Written by Curious about libertarianism? You’re in the right place.
Congratulations! If you’re reading this and you’re not already a libertarian, then you’re probably about to embark on a life changing journey of knowledge seeking. I’m honored to be the one giving you this introduction to libertarianism, so if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
What is libertarianism?
If you ask ten people this question, you might get ten different answers. Those of us who have been studying it the longest, those of us who follow its concepts through to their ultimate logical conclusions, will tend to agree that libertarianism is the belief in a concept known as the non-aggression principle. That aggression, or initiatory force and fraud are impermissible, and may be responded to with defensive force, while all else is permissible, and may not have force used against it.
You probably already live by this in most of your daily life. If you understand that it is not okay to assault people, or steal, or kidnap, or murder, if you understand that it is okay to use violence to defend yourself against people who would do these things to you, then you’re probably already a libertarian. Libertarianism is sort of a lowest common denominator. Some might call it a political philosophy, some might call it a moral code, but in its practical application, libertarianism is a standard of conduct. One which we believe, all people should be able to adhere to. It is the prescription for the proper application of force in society. It tells us when force is acceptable, and the answer is, never. Since the only legitimate use of force is in self defense, then, if everybody adhered to the standard, then there would be no violence, because there would be no violence to defend oneself against. Most of us understand that there will always be violence in the world no matter how much we disagree with it, and so defensive violence is a core tenet of libertarianism.