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast” - Peter Drucker. We are more lead by culture than principle, libertarianism means nothing when culture is broken. People just revert to the primitive mindset

Libertarianism in a nut shell is using common sense. If you lack the ability to posses common sense and utilize critically thinking you’ll never find yourself to be a libertarian.

I am a libertarian now and forever. Thank you. You go left, you go right, i'm going straight down the middle. Also, a porcupine vs an elephant... you will jump off, vs a donkey? Please! Less government more liberty! It's good to know where you finally belong. I thought I was a republican; I was growing up. The military and police corruption almost made me into a democrat. Learning where you stand in government is similar to what I imagine enlightenment must feel like

not a moral philosophy? but what about the nonaggression principle?

Listened to this three times all the way through and the only thing I got from this that libertarians want the government controlling and intervening in less parts of the people's daily lives. This smart man said more stuff and I tried to pay attention, it only went in one ear and out the other.

Always Think For Yourself and Question Authority ✌🏾🇺🇲

Since I became a US citizen, I have been researching where I fit in the political spectrum. I took several online tests and quizzes. So far, it looks like I am a pragmatic, realistic, left-leaning libertarian who is most passionate about some of the conservative views.

@novedzor I fully respect that. I didn't mean to come across as someone who fully supports that theory, it was just one that I found while researching Libertarian philosophy. Abortion really is a very difficult and touchy subject. And don't forget, there's always the issue of rape/unconsenting sexual abuse as well. Personally, I find it hard to strongly support either side.

I absolutely disagree with the notion that you can be an interventionalist in foreign policy and remain consistent with libertarianism. A basic and founding principle of libertarianism is the right to personal property in one's self, labor, and things. To aggress against other's property right in the form of foreign intervention or violence directly violates this basic tenant.

"a commitment to never use initiatory force or coercion" Quite interesting quote.... reminds me of 'Ender's Game'

Libertarianism is the most wise political party ever to come into existence!

Hello everybody! I think being a Libertarian is being an Absolutist and a follower of Self-Steemnisn. Ayn Rand describes this definitions in all her books and philosophy and I believe all Libertarians should read her books and learn more about her Romantic Manifest, the Atlas Shugged and specially her book "We The Living" where she predicts accurately what is happening right now in America. Everybody should read these books and follow Ayn Rand's message and philosophy...If you really think and believe that you are a Libertarian. "Hey! Little Apple Where Are You Rolling!

I am Libertarian and a Pagan. I don't follow in one system but a mix between all and no systems- examples sometimes socialism has valid points, sometimes democracy, labour, sometimes even communism in certain controversal aspects and sometimes controversal is the only way sometimes liberal is othertimes labour.. Mostly labour and democracy for me if I do choose. It really does come down to circumstance, peoples positions, fairness and right coutse and reason why at the time of an event or decision etc. I accept what I feel is the best course or option for humans and animals and the planets position in a given time or for the forseeable future. Whether it be alternatives towards climate change, anti-war and war, technological advancments, AI, Computing, education, healthcare, economy, elderly, childcare etc.. I follow the pursuit I feel is best suited to all people rather than specific categories and usally I end up being the one so called annoyinh one (think humane and thoughtfuls the one) in the house/congress who complely votes against the other decisions to come up with a 3rd outside the box alternative or none at all as sometimes there's no concrete solution at the current time without further investigation and questions to the right people! I am a very libetarian person also when it comes to voting I will vote not for the party that's got the most votes or doing better but the one I feel personally is better for the country or wold we rside in (I go for the most humane vote when acceptable to do so) not always the case sometimes you have to get a bit dirty depnding on whom and what the situation. On other occassions I will skip thew process of voting entirely (normally my way) like with Brexit for example I didn't vote but more stayed in the middle because I saw pros and cons for both leaving and staying just with neither really having a stronger hold on the other. I don't vote for anything that's catch 22 or swings and roundabouts I am too open minded and am in search for more alternative options we've never tried before. I always vote against anything regarding genocide, mass assassinations and race and hate wars unless the aggessor is the opposition and we're the defender and have no alternative but to fght in self defense then i'm on par with everyone else. I'm always against child offenses and animal abuse regardless of its nature! Not to be confused with eating to survive over harming with intent. Libertarians can come accross as very confusing, optimisitic and peccimistic and all inbetween. We're not we're simply realistic, intelligent open free thinkers who have no issue getting their hands clean or dirty for the greater good. One thing we are is unpredictable decision makers because we're so open and free minded we tend to make the best calls when others don't see it at first in the end it works out. Libertarians are like the Julio cesar of Emperors and Empresses. Most royals are libetarian reason why they rarely vote unless it's worth it. Sometimes the government don't have a solution regardless of which way they approach a situation. Sometimes it's best to do nothing until the right time to change comes. I find Libetarian people are the best types of people to be friends with, form groupies and circles or movments with. They don't judge and if they do we're open and honest rather than backstabbing lies. Great video good points.

