Libertarianism is an approach to policy, not a set of policies itself. Generally speaking, libertarians want to solve problems with more freedom rather than less. They generally don’t think government should make decisions for people, but they do think the government has a role in helping people when they run into problems.
Libertarians disagree with each other on what extent government should be involved, hence why they disagree with each other, but they’re similar in the approach to policy. There isn’t really an in-group or out-group, just people who generally agree that more freedom is better than less.
If you look at the two popular sides of political debate, it’s all about which freedoms we’re willing to give up to accomplish some goal, like giving up guns or privacy. Or in other words, the ends justify the means, provided the means aren’t too bad. In libertarianism, the means are the ends, meaning how we solve a problem is more important than solving the problem, and if the solution to the problem is too intrusive, the problem probably doesn’t need to be solved. For example, let’s say someone decides to tackle gambling addiction. The conservative may want to ban it because gambling is a sin, the liberal may want age restrictions and heavy regulations to prevent companies from taking advantage of people, and the libertarian would maybe say legalize it, and if they’re left leaning, tax it a bit to provide rehab services because anything more is a violation of freedom.
Libertarianism is an approach to policy, not a set of policies itself. Generally speaking, libertarians want to solve problems with more freedom rather than less. They generally don’t think government should make decisions for people, but they do think the government has a role in helping people when they run into problems.
Libertarians disagree with each other on what extent government should be involved, hence why they disagree with each other, but they’re similar in the approach to policy. There isn’t really an in-group or out-group, just people who generally agree that more freedom is better than less.
If you look at the two popular sides of political debate, it’s all about which freedoms we’re willing to give up to accomplish some goal, like giving up guns or privacy. Or in other words, the ends justify the means, provided the means aren’t too bad. In libertarianism, the means are the ends, meaning how we solve a problem is more important than solving the problem, and if the solution to the problem is too intrusive, the problem probably doesn’t need to be solved. For example, let’s say someone decides to tackle gambling addiction. The conservative may want to ban it because gambling is a sin, the liberal may want age restrictions and heavy regulations to prevent companies from taking advantage of people, and the libertarian would maybe say legalize it, and if they’re left leaning, tax it a bit to provide rehab services because anything more is a violation of freedom.