Oftentimes within the fray of rhetorical battle one forgets what this is all about. Sometimes the details tend to drawn the important ideas. Sometimes it is good to go to first principles and look up close and personal, what it is that we want. Well… this is one of those days.
We get it, you may be a tad upset because you were expecting something more entertaining, we too. But this is really good stuff, worth re-reading. Trust us on this one.
Libertarianism can -arguably- be defined by ten simple points. They are:
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1 |
Liberty (freedom) is the primary goal |
We should strive for systems that always increase freedoms (e.g. the Master Contract). As all governments always restrict freedoms, they are not acceptable. |
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2 |
The individual is more important than the collective |
People matter. Every individual matters. We must not sacrifice individual freedoms for a vague "common good" (which is what socialism does). As all governments are socialist to a degree, they are not acceptable. |
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3 |
Power is not to be trusted |
Power is the ability to force you to do what you do not want to do. Individual people by themselves, not other people, are the best judges of what they want to do. As all governments force you to do things against your will, they are not acceptable. |
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4 |
We must have a minimum number of fundamental rules |
To have maximum freedom, to ensure that all individuals matter and not to be subjected to power, we must have just a few basic rules that apply to everybody. How these rules evolve is a matter of argument (one such model is the Master Contract - see also #6 below). As all governments create rules (laws) that apply differently to different people, they are not acceptable. |
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5 |
Voluntary organizations are the engines of society |
People willingly getting together to solve the problems of society (hunger, homelessness, child abuse, health care, etc.) is the most effective method to solve these problems and move society forward. As all governments plan and force ineffective organizations upon us, they are not acceptable. |
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6 |
Order is spontaneous |
Order is simply regularity in our affairs. Order appears spontaneously through voluntary interactions, simply because it is in our best interest to have it. We don't need people planning our lives. As all governments dictate, plan and force their kind of order upon us, they are not acceptable. |
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7 |
Free markets maximize wealth |
Only free markets can provide the maximum amount of wealth for everybody. For free markets to function, we need private property and a way to resolve disputes peacefully. For that, we need fundamental rules (see #4 above). As all governments dictate, manage, distort and manipulate markets, they are not acceptable. |
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8 |
Toleration is the consequence of freedom |
Toleration is not interfering with things we disapprove. Maximizing freedom means that as long as our freedoms are not being restricted by people, we cannot impose restrictions on other people's freedoms. As all governments restrict freedoms, they are by definition intolerant and hence not acceptable. |
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9 |
Peace is the consequence of freedom |
Peace is simply the absence of involuntary violence. Maximizing freedom means not interfering in other people's affairs without their consent. By definition, this ensures peace. As a consequence of peace, we have freedom of movement of capital, labor, people, goods and services and ideas. As all governments interfere with everybody's affairs all the time, they are not peaceful and therefore they are not acceptable. |
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10 |
Governments are unnecessary |
Governments stand against all the above points and therefore they are neither acceptable nor necessary. |
Final note: there are Libertarians out there who believe that all points (1 through 9) can be achieved through limited government. Unfortunately, that is their belief; a belief that was disproved time and time again by history. The cold fact is that there simply is no way known to human kind to effectively force governments to limit themselves to the simple task of protecting life, liberty and property. Furthermore, even if such a way would exist, people on their own, will always devise far more effective and efficient ways to do so.
And there you have it. Choose to believe it or not. Your call.
Note: please see the Glossary if you are unfamiliar with certain words.