@TheLyricalGal Well corporations are for the most enabled by state intervention, so without state intervention, .i.e. a free market, they would lose almost all of their advantages. Corporations lobby for favorable regulations, regulations that make it harder for competing firms to enter the market. The term corporation comes from being incorporated by the state.

Nothing says autonomous individualism like joining a political party

Can one not be a left-libertarian? The "free-market" is not necessarily most conducive to freedom, neither is it natural.

Pretty much me. Your life, your family, your body, your affiliations, your problems, etc… same with me. If you need help, you can request it. If someone decides to start a charity to help the cause, good for them. Just… don’t force it down someone else’s throat.

I feel like the fundamental libertarian belief basically sums up America, freedom, of virtually everything that doesn’t come at the extent of anyone’s rights. This is how things should be.

What it is is exactly the ideals and values our founders had for this country if principles are adhered to. Why it does not catch on is perplexing. It does not help that they frequently put up off the wall candidates but damn people, it is all about liberty.

"What's called libertarianism in the United States is a significant deviation from traditional libertarian thought.Traditionally,say in Europe,"libertarian" meant the anti-state wing of the socialist party. In the United States,"libertarian" means ultra-capitalist; it means permitting capitalist institutions to function essentially without constraint, or virtually with no constraint.That's a recipe for one of the worst kinds of tyranny that exists: unaccountable corporate tyranny."- Chomsky

I think we could all stand to be a little more libertarian in this day and age

“You have to support free trade” (outsourcing jobs to China) “You have to support the free movement of people” (open borders)

Ive never gotten into politics bc I never agreed with either side and now i know why. Im libertarian. I have found my people!!!

I hope Libertarians will beat Gary Johnson's 5% in 2016.

oh that intro almost has me sold...

Where can I sing up to be a libertarian?

The term corporation actually comes from being incorporated by investors. Etymology does not change whenever you want it to fit your political platform.

Libertarians believe that the most important thing in life is liberty. This guy talks a lot and says nothing.

As someone who has voted Libertarian, he said nothing I don't agree with. Older I get, more Libertarian I become.

He’s speaking specifically to right-libertarianism, as opposed to left-libertarianism.

@stitty contd. Also correlation =/= causation, just because human trafficking increased in Austria and it's legal, doesn't necessarily mean those two are causal, and even if they are making them illegal wouldn't do anything since human trafficking is already illegal.

I'm pretty sure telling someone it's illegal to have an abortion goes against the idea of libertinism. The individual should make their choice not the government

"A collection of many individuals united into one body, under a special denomination, having perpetual succession under an artificial form, and vested, by policy of the law, with the capacity of acting, in several respects, as an individual, particularly of taking and granting property, of contracting obligations, and of suing and being sued, of enjoying privileges and immunities in common, and of exercising a variety of political rights." -Stewart Kyd (first treatise on corporate law 1793-1794)

A new party is formed!!! Libertarian party of argentina! The president of the party is the Libertarian Economist José Luis Espert!

@Neosaigo that is an excellent point but that's all the government should be. A foundation.

Im a republican but everyone keeps callijg me a libertarian... im not sure whst tosle of it

@takadi you're absolutely right, government IS force. So is your little DRO that enforces its will over any land claim or civil dispute. It is the Social Contract that provides us with really good options like "habeus corpus" and "innocent until proven guilty", not anarchy.

"Libertarianism is about freedom" 30 sec later... "You have to support... You have to support... You have to support..." -_-

Munin497 Of course it will. Taxes and regulations are a problem not that much to big corporations which already accumulated enough capital to prosper, but to people who want to get on the market, but the economic system doesn't allow them to since it's to expensive. I won't even mention duties which are being established purely to defend local enterprise from other businesses offering cheaper or/and better products to consumer.

