> When people say things such as "Libertarians don't account for externalities" and use a caricature of a "libertarian utopia" to attack libertarianism at large, it pigeonholes libertarians as extremists, and does not paint a realistic picture of how libertarianism actually influences politics every day.
Is it your contention that people are misrepresenting libertarianism as extremist out of ignorance or malice?
Do you think that is unreasonable to view libertarianism as extreme because people who are 'real' libertarians are forced to run as Republicans, and because in the future the libertarian party is going to become more moderate and reasonable?
I am trying to understand why you expect people to have a nuanced view of a political group that does not present itself as such, because you feel that it should or will be something else.
In the U.S., self-described libertarians as a whole do not uniformly hold the views that you assume they hold. When 11% of people in the U.S. describe themselves as libertarians and correctly identify the term per Pew Research's definition ("someone whose political views emphasize individual freedom by limiting the role of government"), yet only 1.2% of U.S. voters chose the Libertarian Party ticket in the 2020 U.S. presidential election despite a 66.8% turnout rate,* you are not accounting for most libertarians in the U.S. when you limit your awareness of libertarianism to what is presented in the Libertarian Party platform.
Is it your contention that people are misrepresenting libertarianism as extremist out of ignorance or malice?
Do you think that is unreasonable to view libertarianism as extreme because people who are 'real' libertarians are forced to run as Republicans, and because in the future the libertarian party is going to become more moderate and reasonable?
I am trying to understand why you expect people to have a nuanced view of a political group that does not present itself as such, because you feel that it should or will be something else.