The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to libertarianism:

Libertarianism – political philosophy that upholds liberty as its principal objective. As a result, libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and freedom of choice, emphasizing political freedom, voluntary association and the primacy of individual judgment.

Nature of libertarianism

edit
Supports
  • Economic freedom – the freedom to receive the full value of one's labour, or to produce, trade and consume any goods and services acquired without the use of force, fraud or theft
  • Egalitarianism – the idea that all humans are equal in fundamental worth or social status
  • Individual responsibility – the idea that a person is responsible for their own actions and their own lives
  • Personal development – methods, skills and strategies by which individuals can effectively direct their own activities toward the achievement of objectives and includes goal setting, decision making, focusing, planning, scheduling, task tracking, self-evaluation, self-intervention, self-development and so on
  • Self-governance – the idea that a person or group are able to exercise all of the necessary functions of power without intervention from any authority which they cannot themselves alter
  • Self-ownership – the concept of property in one's own person, expressed as the moral or natural right of a person to be the exclusive controller of his or her own body and life
  • Social responsibility – the idea that a person is responsible for and has an obligation to act in the best interests of their community
  • Voluntary association – a group of individuals who enter into an agreement as teers to form a body (or organization) to accomplish a purpose
Rejects
  • Authoritarianism – a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority
  • Coercion – the practice of forcing another party to behave in an involuntary manner (whether through action or inaction) by use of threats or intimidation or some other form of pressure or force
  • Imperialism – as defined by the Dictionary of Human Geography, it is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural and territorial relationship, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination"
Debates

Branches and schools of libertarianism

edit

Libertarianism has many overlapping schools of thought, all focused on smaller government and greater individual responsibility. As interpretations of the non-aggression principle vary, some libertarian schools of thought promote the total abolition of government while others promote a smaller government which does not initiate force. Some seek private ownership of all property and natural resources while others promote communal ownership of all natural resources and varying degrees of private property.

Origins of libertarianism

edit

Libertarian theory and politics

edit

Libertarian ideals

edit

These are concepts which although not necessarily exclusive to libertarianism are significant in historical and modern libertarian circles.

Individuals who have influenced libertarianism

edit

Anarchists

edit

Economists

edit
edit

Objectivists

edit

Others

edit

See also

edit
Categories
edit
  • "Libertarianism". Encyclopædia Britannica.
  • "Libertarianism". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
  • "Libertarianism" entry by Bas van der Vossen in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, January 28, 2019