Well, this is me i suppose im a libertarian. I agree with all of these things. 👍

The Economy is The Congress. Democracy, the rule of the people, is based on three pillars 1. Everyone has an equal vote. 2. Voting is not obligatory, ie veto (You may have to vote, but 'none of the above' must be an option). 3. The way you vote is private. Voting with ballots is for suckers. Voting with money is a much better idea. Social Democracy is achieved with unconditional basic income, an equal dividend of tax wealth for everyone, rich and poor alike. Political Democracy, however, can be augmented with a Conditional Income which must be spent in an Ultruistic Congressional Crowd Fund. In this Crowd Fund, everyone has 1. an equal amount of money 2. do not have to take part. 3. are anonymous in their choice. This is how you can use money to vote instead of ballots and make it democratic. By understanding economies as congressional, either partially in the case of UBI, or totally in the case of CBI, we can see we don't really live in a democracy at all, because the power of decision making is not ballots, but money. If we can demand an augmentation to our political system with an Alturistic Congressional Crowd Fund we could transition to a brighter more altruistic future full of potential and opportunity. Let me use an example for the UK, Foreign Aid. Create an Ultruistic Congressional Crowd fund for Foreign Aid, fill it with the campaigns of applicants for this aid, split the budget for foreign aid equally and proportionally as a credit into each citizen's Crowd Fund Account and let the people spend their way to the democratic decision on how that foreign aid money should be spent. Tax needs to be levied on the Demand, in every case. The only fair tax, is a tax on demand. If Tax on demand is levied at every stage of the supply chain (rather than at the end of the supply chain as in the case of UK VAT) the problem is solved. So there is a small tax on each transaction for goods or services; that's how the banks make money, every time someone uses a card to pay for something the bank takes a small percentage. That way we could over time abolish all other taxes like income tax, VAT, inheritence tax etc. Sponsor individuals and tax demand would create a very nice demand driven economy.

What language is he speaking in?

I'm a proud libertarian!

If are infrastructure were left to private enterprises,who are beholden to there stock holders,the price would sky rocket,and they would go to some considerable means to maintain there state connection.

Best explanation on RU-vid.

If you are not libertarian, you are wrong.

Viva la Libertad Carajo🦁

Pure fantasy. A billionaire and Corporation's wet dream. Ripe for Corporate Welfare and exploitation of Wage labor

Libertarianism is originally a word that French social-anarchists and anarcho-egoists (distinctly stirnerites, not randians) used to describe themselves after the government there made it illegal to discuss or advocate anarchism. Then Nozick took the term for his philosophy, which was very much a different one, and critiqued utilitarianism with it, utilitarians shot back with a thought experiment. That basically demonstrated that both utilitarianism and nozick's libertarianism were pretty crummy philosophies. Then Rand came along and took the name egoism from stirner, and slapped a "rational" on the front, deciding that the only "rational" self-interest was to become wealthy and thereby produce things. Stirner's philisophy, by comparison, encouraged people to abandon all concepts that were not altogether backed by reason, as they were fixed ideas; that one should strive to alleviate themselves of such fixed ideas and act in their self interest unfettered by such ideas as religion, capitalism, the state, etc. Stirner himself was a socialist, making it incredibly ironic that so many staunch anti-socialists invoked his name. The same, I suppose, is true of Mr. Orwell. "Libertarianism" died with Nozick's hit on Utilitarianism and the subsequent rebuttal. You are randians.

@hartforest all of what you said argues that property is rightfully the product of labor. my point is that any claim to the commons: the air, the river, the land, the coal, the environment., and most importantly "rights of way" are only secured by a social contract, which I argue is best left to a democratic republic rather than to a monarchy or plutocracy. This is where anarchy fails, and it's an important failure to understand. Why not join the good guys?

@Alexa Vasquez not all companies offer stock, and assuming there would be competition with other companies, the incentive to keep prices low would be strong.

There are Libertarians that aren't pro-choice or close to isolationist? I thought those were two of the most important ideas of the ideology. That's definitely true for the Libertarian party. I know the party is seen as out there by some Libertarians, but no one running in it has these opposing views? What the hell have I been missing!?

Take telephone poles in the city for example. The telephone poles are erected mostly by government contracts, and all types of wire and lines runs through it which the private business use to provide services such as electricity, phone, internet, etc. If the government is too limited, then we will have private companies fighting and monopolizing the poles for business. So the government in fact provides a strong foundation for businesses to thrive, anyone that deny it need to get a brain.

