All you need to know about Libertarianism

I am Advik Gupta from Ahmedabad. I am currently studying at IIM Indore. I am a lively and patient kind of a person and love to socialize.

Libertarianism By Advik Gupta

Libertarianism comes from the word 'liberty' which means freedom from government control or interference. Merriam Webster defines libertarianism as: 'The philosophy wherein people should be allowed to do and say what they want without any interference from the government.'Listed below are a few questions and answers which will help you get an idea of what Libertarianism really is:

Q1. Is there a difference between liberalism and libertarianism?

Ans) Liberalism is founded on the idea of liberty and equality. Liberals usually support freedom of religion and press, free and fair elections, civil rights and right to life. They believe that government should induce social good and equality.

Libertarianism on the other hand is a philosophy which emphasizes on a significantly less government control. They support lower taxes and are against any kind of government regulation.

Overall liberals believe is a well-regulated business economy whereas libertarians believe in an unregulated economy.

Q2. Are there different forms of libertarianism? If yes, what are they?

Ans) Yes. There are many forms of libertarianism from Classical to Fiscal and Geolibertarianism. The main types are explained below:

Civil Libertarianism

Civil liberty deals with the state and its legal system. These are not related to human or moral rights. Civil libertarians have a belief system that the government should not pass laws that oppress, restrict or fail to protect people in their day-to-day lives.

Libertarian Socialism (Social Anarchism)

Anarchy strictly means 'no rulers' and hence advocates a 'stateless society'. Also called left-liberatarians, they believe that government is a monopoly and hence should be abolished completely. It believes in eliminating authoritarian institutions that control the means of production and adopting a decentralized political structure.

Minarchism

Minarchists do not believe that there should be no government, but their authority must be limited to the protection of individual rights. This belief system lays emphasis on constrained government powers, lower intervention and also minimal spending.Such states are called 'night watchmen states'.

Q3. Which are the most libertarian countries in the world?

Ans) Here by "most libertarian" I mean to what extent a particular country follows the ideas of libertarianism.

Eg- Countries having lesser taxes and providing social and economic freedom will be considered more libertarian than those with stringent government regulation and higher taxes.

Switzerland

With a record of over 200 years without any war and the country topping lists like 'Best places for older adults' and 'Worlds happiest countries', Switzerland can be considered a majorly economically libertarian country. It has mass decentralization in the political system and high economic freedom.

Ireland

It is one of the most socially free countries in the world. It has very low taxes and is quite socially and economically free.

Canada

Canada is also one such country which gives a lot of freedom to its citizens and can be considered ahead of its southern neighbour USA in this aspect to some extent.

Q4. Name some famous libertarians.

Ans) Legendary director and actor Clint Eastwood, Television star and comedian Drew Carey, Humorist author Dave Barry, famous actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie to name a few are ardent followers of libertarianism.