The canards and lies about Libertarianism seen here are common ones perpetrated by collectivists who cannot abide the notion of individual liberty and are jealous and covetous of what others have.
But there are some actual bedrock principles of Libertarianism that put paid to the lies of collectivists, so I’m going to touch on some of them as related to the OP.
Woodbutcher wrote:I'm interested in the premise of individual freedom to choose my course through life according to what I see is the best approach, avoiding harm to others to the best of my ability, and helping others along without giving some a free ride. Too often there are people who expect special consideration. What controls does a Libertarian society put in existence to give equal justice to all without prejudice? What about healthcare to all? I think a lot of our money is wasted on needless expense by people with fictitious complaints. Who would decide the need?
The core principles of Libertarianism (as I see it) include: The right to individual life, liberty and freedom of one's life to the highest degree possible consistent with ordered liberty for all; the right to acquire, own and dispose of property without interference by the government or others; the right to engage in voluntary associations (and dis-associations), including voluntary, binding commercial associations (contracts), free of centralized or government attempts to pick and choose economic winners and losers in the free market; and the right to self-defense (both individually and collectively by mutual agreement or contract) in protection of one's rights as against anyone, including government, that seeks to infringe upon those rights.
The general obligations of Libertarianism are not to initiate force or fraud against another; to abide by all agreements and contracts which one has voluntarily entered into; to be responsible for one's own life, needs and happiness; and to accept full responsibility for the consequences of one's own actions. This is a simple statement, but the exact meaning of "force" and "fraud" are not at all simplistic in their application.
Libertarianism relies upon aspects of human nature as well, including charity, altruism, honesty, and rational self-interest, to make society function properly and provide for the needy.
Libertarianism rejects the coercive force of government in the marketplace, and as applied to individual conduct except where the individual's own actions constitute an initiation of force or fraud against another that activates the right to self-defense or, in the case of government, defense of the rights individuals who make up the community on their behalf.
Instead, Libertarianism relies on voluntary cooperation and consent in mutual rational self-interest to accomplish those social goals that keep society running smoothly and provide for those who are in need.
In essence, Libertarianism accepts the truth that the individual alone has the right to sovereign control of his own life and is responsible for both fulfilling his own needs and being responsible for the consequences of his actions, so long as that sovereign exercise of one's rights does not export harm (force) or perpetrate fraud on others.
Libertarianism requires that government be primarily the exercise of the police power, which is to be used to enforce fair dealing and punish fraud and force, and to protect the community against common enemies like fire, communicable disease, and foreign invasion.
Libertarianism holds that it is NOT a legitimate function of government to provide social welfare or entitlements to anyone when those benefits are obtained through the coercive force of government or through seizure and redistribution of the property of others against their will.
Libertarianism insists that all levels of what government exists (which should be a little as possible), exists and are empowered only at the most local level possible, given the particular authority being exercised. Local government authority is preferable to county authority. County authority is better than state authority. State authority is better than regional authority. Regional authority is better than federal authority. All reasonable and necessary powers of government should always be devolved to the level of government that is the smallest, most local, most responsive and accountable to the people of the community affected by the exercise of power by government. This local, highly-dispersed model of government is intended to prevent tyranny and the oppression of the majority by keeping decision-making and government force as local and close to those who authorize the exercise of such powers, so that those powers can be revoked and government controlled or eliminated if it steps beyond its proper role.
Thus, for example, local and state militias are preferable to a large standing federal army. The federal authority over the military should be only for the purposes of command and control in time of actual, Congressionally-declared war ONLY, and the only structure and personnel provided by the federal government would be command-level officers, not personnel or equipment. The states would be responsible for arming and training their respective militias, not the federal government, and those troops would only be available to the federal government upon a formal declaration of war by Congress.
All state militias must of course be entirely volunteer forces, as conscription is not permitted by Libertarian philosophy because it disparages the individual right to life, liberty and property.
Government has no legitimate authority to redistributing property from one person to another, regardless of the form of exaction or bestowing of benefit, absent the express consent of both parties to the transfer of property.
Government does have a legitimate role in providing services in a coordinated manner to those who voluntarily agree to pay for those services, but government has no authority to levy taxes or seize property in order provide services that the individual does not voluntarily choose to partake of.
Those are some of the principles I espouse, and now I'll leave it to others to present scenarios that might concern them so we can analyze how Libertarianism might deal with such situations.
"Seth is Grandmaster Zen Troll who trains his victims to troll themselves every time they think of him" Robert_S
"All that is required for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Edmund Burke
"Those who support denying anyone the right to keep and bear arms for personal defense are fully complicit in every crime that might have been prevented had the victim been effectively armed." Seth
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