@tomheppy Libertarianism is the absence of moral laws and you argue that that's moral theory? That's akin to the discussion of whether or not atheism is a religion.

so, a whole number of political positions can be hold, but nothing is defined..... sounds like chaos.

Thank you I feel like this is the perfect balance from right and left

Not entirely true. "Corporation" is just a broad label given by the government. Big businesses would certainly still exist in a free market but they would be more efficient and competitive than they are today

To me, one of the main tenets of libertarianism is not imposing one’s will or pressure on others. or at least minimizing it as much as possible. A society where people have the freedom to make choices without coercion or external influence.

I started reading friedman, mises and hayek, ever since ive been a libertarian

@ajsaccount1991 At the local level, purely-voluntary socialism can and has worked. I believe it is actually the natural way humans have evolved to live and the reason the idea of socialism is so popular today. That being said, I do not think it would at anything beyond a small town level. But being a libertarian, one cannot ban voluntary socialism, only oppose forced socialism.

@stitty I'm not sure I know what relevance this has but whatever. Let's say that construction workers began to be kidnapped and held against their will, sold into slavery, essentially they are a part of human trafficking. Does that mean we should ban construction work? Would keeping construction work illegal prevent illegal activities such as the human trafficking of construction workers? contd.

@lookit87 Not sure about your screen, but one of the vidoes listed on the right is a video by billburns2 entitled 'Why Libertarianism is Wrong'. I suggest dealing with his arguments before diving into the shallow cesspool of "libertarianism" so that you can learn about it and drop it now before the indoctrination gets too advanced. The greater the indoctrination, the longer the deprogramming time.

@takadi and I'm all for it... like i said, government should protect the people WITHOUT violating their rights.

Well I'm not necessarily arguing against limited liability, just pointing out that it's done with state intervention. Also limited liability IS enabled by the state, the state handles judicial matters, the fact that company and not the person in charge get's charged with something is something that's decided by the state. So yes it IS enabled by states as are corporations.

When he says that libertarianism is not a moral theory he is wrong. Political philosophy necessarily involves moral theory of some kind.

Libertarian political events are really fun. It's always great to meet ten new dudes and the chick who's sleeping with them.

@JRudolph86 "Libertarian philosophy holds firm to the idea of non-aggression and pro-life" It's not necessarily an act of aggression. Even if we were to grant that the fetus/embryo were alive and, more pertinently, a person, the cessation of a woman and the fetus/embryo living inside of her is no different than a person denying the things needed to save another person's life which is a non-aggressive yet death-inducing act. Still stands accordingly with Libertarian philosophy.

I have a genuine question: I understand the opposition to a notion of some government machine dictating the movement of every person. However, what if we scale down to a community level? If the old woman down the street lost her husband and her bad back makes it hard for her to keep up her house, doesn't libertarianism essentially condemn her to die alone in a collapsing house?

@takadi i certainly didn't say that... you haven't seen the "Libertopia" video on Somalia yet? And I certainly don't support bigotry, I was pointing out the error in the "we're for civil rights" position of the anarchists. In that context, yeah, it was a little funny.

An argument is made very well when using someone with a deep voice & British accent.

It probably means that you shouldn't handle sharp object.

Regards to limited liability, in economic matters it just means the economic burden is spread onto all of the investors. It's more of a way to give an accurate punishment than to "enable" them. The only reason it's an issue is because the Supreme Court ruled "corporations are legally people".

The link to Rand's interview can be found at Ayn Rand playboy interview 1964

The definition of "libertarian" as the anarcho-capitalism of Rothbard, Rockewell and the Mises Institute is a terrible distortion. I am a progressive libertarian, believing that the function of government is to protect the people without violating our rights. This protection can be extended to social welfare. Taxation is not necessarily theft. Government is not evil, but only the corruption of government and/or any violations of human liberty.

@hartforest No, taxation on privileges granted by government is not coersion. Sovereignty isn't coersion. Your claim to 5000 acres of land "because you bought it" is a thin excuse for receiving stolen goods. "Statist" is a rhetorical perjorative used by the Mises crowd to identify anyone who isn't anarchist-enough. It's a secular religion.

Thank you.

Libertarianism is explicitly NOT just a political doctrine. For info on the enormous world movement, and some great thought-tools GOOGLE Libertarian International Organization. Enjoy!

