Libertarian tends to mean everything to everyone since both majority democrat and republican parties have done their best to destroy any attempt made to create a libertarian party that has any power.
Libertarianism tends to be pro-middle class self-reliance and pro-lower class mobility in its principles so it's a major threat to the "Business" parties.
There's a million different strains of libertarianism and whatever, but the most popular libertarian books are written by Ayn Rand, the most popular libertarian politician is Ron Paul, and the main libertarian outlets are Mises, reason and Cato. I mean, that shit is really conservative. Besides, the one thing uniting all the libertarian strains is that they hate big government -- which would be largely a conservative stance these days: opposition to universal health care, welfare, etc.
I would call myself a Libertarian Socialist.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_socialism
The problem with this, however is that socialism is an "evil" dirty dirty word that will get you burned at the stake. The word "Anarchism", is allusive to lawlessness and violence.
Libertarian socialism (sometimes called
social anarchism,[SUP]
[1][/SUP][SUP]
[2][/SUP]
left-libertarianism[SUP]
[3][/SUP][SUP]
[4][/SUP] and
socialist libertarianism[SUP]
[5][/SUP]) is a group of
political philosophies within the
socialist movement that reject the view of socialism as state ownership or command of the means of production[SUP]
[6][/SUP] within a more general criticism of the state form itself[SUP]
[7][/SUP][SUP]
[8][/SUP] as well as of
wage labour relationships within the workplace.[SUP]
[9][/SUP] Instead it emphasizes
workers' self management of the workplace[SUP]
[10][/SUP] and
decentralized structures of political government[SUP]
[11][/SUP] asserting that a society based on freedom and equality can be achieved through abolishing
authoritarian institutions that control certain
means of production and subordinate the majority to an owning class or political and economic
elite.[SUP]
[12][/SUP] Libertarian socialists generally place their hopes in
decentralized means of
direct democracy and
federal or
confederal associations[SUP]
[13][/SUP] such as
libertarian municipalism, citizens' assemblies,
trade unions, and
workers' councils.[SUP]
[14][/SUP][SUP]
[15][/SUP] All of this is generally done within a general call for
libertarian[SUP]
[16][/SUP] and
voluntary human relationships[SUP]
[17][/SUP] through the identification, criticism, and practical dismantling of illegitimate authority in all aspects of life.[SUP]
[18][/SUP][SUP]
[19][/SUP][SUP]
[20][/SUP][SUP]
[21][/SUP][SUP]
[22][/SUP][SUP]
[23][/SUP][SUP]
[24][/SUP]
Past and present political philosophies and movements commonly described as libertarian socialist include
anarchism (especially
anarchist communism,
anarchist collectivism,
anarcho-syndicalism,[SUP]
[25][/SUP] and
mutualism[SUP]
[26][/SUP]) as well as
autonomism,
communalism,
participism,
revolutionary syndicalism, and
libertarian Marxist philosophies such as
council communism and
Luxemburgism,;[SUP]
[27][/SUP] as well as some versions of "
utopian socialism"[SUP]
[28][/SUP] and
individualist anarchism.[SUP]
[29][/SUP][SUP]
[30][/SUP][SUP]
[31][/SUP]
[32
My ideal philosophy is Classical Liberalism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_liberalism
Classical liberalism is a
political philosophy and
ideology belonging to
liberalism in which primary emphasis is placed on securing the freedom of the individual by limiting the power of the government. The philosophy emerged as a response to the
Industrial Revolution and
urbanization in the 19th century in Europe and the United States.[SUP]
[1][/SUP] It advocates
civil liberties with a
limited government under the
rule of law, private property rights, and belief in
laissez-faire economic liberalism.[SUP]
[2][/SUP][SUP]
[3][/SUP][SUP]
[4][/SUP] Classical liberalism is built on ideas that had already arisen by the end of the 18th century, including ideas of
Adam Smith,
John Locke,
Jean-Baptiste Say,
Thomas Malthus, and
David Ricardo. It drew on a psychological understanding of individual
liberty,
natural law,
utilitarianism, and a belief in progress.[SUP]
[5][/SUP]
In the early 20th century, liberals split on several issues, and in the United States in particular, a distinction grew up between classical liberals and
social liberals.
The schism within liberalism that occured during the labor movements of the 20th century caused the word itself to draw more towards "Business & Capitalist Friendly" Tendencies, acknowledging social classes as necessary for they are cogs in the machine.
Classical Liberalism became synonymous with Marxism, and from Marxism to Leninism, ect ect ect, and on down the horrid line of history.
It is quite hard in this day and age to even present rational arguments towards anti-authoritarian systems, it makes you a nutter. Some political parasite has to hold the martinet strings, be it corporate intrest or the state. If not it is downright anarchism, for the "People" are far too stupid to rule themselves and the world would fall apart if they were given the opportunity!
Libertarian tends to mean everything to everyone since both majority democrat and republican parties have done their best to destroy any attempt made to create a libertarian party that has any power.
Libertarianism tends to be pro-middle class self-reliance and pro-lower class mobility in its principles so it's a major threat to the "Business" parties.
There's a million different strains of libertarianism and whatever, but the most popular libertarian books are written by Ayn Rand, the most popular libertarian politician is Ron Paul, and the main libertarian outlets are Mises, reason and Cato. I mean, that shit is really conservative. Besides, the one thing uniting all the libertarian strains is that they hate big government -- which would be largely a conservative stance these days: opposition to universal health care, welfare, etc.
"That shit" is also pro gay marriage, pro drug legalization and anti-war. Even if policies that are clearly not conservative don't convince you, the extreme hostility of conservative republicans toward libertarians in the party is very telling. I think either you don't understand libertarianism well enough, or your conception of the political continuum is not robust enough.
I think Sander understands that the majority in western thought label libertarinsim as an extreme white-winged conservative movement where laissez-faire capitalism is the law, which in a lot of peoples minds would equate to having the same system we have currently, except that it would be out in the open rather than hidden. "This political campaign brought to you by Wal-Mart."
In political dynamics, parties usually take advantage of any chance to aid misinformation campaigns to help strengthen whatever parties side on an issue, so I am not surprised that the western media portrays libertarianism as a right-winged movement.
In all honesty, people are so uneducated in civics, it's a wonder we don't have a monarchy.
The problems that I see within my own political "leanings" is they do not address issues in the wide arena of globalized markets, energy-sectors, nuclear weapons...
To address these really "Global" problems you need an entity that has the power to enforce laws and regulate systems. The only alternative to the problems I feel that we have today that are caused by false polarization of political ideology is a skilled team of lawyers overseen by a group of angry militia-men with guns, updating our universal "Magna Carta" towards a 21st century perception.
Sound familiar?
Each issue is extremely complex and has a large unseen blow-back of consequences if you move the law's force in any direction.
We have yet to formulate a modern form of government that is able to handle the issues that we have in the 21st century except for the ones that we have now.
Each country is different
Each Ethnic group is different
Each religion is different
Every person is different.
We could confederate governments to the winds! and then one group of them will yell at another group about how they dress their daughters, or slavery, or whatever difference mind you.
To solve all of these problems requires me to go against my beliefs, so I tire of politics.
It all ends with giant holes in the earth, and a half-hearted hope that it will be better in the aftermath.
