WHAT IS A LIBERTARIAN?

By Jason Spencer

“What is a Libertarian?” is often a question I am asked when espousing my political views. To answer that question, I would like to dispel a common myth: Libertarians are not pot smoking Republicans. Somewhere along the way, libertarianism has been branded as a hedonistic ethic. Libertarianism is not a moral value system or ethic, it is a political theory. Recently, libertarian political thought had made a rise in political circles, especially among conservatives who feel the current political climate is not congruent with the founding principles of the United States. Libertarianism offers a way for the country to guide itself back to its founding principles and among those principles is liberty. Lord Acton once said that “liberty is the highest political end”—not necessarily the highest end in everyone’s personal value system. Hence, when liberty is not seen as the highest political end, then degrees of totalitarianism (or collectivism) dominate politics.

Libertarianism is defined as a political theory which states that everyone should be free from violent invasion and malicious coercion; therefore, the individual is sovereign and should be free to do as one sees fit except invade the person or property of another. This theory is not and does not pretend to be a complete set of moral beliefs; however, it does act as a subset of moral theory by dealing with the proper role of violence and aggression in social life. This is very simple and in essence the Golden Rule. Therefore, this non-aggression principle is the cornerstone upon which libertarianism is rooted in and based. It tells us that theft, murder, and rape are evils that violate another’s natural right to life and property for example. Furthermore, the only proper role of violence is to defend person and property against violence, and that any use of violence that goes beyond such just defense is itself aggressive, unjust, and criminal.

Libertarians apply the non-aggression principle to both individuals who act as aggressors and also to the government. Government is distinguished from every other group in society as being the institution of organized violence since it is suppose to be the defender of property and individual rights, especially under our form of government. Unfortunately, a closer examination of the government reveals that it knowingly commits acts of aggression to promote certain polices and the interests of special groups, which in fact makes it an agent of aggression—not a defender of rights and property. This is the essence of tyranny. Government must be restrained in its capacity to use violence only to defend and not to aggress.

Another inquiry that is often posed is the differences between a libertarian and a conservative. While libertarians maintain that a free society is dependent upon a moral and just people, it does not seek to use the power of the state through laws to compel virtues on society or preserve a traditionalist morality unlike many conservatives. Libertarians believe the transmission of culture should be done through the family and the churches. Libertarians affirm that individuals have to decide for themselves to follow an ethic that defines their morality. Many libertarians do not follow a prescribed religion; however, many do as a way to set their moral compass. Albeit, for many years the United States has been a secular nation observing no established state religion, our Constitution, laws, and social mores have been based on the concept of Natural Rights, which are rooted in the Judeo-Christian ethic. Many of the philosophers our founders studied were of the Judeo-Christian ethic while some were not. Libertarians do not ignore this fact and are easily seen supporting conservatives in their political plight against Leftist thinking. This is because most libertarians understand that the major tenets of traditional morality, which have stood the test of time, serve an important role in society.

Leftists, or now the so-called “Progressives”, believe that the collective rights of a group supersede those of the individual. This is simply known as collectivism. Progressives ultimately see the family unit as an impediment to controlling the individual. Unfortunately over the years, conservatives in the Republican Party have used collectivist tactics to protect traditionalist morality, instead of allowing competing social ideas to emerge. I purport that many conservatives have used the power of the state to compel virtues on society. Conservatives contend that they are protecting “freedom” when justifying their need to protect traditionalist ideas of morality. Freedom is a vague term and is often used when justifying the actions of the state. For example, many things have been defended in the “name of freedom” that many libertarians reject, such as redistribution of wealth (“freedom of want”), an interventionist foreign policy (to help advance the “freedom from fear” of oppressed peoples throughout the globe), or public education (to maximize “freedom of ignorance”).

With the intervention of government in family lives through public education, and in churches via funding of “faith based initiatives”, it is no wonder why conservatives have tried to “fight fire with fire”. Unfortunately, conservatives have failed to realize that their very use of wrong-headed collectivist tactics hinders the freedom and liberty which they seek. After all, settlers from Europe were seeking refuge from religious persecution to freely worship as they saw fit. Mistakenly, conservatives have brought today’s battle for moral righteousness back in the hands of the government and run the risk of unionizing Church and State. Historically, the union of Church and State has been in many instances a mutually reinforcing coalition for tyranny. This is in essence a “moral socialism”. I fear that this is what has turned the Republican Party into a statist reflection of the Democratic Party. Conservatives now take the position of “taming” Big Government instead of “slaying” it due to misguided tactics.

Finally, libertarians advocate decentralization, the idea that power should be as widely dispersed throughout society as possible. Libertarianism is simple and proceeds from a single concept: the primacy of individual liberty that, in turn, infuses notions of free markets, limited government and the importance of property rights.

EDITOR’S NOTE: With the formation of a Libertarian Party in Southeast Georgia and Camden County, this article is the first of a series of articles on the Libertarian Party and its platform and principals. The views of the party and its members do not necessarily represent those of the editor or any of the staff. However, we do encourage the presentation of all views. Our masthead reads: THE CLARION ISSUE: Counter Editorials and Opinions on Current Events and Attitudes.