What do the Libertarians believe?

Answer 1

To put it simply, Libertarians believe that you have the right to live your life as you wish, without the government interfering -- as long as you don't violate the rights of others. Politically, this means Libertarians favor rolling back the size and cost of government, and eliminating laws that stifle the economy and control people's personal choices.

Unlike liberals or conservatives, Libertarians advocate a high degree of both personal and economic liberty. In a sense, Libertarians "borrow" from both sides to come up with a logical and consistent whole -- but without the exceptions and broken promises of Republican and Democratic politicians.

For example, Libertarians agree with conservatives about freedom in economic matters; in favor of lowering taxes, slashing bureaucratic regulation of business, and charitable -- rather than government -- welfare. But Libertarians also agree with liberals on personal tolerance; in favor of people's right to choose their own personal habits and lifestyles.

Should I join the Libertarian Party?

Ask yourself: Is government too big or too small? Are taxes too high

or too low? Does the government regulate my business too much or too

little? Does the government control my personal life too much or not

enough?

If you agree, like most Americans, that government is too large, too

expensive, and meddles too much, the Libertarian Party is for you!

Answer 2

Libertarians believe that any taxation is theft. They believe that the government, if any, will be funded by private donations as the result of the wealth of the citizens from the removal of taxes. Social programs will be funded by private donations.

The above is a bit extreme. Libertarians certainly don't believe that all taxation is theft, nor that there should be no taxes of any kind.

Rather, the libertarian model is for a very minimal government, with very strictly circumscribed (limited) powers. As such, a libertarian government should require a very low level of taxation to support. Within the libertarian philosophy, there is no agreement as to what type of taxes should be levied to support such a government, though I do believe that consumption (sales/VAT) taxes are more favored than others. I suspect that if you got a group of libertarians together, they'd end up suggesting the use of many different tax forms to fund the limited government they want.

Personally, while I find the libertarian ideal foolishly naive, it's not an illogical or irrational one (just one which would have a very low chance of working for very long). It recognizes that the government has a valid purpose, and that it is in the best interests of everyone in a libertarian society to insure that said government is fully funded, and that mandatory taxation is the best way to make sure of that.

Answer 3

You have the moral right to do as you wish as long as you do not infringe on the similar rights of others, such as by force or fraud. Government's proper role is limited to preserving liberty.

Answer 4

Libertarians believe in the reduction of government in all aspects. Most Libertarians believe there are two legitimate purposes of government, to protect citizens from force (such as theft, murder, rape, invasion, etc.) and from fraud (such as false advertising, misrepresentation of a product, etc.). Libertarians believe that the government should reduce taxes on everyone, privatize as much of the government as possible, create a foreign policy based on honest friendship rather than fighting expensive wars, create a stable currency based on some fixed, valuable commodity (such as the Gold Standard) and generally reduce government influence in our lives. Libertarians believe in personal responsibility and believe that unless you are violating the rights of others you should be allowed to do as you see fit. The primary Libertarian philosophy for a few issues are:

The government should not endorse, sponsor or otherwise be involved with marriage. They believe that marriage is a matter of personal and religious preferences and should be seen as any other partnership. You will find Libertarians who believe homosexual marriage is not morally wrong and you will find some Libertarians that believe that homosexual marriage is morally wrong. However, they do not believe that it is the government's job to oversee marriage.

The government should not control what we consume. People should be held responsible for their actions no matter what. Libertarians point to the prohibition of alcohol and how that caused massive amounts of crime, not because of the alcohol but because of the government's ban on it. They see the same thing happening with the "war on drugs" where we are spending money and fueling violence because of the ban on drugs. Most Libertarians do not condone the use of drugs, but they see the costs of drug prohibition to be higher than the effects of the drugs themselves. They believe that someone is responsible for their own actions and must deal with the consequences, if someone decides to drive recklessly, no matter if they are sober, high, drunk, etc. they should face the consequences for driving recklessly.

Libertarians believe in the right to bear arms. They believe that so long as you can safely store your arms, you should be allowed to have them.

Libertarians believe in ending wars rather than starting them. They oppose US intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan along with the "War on Drugs" and other armed conflicts around the world.

Libertarians believe that government projects should be first reduced, but secondly be funded through user fees, not taxes. For example, you would pay if you drive on a government-sponsored road. However, if you didn't drive, you wouldn't have to pay. Libertarians believe that taxation is theft when it is used to take from one person to give to another.

Some of the issues though, Libertarians are rather divided, for example, on abortion there are some Libertarians who view a baby in the mother's womb as an extension of the mother and it is hers to do as she wishes. Just like it is a right to dye your hair a certain colour, it is her right to choose what to do with her pregnancy. There are others however, who believe that life starts at conception and believe it isn't an extension of your own body and rather that baby counts as a new individual who's rights need protected from force (murder) in an abortion. Both are rather popular and both are solid Libertarian philosophies. However, both sides agree abortions shouldn't be government funded.
The libertarians want an unregulated free market economy . They also would like a world with privatized social security .

Answer 5

Liberty