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The Nolan chart, a diagram of the placement of US-style libertarianism and other contemporary affiliations.

Libertarianism is a political philosophy emphasizing social and religious freedoms, equality before the law, free markets, limited government, and individual rights. [1]

Etymology

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The word libertarian was first recorded by William Belsham in 1789 to describe philosophical proponents of liberty and free will, though its meaning has evolved over time and currently varies by geographical location. In the United States, the term libertarianism is often used interchangeably with Classical Liberalism[1], though scholars Noam Chomsky, Colin Ward and others note the term "libertarianism" is globally considered a synonym for anarchism and that the United States is unique in widely associating it with free market ideology.[2][3][4]

In 2010, the Libertarian Party offered the following contemporary definition, as used in the United States:

Libertarians support maximum liberty in both personal and economic matters. They advocate a much smaller government; one that is limited to protecting individuals from coercion and violence. Libertarians tend to embrace individual responsibility, oppose government bureaucracy and taxes, promote private charity, tolerate diverse lifestyles, support the free market, and defend civil liberties.[5][6]

This article covers the US definition, for others see Libertarianism or Libertarianism (disambiguation).

History

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(Note: This an exact copy of the nice work done in the orphaned Lib in US page: Libertarianism in the United States)

In the 1950s many with classical liberal beliefs in the United States began to describe themselves as "libertarian."[7] Arizona United States Senator Barry Goldwater's libertarian-oriented challenge to authority had a major impact on the libertarian movement,[8] through his book The Conscience of a Conservative and his run for president in 1964.[9] Goldwater's speech writer, Karl Hess, became a leading libertarian writer and activist.[10]

The Vietnam War split the uneasy alliance between growing numbers of self-identified libertarians, anarchist libertarians, and more traditional conservatives who believed in limiting liberty to uphold moral virtues. Libertarians opposed to the war joined the draft resistance and peace movements and organizations such as Students for a Democratic Society. They began founding their own publications, like Murray Rothbard's The Libertarian Forum[11][12] and organizations like the Radical Libertarian Alliance.[13]

The split was aggravated at the 1969 Young Americans for Freedom convention, when more than 300 libertarians organized to take control of the organization from conservatives. The burning of a draft card in protest to a conservative proposal against draft resistance sparked physical confrontations among convention attendees, a walkout by a large number of libertarians, the creation of libertarian organizations like the Society for Individual Liberty, and efforts to recruit potential libertarians from conservative organizations.[14] The split was finalized in 1971 when conservative leader William F. Buckley, Jr., in a 1971 New York Times article, attempted to divorce libertarianism from the freedom movement. He wrote: "The ideological licentiousness that rages through America today makes anarchy attractive to the simple-minded. Even to the ingeniously simple-minded."[15]

In 1971, David Nolan and a few friends formed the Libertarian Party.[16] Attracting former Democrats, Republicans and independents, it has run a presidential candidate every election year since 1972. By 2006, polls showed that 15 percent of American voters identified themselves as libertarian.[17] Over the years, dozens of libertarian political parties have been formed worldwide. Educational organizations like the Center for Libertarian Studies and the Cato Institute were formed in the 1970s, and others have been created since then.[18]

Philosophical libertarianism gained a significant measure of recognition in academia with the publication of Harvard University professor Robert Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia in 1974. The book won a National Book Award in 1975.[19] According to libertarian essayist Roy Childs, "Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia single-handedly established the legitimacy of libertarianism as a political theory in the world of academia."[20]

Texas congressman Ron Paul's 2008 and 2012 campaigns for the Republican Party presidential nomination were largely libertarian. Paul is affiliated with the libertarian-leaning Republican Liberty Caucus and founded the Campaign for Liberty, a libertarian-leaning membership and lobbying organization.

Main Tenets

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According to Boaz (1998), Libertarians generally agree on the following main tenets[21]:

Notes

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Much more to come:...

I especially want to cover Libertarianism (as defined in the US) existing elsewhere. It is called other names, but we can talk about how this philosophy is present elsewhere.

And maybe one more note about how folks outside the US (freely and rightly) use the word "libertarianism" to mean other things, with links to them.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Boaz, Kirby (2006). The Libertarian Vote". Cato Institute. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  2. ^ The Week Online Interviews Chomsky, Z Magazine, February 23, 2002.
  3. ^ Colin Ward, Anarchism: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 62. "For a century, anarchists have used the word 'libertarian' as a synonym for 'anarchist', both as a noun and an adjective. The celebrated anarchist journal Le Libertaire was founded in 1896. However, much more recently the word has been appropriated by various American free-market philosophers..."
  4. ^ Fernandez, Frank. Cuban Anarchism. The History of a Movement, Sharp Press, 2001, p. 9.
  5. ^ "Libertarian Party 2010 Platform". The Libertarian Party. May 2010. p. 1. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
  6. ^ Watts, Duncan (16 March 2006). Understanding American government and politics: a guide for A2 politics students (2nd Revised ed.). Manchester University Press. p. 246. ISBN 978-0719073274.
  7. ^ Russell, Dean (May 1955). "Who Is A Libertarian?". The Freeman. 5 (5). The Foundation for Economic Education. Retrieved March 6, 2010.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  8. ^ Henry J. Silverman, American radical thought: the libertarian tradition, p. 279, 1970, Heath publishing.
  9. ^ Robert Poole, In memoriam: Barry Goldwater – Obituary, Reason Magazine, August–Sept, 1998.
  10. ^ Hess, Karl. The Death of Politics, Interview in Playboy, July 1976.
  11. ^ Murray Rothbard, The Early 1960s: From Right to Left, excerpt from chapter 13 of Murray Rothbard The Betrayal of the American Right, Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2007.
  12. ^ Ronald Lora, William Henry Longton, Conservative press in 20th-century America, p. 367-374, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999, ISBN ,
  13. ^ Marc Jason Gilbert, The Vietnam War on campus: other voices, more distant drums, p. 35, 2001, Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN0275969096,
  14. ^ Rebecca E. Klatch, A Generation Divided: The New Left, the New Right, and the 1960s, University of California Press, 1999 ISBN , 215–237.
  15. ^ Jude Blanchette, What Libertarians and Conservatives Say About Each Other: An Annotated Bibliography, LewRockwell.com, October 27, 2004.
  16. ^ Bill Winter, "1971–2001: The Libertarian Party's 30th Anniversary Year: Remembering the first three decades of America's 'Party of Principle'" LP News
  17. ^ The Libertarian Vote, by David Boaz and David Kirby. Cato Institute policy analysis paper 580, October 18, 2006. The Libertarian Vote
  18. ^ International Society for Individual Liberty Freedom Network list.
  19. ^ David Lewis Schaefer, Robert Nozick and the Coast of Utopia, The New York Sun, April 30, 2008.
  20. ^ The Advocates Robert Nozick page.
  21. ^ Boaz, David (1998) Key Concepts of Libertarianism, The Cato Institute, April 30, 2012.