To explain why I'm a libertarian, I have to explain the basis of libertarianism. Unlike "liberalism" or "conservativism" it's pretty easy to describe libertarianism. Nearly everything libertarians believe about politics arises from our belief in a single principle. So on this page is my description of the basic principle of libertarianism.

A lot of people who hear that principle say "I agree with that!" but when they realize what it implies for their political thinking, they begin to try to justify exceptions to the principle. I think you either agree with it or you don't. If you believe it, then you embrace it, even if you must give up some of the comfort you get from your current political views. If you don't believe it, well OK, that just means you aren't a libertarian.

A Simple Idea
Libertarians all believe in one idea. It's a simple idea that embodies cooperation, peaceful coexistence, giving instead of taking, and the win-win free exchange of goods and services. It's an idea you learned as a child and an idea you probably live by in your day-to-day life. The idea is just this:

It's wrong to try to control other people.

"We ascribe beauty to that which is simple; which has no superfluous parts;...which stands related to all things" -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Your Life Is Sacred
Each of us, as far as we know, has just one life to live. This existence of your person, your awareness, in this world is truly a miracle. Your lifetime here is sacred. Assuming you don't hurt anyone else, the kind of person you choose to be and everything you do in this, your only lifetime, should be for you and you alone to decide. Some others might not agree with the choices you make, but as long as you don't hurt anyone else, shouldn't you be able to live as you choose?

Libertarians believe you have that right. We say:

You have the right to live however you choose, so long as you don't use force or fraud to interfere in anyone else's equal right to live as they choose.

What Goes Around Comes Around
If I attempt to control you, even for your own good, you'll probably resent it. So already damage is done to our relationship. And the next time you have the opportunity to control me, you will probably be more likely to do so. As this cycle continues, as we attempt to control each other more and more, we become increasingly resentful of each other, tension between us increases, and our relationship deteriorates, Without a good relationship, we are less likely to cooperate and work together to solve social problems. When I refer to the cycle of growing resentment elsewhere in my writing, it is this idea that I'm talking about.

Write me down as one who knew
Revenge means more revenge on you
What ya gonna do?
     -- Railroad Earth/Todd Sheaffer ("Mighty River")

Control By The Majority
Most people accept that it's not right for one person to control another against his will. In order to control you, someone has to either use violence, threaten you with violence, or use fraud against you. Society doesn't allow it and we make it a crime, even if that other person tries to justify his actions with good intentions.

Libertarians believe that it's equally wrong for a group of people to try to control you with force or fraud, even if that group is some majority. If it's so clearly wrong for one person to use force to control you, how can it be any more right for a mob of people to vote to control you? We support your right to peacefully live the life you choose for yourself. Period. We don't add "except when a majority of us decides we need something from you."

"In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place." -- Mahatma Gandhi

In a pure democracy, a majority of the population (usually a different majority for each issue) decides the rules for everyone. To quote another libertarian, unlimited democracy is like two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner! Obviously, it isn't right to enslave someone because a majority of the population votes for slavery. To protect your rights, a democracy needs to be restricted by a strong constitution that limits how others can control you via the government. Libertarians believe government should be limited to the role of protecting your right to live as you choose. Government should only protect you against force, threats, and fraud, and not tell you how to live.

When a town council votes to take somebody's house and property so they can build a new football stadium, it's just as immoral as if the football team owner and local business owners formed a mob and stole the property themselves. They're just getting someone else (the government) to do their dirty work for them. When you join the majority to pass a new tax to build a community swimming pool, you are stealing money from that neighbor of yours who doesn't have any use for a swimming pool and would rather use his money in other ways. You are interfering in how he chooses to live his life. But it doesn't feel that way to you because you're separating yourself from the dirty work of collecting the money (and putting him in jail if he won't pay up) by having the government do it for you.

Why I'm A Libertarian
When I was in college in 1973, I came across a book entitled "Libertarianism" written by USC professor of philosophy John Hospers. It described the role of government in a libertarian society. I knew it sounded right to me, but it took me a couple of years to fully accept the changes I had to make in my political thinking. It took that long because I was reluctant to accept a philosophy that wouldn't allow me to control people! I didn't see it in those terms at the time, of course. I didn't really realize I was trying to control others.

I didn't think you should be allowed to use drugs even if you did so in your own home without endangering anybody else. I never questioned that you should be forced to subsidize my education, even though you wouldn't benefit from it. I didn't think you should be allowed to gamble, because you needed to be protected from the possibility you might have a gambling problem. I didn't think you should be allowed to receive medical treatment from anywhere other than a government-enforced monopoly, no matter how dire your health situation. There were endless ways I wanted to control you and everyone else. Of course, in all cases I had good intentions. It never even occurred to me that maybe I didn't really know what was best for you, or that your choices weren't any of my business.

At the same time, naturally, I knew I could be responsible for my decisions and I didn't want you and the government controlling me! I didn't think I should have to go to jail if I tried marijuana. I didn't think I should be forced to subsidize your running hobby by paying taxes for a new jogging path I wouldn't use. I thought it was ridiculous that our college dorm football pool might be illegal. I was stunned when a local health food store owner refused to answer my questions about some vitamins for fear of being arrested for practicing medicine without a license. I was sickened and angered when I was nearly drafted to go to Viet Nam for a war I didn't even understand.

I resented how other people were controlling me, even though they had good intentions. But I didn't realize how I, too, was controlling others. I could have easily continued the cycle of growing resentment by finding more ways to control others that were controlling me. Instead, I began to see that what goes around, comes around -- to see that the same power I was willing to give the government to let me control others, was being used to control me.

It dawned on me that you could be trusted to be responsible for your own decisions, just like I knew I could take responsibility for mine.

I realized I should treat you like I wanted you to treat me.

I saw that if you didn't really know what was best for me, I probably didn't really know what was best for you. How elitist of me to think that I did!

I decided if I wanted to live my one precious life without you controlling it, I would have to grant you that same freedom.

I became a libertarian.

What About You?
Do you believe that it's not right for you, or some group to which you belong, to use force against others to control their lives; that you have the right to live as you choose, as long as you don't harm anyone else?

If you say you believe that, then I suggest you owe it to yourself to learn more about libertarianism. You owe it to yourself to learn and support libertarian answers to social issues, rather than continuing to support the use of government force.

Here is a pretty cool Flash Animation that illustrates more basics of libertarianism.

A great book to read is Dr. Mary Ruthwart's Healing Our World in an Age of Aggression, available online at that link, or in book form from Amazon.com