What's interesting to me is that even though the definitions of Liberal (especially definition # 5 in your post) and Libertarian are similar, they couldn't be more different schools of thought in this country. Liberals in this country want more state control, more collectivism, and less freedom of the individual. Libertarians want the opposite. So I am for gay marriage, not because I believe it is moral or immoral, but because I don't believe our Constitution grants the authority to the government to get involved or have a say in what two consenting adults decide to do with each other, as long as it doesn't harm others. Democrats on the other hand are for gay marriage, because they are taking a moral stand and want to impose that on the whole nation. You see the difference? I am a Libertarian and that means many of my social policies are very aligned with Democrats, but it also means I am against a lot of the collectivism, statism, and other forms of government encroachment that many Democrats are for. However, I am not too Libertarian, because I believe in regulation, enforcement of contracts, and government involvement to level the playing field, as well as to provide the foundations of civil society, such as police, military, and other critical services.
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Libertarianism is the group of political philosophies that advocates minimizing coercion and emphasizes freedom, liberty, and voluntary association. Libertarians generally advocate a society with significantly less government compared to most present day societies. |