This sounds fine in principle until you realize that economic power always lends itself to aggressive coercion. Regulation keeps kids out of mines.

Limited liability is issued through the state, this is factual. Whatever it's function is, is irrelevant. The fact remains that it's enabled by the state. I can say it again, but whether or not you'll acknowledge it is anyone's guess at this point.

Limited liability is fine though, so long as a corporation is trading for what it's actually worth. And there are multiple forms of limited liability not just the one we use. I see nothing saying that they're inherently enabled by the state. Apart from moving to states with more favorable regulations which normal companies and even small businesses will regularly do.

@Truth77Absolute But there's also the argument that if a woman does not WANT or have any INTENT to bear a child, the fetus is then defined as a parasite, and the woman has every right to remove it.

I see myself as a Libertarian, in that I don't believe governments should be overly involved in the economy or in people's personal lives. So Free Markets - Yes; Very limited, restricted and devolved to autonomous regions, government powers - Absolutely But free movement of people? Across international borders? NO, certainly not Am I not really a Libertarian then?

Being from Slovak republic, I can say I am a libertarian as well. Here in Europe it's truly unbelievable how many people are government bootlickers. I wish that at least you won't end up like us, with a big government and even bigger bureaucratic colossus named the EU

I disagree on some points. Libertarianism is at its heart a moral code of simply live & let live that manifests itself in a person's political views. It is individual freedom of life, choice, and property rights. Many libertarians also believe in limiting the "rule of force", which manifested, is government. To what degree of limit each libertarian is comfortable with depends on the individual, but can range from moderate government regulation to no government at all.

@dajooseovmabawls The modern use of the term "libertarian" is, in fact, what you describe. There is a sect of libertarianism, called anarcho-capitalism, that has been championed for 40 years by well-funded "think tanks" and has remained dominant in the LP since its founding. They would privatize the world, everything, allodial title... a world of serfdom. Government isn't the problem, corruption is the problem. That's what the world is rising up against, not sovereignty itself.

Can a person really be in favor of "free markets"? Is there such a thing as a "free market"? For example, would a free market include patents, trademarks, and copyrights that limit the ability of competitors to take advantage of the work of others? If so, how long should they be in effect? If not, then why invent new things if someone can come along and copy it and sell at a lower price? Also, should a company be able to purchase whatever they want so long as it is not illegal? If so, then companies should be able to purchase lobbyists who get legislatures to vote for policies that are preferentially beneficial to them. Which is to say that a libertarian view on "free markets" can and does lead to the sort of quasi-monopolistic and crony capitalist economic system we have today. Also, what about eminent domain? Should governments be able to force property owners to sell in order to make room for highways, dams, and other public infrastructure? If yes, then is this a massive violation of their property rights? If no, then there's always the possibility of one hold out preventing the construction of infrastructure that would increase the overall freedom of thousands or millions of others. Also, about self-ownership: at what point is a child capable of self-ownership? What are parents allowed to do if their self-owning child demands candy for every meal rather than a healthy diet? Would even the goofy New Age "punishment" of giving the child a "Time Out" be ruled a violation of the child's self-ownership? Finally, since most people around the world are more supportive of larger governments with hefty safety nets, then allowing them the freedom to immigrate to the US means that over time elections will favor policies antithetical to libertarians. So, once again libertarian policies necessarily lead to anti-libertarian political and economic systems. It seems that libertarianism is self-refuting and self-defeating.

I am something between a Libertarian and a Conservative.

I would say libertarianism is more a social doctrine than a political one. Libertarians can be both political and anti-political.

Opposing war should be the number 1 issue when it comes to being a libertarian. "Anti war, anti state, pro market" like LRC dot com says.

does any one have any videos of this with subtitles in chinese or vietnamese ? i need to show this to my parents

@SkepticThink I'm not saying is never wrong, but it doesn't mean he can't have a point or be right.

@stitty contd. Same with prostitution, human trafficking in my eyes doesn't warrant the banning of prostitution and again how would that even work, human trafficking is already illegal.

There are plenty of checks (not cheques) and balances in a free market. If a company sells a bad product, than consumers will not buy from them. If they treat workers poorly, workers will find other jobs. The problem with the term "capitalism" is it includes two very different economic systems: free markets and corporatism. In corporatism, a government helps businesses by giving them stolen money (taxes) and preventing other businesses from competing with them.