libertarianism
About us
An open, user owned community for the general disscussion of the libertarian philosophy.
- Libertarianism is the belief that each person has the right to live his life as he chooses so long as he respects the equal rights of others.
- Libertarians defend each person’s right to life, liberty, and property.
- In the libertarian view, voluntary agreement is the gold standard of human relationships.
- If there is no good reason to forbid something (a good reason being that it violates the rights of others), it should be allowed.
- Force should be reserved for prohibiting or punishing those who themselves use force.
Most people live their own lives by that code of ethics. Libertarians believe that that code should be applied consistently, even to the actions of governments, which should be restricted to protecting people from violations of their rights. Governments should not use their powers to censor speech, conscript the young, prohibit voluntary exchanges, steal or “redistribute” property, or interfere in the lives of individuals who are otherwise minding their own business.
Source: https://www.libertarianism.org/essays/what-is-libertarianism
Rules
1. Stay on topic
We are a libertarian community. There are no restrictions regarding different stances on the political spectrum, but all posts should be related to the philosophy of libertarianism.
2. Be polite to others and respects each others opinions.
Be polite to others and respects each others opinions. We don't want any form of gatekeeping or circlejerk culture here.
3. Stay constructive and informational
In general, all types of contributions are allowed, but the relevance to this community must always be evident and presented openly by the contributor. Posts that do not meet these requirements will be removed after a public warning. Also remember to cite you sources!
4. Use self-moderation measures first before reporting.
This community is fundamentally built upon freedom of speech. Since everyone understands libertarianism differently and we do not want to exclude any kind of content a priori, we appeal to the individual users to block/mute posts or users who do not meet their requirements. Please bear this in mind when filing a report
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Regulation is just enforcement of rules. We make rules to regulate parts of our country which are out of control. Inherently, regulation isn't a bad thing. The problem is that money buys regulation, which means successful industries get to write their own rules. I'd say then that the problem is money in politics, but then there's a bit of an issue: for a US party to be successful enough to be on the ballot, they need to raise enough funds. Money then goes to buy speech and therefore thoughts, hearts and minds. Most of AM radio in the US is paid for by right wing actors. Lots of successful right wing social media influencers moved to the right because the right pays more than the left. In the end, everyone needs money to survive and #yolo so might as well live comfortably. It's understandable but not excusable in my opinion.
I am assuming you're a libertarian given your choice to moderate this community, but I might not be correct in that assumption. Would you mind explaining why you chose that philosophy (or if I'm wrong, then why choose whatever philosophy you choose)? I am curious what you mean by "draw their lines", since we are talking ultimately about choosing a philosophy to be governed under. I am able bodied and have a good job, but this may not last forever. I cannot keep up with the rat race of capitalism forever, and I may end up with broken bones from an auto accident where I was not at fault, unemployed, reliant on social programs because my only other option is homelessness. I truly truly hope that if and when that time comes, the current governing philosophy will have not "drawn me outside of the lines" that they beleive in. This is my major gripe about libertarianism.. just because you don't need things now doesn't mean you won't later, and that people don't need them now.
OK, let's start from the beginning. Basically, there are two notions of how to approach a political system. Either you go to one extreme and say "basically everything is forbidden but every individual has (positive) rights that should ensure his freedom". On the other hand, you can also say "basically everything is allowed but your rights can be restricted by the (negative) rights of others" (see positive and negative rights).
I would argue that most modern societies try to achieve an ideal balance between freedom and regulation. Libertarianism seeks to maximise the freedom of each individual and minimise restrictions. In other words, it is not against regulations, but tries to achieve its goal by means of them. However, these rules should be as minimal and basic as possible, without redundancy and unnecessary burdens that could somehow hinder people. How exactly this balance between regulation and freedom should look and where exactly one draws the line for the extent of regulations ultimately depends on the interpretation of each individual.
Personally, I am a strong advocate of the logical approach in law and politics. The laws should be an unambiguous, logically coherent and broad foundation on which one can trace back every action as far as possible. The clearer and more minimal the law, the easier it should be to understand. I see this realised in the basic principles of natural law, the non-aggression principle or the self-ownership principle. I believe that all problems can be broken down to a few basic principles, from climate change to property damage or theft.
In my opinion, a (minimal) state is needed to enforce these rules and thus protect freedom. To do this, you have to give up some of your competences to the state, which reduces your own freedom to a certain extent but ensures stable and maximum social freedom (if everyone were maximally free, they could also take away each other's freedom). In a way, you could describe me as an effective freedom altruist.
But what exactly this minimal legal basis should look like is difficult to say and can only be found through trial and error. Therefore, with every action I take and every decision I make in my everyday life, I work for a change that is directed towards this libertarian vision, and thus I also try to test and adapt these theses again and again. Sustainable change will never be achieved through a radical leap or the demands that follow, but through a step-by-step approach to it. Without a clear final goal or a final vision, however, it is not possible to indicate a direction and the effort is lost in the turmoil of political and social discourse.
In this sense, I do not want to explain to you what is right or wrong, but rather motivate you to find and explore your own vision. I have made my vision from a libertarian point of view but as I said it depends on how you see it. Good luck on your path!