
Understanding Libertarians - tryitnow
http://dreamcafe.com/2016/03/02/understanding-libertarians/
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throwaway2016a
Side question:

Why do so many people think Libertarians are right-leaning? Most Libertarians
I know are very much more center. Some left-leaning people even call
Libertarian's a branch of the Republican party which I think is completely
absurd.

I'm a Libertarian and I believe in environmentalism, prison reform, pro
woman's health and a great many "left" issues. In fact, I think any true
Libertarian must be an environmentalist since it is impossible to pollute the
environment without infringing on others.

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zzalpha
So, caveat, this is my colloquial understanding of the ideology. I don't
profess expertise. That said...

For most folks, libertarians are just... confusing.

To many, rightly or wrongly, "conservative" equates to things like free market
dogmatism, some subset of individual freedoms (gun rights, property rights,
etc), states rights/federalism, etc.

Libertarians often share many of these views.

To many, rightly or wrongly, "liberal" equates to a different set of
individual freedoms (abortion, gay marriage, liberalized drug laws, etc),
anti-corporatism, environmentalism, etc.

Libertarians often share many of these views as well.

So what makes libertarians unique is their extreme position on individual
rights and free market economics. This leads them to hold views that cross the
traditional left-right spectrum in unexpected ways.

Now, that said, I think it's fair to say that if you drew a Venn diagram of
views covering the left-right spectrum, and then drew a circle around
"typical" libertarianism, that circle would skew to the right, naturally
placing them moreso in the Republican sphere (though there are many many
reasons why they're an ill fit for that party). Doubly so if you take social
conservatives out of the equation (which is where, I would claim, most of the
libertarian/Republican disagreements typically lie).

To me, this just highlights the failings of a binary left/right view of
politics, hence the advent of the Political Compass:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_compass](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_compass)

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throwaway2016a
Thank you, this is very insightful.

I agree about your venn diagram. There is a reason we call Ron Paul
Libertarian-ISH though, but some news sources drop the "ish". (just to cherry
pick an example)

I'm of the personal opinion that there are many people on both sides who are
Libertarians but won't call themselves Libertarians for one of two reasons:

1\. Fear of being called crazy or associated with a subset of Libertarians who
are very extreme

2\. It's throwing away a vote (or if you're a politician, it's
disenfranchising the base) *

* Disclaimer, I voted for Obama in 2008 but I did vote for Gary Johnson (the LP candidate) in 2012 and I think if enough people do that we can break the two part system for good.

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ciryon
Fundamentally misunderstood. Your property is not yours because the state
allows it. It is yours from the beginning, by "natural right". If the state,
or anyone else, takes it against your will it's theft.

