Libertas

Lord Acton (1834–1902)

“Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is the highest political end.” ~Lord Acton

The more I learn about Libertarianism, the more fascinating I find it, but I’m also surprised by how many people reject it, some almost violently. Why would anyone hate a philosophy that rejects using force against others? (Except, of course, tyrants)

Recently, someone described libertarianism as “fiscally conservative and socially liberal.” As I responded to this, I realized that what critics reject or hate is what they perceive as the common beliefs of libertarians and their opponents. In other words, conservatives reject the “social liberalism” of libertarians, and liberals reject the “fiscal conservatism” of libertarianism. Another description was, “libertarians: conservatives who still smoke pot.”

But I’m quite traditional; I’m an Orthodox Christian. Ron Paul is quite traditional too, and Tom Woods is a traditional Catholic. I’ve recently read some essays by Lawrence Reed in his book, Striking The Root, and he seems pretty traditional in his morals too. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t any pot smoking gay libertarians living in communes, but the common description doesn’t seem to fit. We’re not immoral capitalist who don’t care for the poor or weekend hippies living in the suburbs (well, at least not all of us). Ethics, in fact, is a very important part of libertarian philosophy.

So what unities us? What makes us libertarian?

We simply don’t believe in using the power of the State to enforce our views and lifestyles on others against their will. We don’t care about being fiscally conservative or socially liberal. We do care about the abuse of government force. We reject using the power of the State to legally rob, restrict, and murder people. Libertarians care about freedom and liberty and reject State or government force against individuals that goes beyond the protection and defense of life, liberty, and property.

What an individual may not do, a group or collective, including the State, may not do.

If I as an individual do not have the right to forcibly take from someone, then the government does not have that right either. That is why we are “fiscally conservative.” What the government does, especially in taxing income, inheritance, and property, is legal plunder. Some conservatives, however, seem to be fiscally conservative merely because it’s good accounting or business practice. They don’t see it as a question of morality.

But what about virtue?

"The laws of man may bind him in chains or may put him to death, but they never can make him wise, virtuous, or happy." ~John Quincy Adams

If I do not have the right to forcibly make someone virtuous, how can the government have that right when its powers are derived from the people? Morality and legality, however, are two very different things that conservatives and liberals can’t seem to distinguish, and thus they both want to use the law to enforce their brand of virtue.

If all power of the government is derived from the people, then why is the government doing what individuals may not do? Libertarians are aware of what conservatives and liberals are blind to: the government, though hiding behind the law, is nevertheless tyrannical, immoral, and illegitimate.

Both conservatives and liberals want to use the power of the State to legally plunder the other and enforce their lifestyle and views onto the nation as a whole against the will of their opponents.

Libertarians, whether those living as traditional Christians or those living in an alternative lifestyle, refuse to use the power of the State to force their views and lifestyles on others against their wills. We also reject the legitimacy of the power of the State to “legally” plunder one group for the benefit of another.

"The plans differ; the planners are all alike..." ~Claude Frédéric Bastiat

Both conservatives and liberals, on the other hand, believe they can use the State to use force against individuals. They believe that government should do more than protect life, liberty, and property. They want government to mold society into their image. They are, in fact, idolaters of the State.

Christian morality, however, is freely accepted by each Christian. Church membership is a voluntary association, because God gives humanity free will. Too many Christian conservatives think it is their job to use the power of the State to do what God refuses to do.

In their attempt to instill people with their vision using the power of the State, the planners on the right and the left enslave and corrupt both themselves and the people. But virtue and freedom belong together. The loss of one means the lose of the other, and only a free man can be virtuous, just as only a virtuous man can be free.

Recommended books:

Striking The Root by Lawrence W. Reed

The Law by Frédéric Bastiat