What is it?
Libertarianism derives from the French libertaire, a political philosophy advocating freedom.
Libertarianism is not a monolithic ideology. It encompasses a range of types, from left-traditional socialist libertarianism to right-wing ultra-conservatism.
Libertarian historians define libertarianism as the philosophy that fundamentally doubts authority and advocates transforming society by reform or revolution.
Many supporters see all state intervention as unjust and that all individuals have ownership rights over themselves, which crowd out other moral considerations. Believers state that morally, this is acceptable so long one individual has inflicted no wrongs upon another under private law.
In a political sense, many libertarians claim that their philosophy starts with individual autonomy and political freedom, including freedom of association and speech.
Libertarianism shares many similarities with classic anarchism. Libertarians oppose state power, militarism, nationalism, warfare, and existing economic and political systems.
In a social sense, libertarians advocate freedom of association, cultural and religious expression, and sexual liberation.
Many left-leaning libertarians support and promote usufruct and socialist economic theories, including communism, collectivism, syndicalism, and mutualism. These theories share many values with anarchism and have a world view that capitalism is wage slavery.
Origins and development
Some suggest that the first Libertarian was Chinese Taoist thinker Laozi, while others claim the first were the Greeks, the Israelites and the early Christians.
Libertarianism flourished during the Enlightenment in Europe and North America in the 18th century, shaping its core principles. These principles are rooted in the moral traditions of John Locke, David Hume, Adam Smith, Immanuel Kant, and Thomas Paine.
Others suggest libertarianism emerged after the French Revolution as a form of anarchism and, in France, referred to communist anarchists.
In an economic sense, classic libertarians draw significant influence from the late 18th century and the rise of laissez-faire capitalism.
In the mid-19th century, it grew with Pierre Joseph Proudhon’s work generally aligning with socialism and Marxism.
Over time, it has morphed into a wider view of the world, especially in the 20th century, where it emerged as anarcho-capitalism in response to the New Deal in the USA, where some supporters advocated the replacement of the state with private interests or just a minimalist state.
Neoliberalism is a recent connotation of libertarianism. Some might say libertarians support the view ‘let the market rip’.
In Sydney, libertarianism became linked to the Sydney Push between the 1940s and 1970s. In the USA, libertarians opposed the Vietnam War, joined the peace movement and were heavily influenced by the counter-culture movement of the 1960s.
More recently, libertarians are linked to anti-globalisation, anti-war, and anti-capitalist movements.
Critics have accused libertarianism of promoting “atomistic” individualism, which ignores the role of groups and communities in shaping an individual’s identity. Some claim that libertarians oppose democracy, taxes, public education, employee protection laws, environmental protection laws, and general government intervention in the economy.
References
van der Vossen, Bas and Billy Christmas, “Libertarianism”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2023 Edition), Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2023/entries/libertarianism/>.
Boaz, David. “libertarianism”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 Sep. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/libertarianism-politics. Accessed 18 September 2024.
Grant Babcock, What is a Libertarian? Libertarianism. Cato Institute, USA. 2024 Online at https://www.libertarianism.org/what-is-a-libertarian accessed 18 September 2024
Matt Zwolinski, Libertarianism. Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, University of San Diego. 2024. Online at https://iep.utm.edu/libertar/ accessed 18 September 2024.
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