Libertarianism

Libertarianism is a political philosophy that advocates a minimal state in which the government is to be strictly limited in it's functions and capacity. Libertarianism places great emphasis is on individual rights and freedom. It is a political philosophy that SD.net has recently been focusing on more.

Common Libertarian Beliefs

• Reduction of state-run programs down to as few as possible. Libertarians generally favor police forces and a minimal standing army; some support public schools in some for or another.
• De-federalization
• Capitalism, usually with plans to remove regulatory laws on corporations such as anti-trust laws and minimum wages
• Abolition of welfare programs
• Militant opposition to gun-control
• Non-confrontational foreign policy
• Strong belief in separation of church and state
• Elimination of victim-less crimes from the law books (prostitution, drugs, seatbelts, etc.)
• Minimal taxation, if any (extreme Libertarians see taxation as theft)

A closely related concept is anarcho-capitalism (most notably expounded by one L. Neil Smith), which advocates complete abolition of government, replacing it with corporations. Anarcho-capitalists are -- for all intents and purposes -- religiously devoted to the concept of “the Invisible Hand of the market”. Even among Libertarians, these guys are seen as lunatics, as their knee-jerk response to any criticism often starts with "Hey, I am a Libertarian, but not one of those anarcho-capitalist morons".

Criticism

Even with a few self-described “Small L libertarians” in the board’s established population, Libertarianism is for the most part highly criticized by SD.net's population for its lack of regulation; how its wealth redistribution would lead to the emergence of a few corporate monopolies; the fact that it removes environmental codes which would lead to massive ecological damage; the effects of legalization of hard drugs on society; the fact that sometimes it makes sense to drag someone away from being stupid; and effectively making the government small, dumb, and weak, especially making it vulnerable during wartime.

External Links

• Critiques of Libertarianism is a site with well thought-out criticism of Libertarianism and common libertarian arguments.