For a New Liberty Summary

What would life look like without government? Libertarians argue it wouldn't be chaos, but a society built on individual freedom and voluntary cooperation.

1. Libertarianism has historical roots in America’s founding principles

Libertarianism is not a new or fringe concept but originates from the foundations laid by classical liberals in seventeenth and eighteenth-century America. At the time, governments concentrated power in the hands of monarchs, and societies suffered from oppressive control. Inspired by philosophers like John Locke, early libertarians championed freedom of markets, limited government, and the right to revolt against tyranny.

These ideas played a significant role in the birth of the United States. The American Revolution explicitly sought liberty from Britain’s overreach. Documents like the Declaration of Independence reflect principles aligning with the libertarian belief in minimizing State power. However, over time, libertarian ideals began to dilute as government power expanded and political parties polarized into statist models.

Libertarianism experienced setbacks throughout history but remained relevant. The nineteenth-century rise of socialism pushed classical liberal values to the margins, but the movement saw a resurgence with the founding of the Libertarian Party. This political group represents the philosophy most in present-day American politics.

Examples

• John Locke’s arguments for natural rights inspired the Declaration of Independence.
• The Democratic Party initially aimed to preserve liberty but lost traction due to internal division over slavery.
• Libertarian principles regained traction as the movement became America’s third-largest political party.

2. The nonaggression axiom defines the libertarian philosophy

At the core of libertarian ideology lies the principle of nonaggression: that no individual or group should initiate force or threaten violence against another. When applied broadly, this axiom clarifies how libertarians view laws, social norms, and permissible actions. For instance, prostitution is a voluntary exchange and thus should not be criminalized.

Libertarians extend this principle to property. To them, property is an extension of an individual and equally protected. For example, burning someone else’s house or violating a business contract violates property rights, making it an act of aggression. They argue that most rights, like freedom of speech, are ultimately property rights. Speaking freely depends on the ownership of space or platforms.

State actions often violate the nonaggression axiom. Funding wars or punishing protesters involves coercion financed by forced taxation. Libertarians believe the State uses its unique position to justify aggression, excusing behaviors that would otherwise be crimes for ordinary citizens.

Examples

• Yelling “Fire!” in a theater disrupts a private contract between viewers and the owner, violating property rules rather than free speech rights.
• Tax-funded wars cause harm without explicit consent from taxpayers.
• The State promotes compulsory conscription, considered by libertarians as aggression and modern-day slavery.

3. The State functions through forced labor and taxation

Forced labor may not seem common today, but libertarians argue that it still thrives covertly. Conscription for military service is one example, where individuals are legally forced to join wars without consent. Similarly, taxation forces individuals into part-time servitude by taking the earnings of their labor to fund State-run programs.

Taxation as compulsory labor makes taxpayers work for free for a part of the year to pay their government dues. Worse, these taxes sometimes fund harmful or unjust systems, such as punitive criminal justice measures that hurt both victims and taxpayers. Libertarians advocate abolishing these practices, replacing them with voluntary systems.

The injustice extends to other areas, like institutionalizing people for mental illnesses without their consent. In a libertarian worldview, everyone should retain control over their lives unless they violate another’s rights. Policies that preemptively commit individuals infringe upon basic freedoms.

Examples

• Income tax represents mandatory work hours allocated to the government without direct consent.
• Mentally ill individuals are institutionalized without due process, violating libertarian ethics.
• War drafts conscript youth into combat situations at great personal cost.

4. Governments should not impose moral codes

To libertarians, morality is relative and personal. Therefore, the laws of a State should focus only on preventing harm or aggression, not dictating moral norms. For example, if an individual incites a riot but others choose to act on their free will, the fault lies with those who commit the crime—not the instigator.

Debates around laws often blur morality with legality, as seen in controversies over pornography. Conservatives may want it banned as immoral, while liberals defend its legality. Libertarians, however, argue that governments should stay out of such disputes unless someone’s rights or property are directly attacked.

Restricting personal freedoms, such as banning gun ownership, also violates this principle. Many who marginalized by society, especially low-income groups or minorities, depend on the right to bear arms as a means of self-defense.

Examples

• Inciting a riot is only morally wrong unless direct force or property damage occurs.
• Laws banning pornography interfere with individual freedom to produce or consume it.
• Gun control laws harm vulnerable populations most relying on self-defense.

5. State-provided public services can backfire

Public education, welfare, and similar State-managed programs often fail the very people they aim to benefit. For instance, public schools impose uniformity, suppressing individual strengths and diversity. Similarly, welfare disincentivizes work and creates dependency on government handouts.

Historically, attempts to “Americanize” immigrant children through public schools highlight these issues. The Ku Klux Klan backed Oregon’s laws forcing children into state-controlled institutions. Welfare programs suffer from inefficiencies; rising benefits force people out of the workforce without guaranteeing upward mobility or better quality of life.

Privately-run alternatives offer solutions, tailoring services to meet diverse needs and rewarding effort while minimizing waste. Governments’ one-size-fits-all policies clash with libertarian ideals of personal choice.

Examples

• State-mandated curricula stifled immigrant diversity under Oregon’s public school laws.
• Welfare payouts exceeded wages, reducing work incentive during the 20th century.
• Privatized schooling could allow families to choose faith-based or specialized programs.

6. The Federal Reserve creates artificial economic instability

Inflation and economic recessions are not random but stem largely from government-intervened monetary systems. The Federal Reserve, in particular, manipulates currency supply and interest, creating debt-laden boom-and-bust cycles.

When banks lend money they don’t actually have, borrowers invest in unsustainable growth. Eventually, the central bank demands repayments, triggering widespread economic recessions. During bust phases, further “bailouts” expand the money supply and degrade currency value.

This cycle rewards banks and government elites while hurting the public as prices rise and wages lag behind. Libertarians question whether the Fed serves citizens’ interests or systematically disadvantages them.

Examples

• The Federal Reserve artificially lowers interest rates, encouraging reckless borrowing.
• Currency inflation causes price increases without real wealth growth.
• Economic crises disproportionately hurt working-class citizens.

7. Privatize all public services, even roads and police

Why assume only governments can provide public goods? Libertarians argue private entities could manage streets, law enforcement, and courts more efficiently while reducing costs and conflicts. For instance, landlords might co-own roads in their area and ensure maintenance to attract tenants.

Privately-run police forces could serve specific communities according to their preferences. Courts could function competitively, providing efficient resolutions and consequences without top-down enforcement. Instead of imposing penalties, criminals might face market responses like reputational damage or service denial if they don’t comply.

The free market incentivizes high-quality services driven by customer satisfaction, unlike monopolistic State entities.

Examples

• Streets cared for by landlords incentivize safe, crime-free neighborhoods.
• Competing courts offer neutral arbitration for legal disputes.
• Criminals who ignore court rulings risk public ostracism.

8. Markets can solve environmental problems better than governments

Environmental issues like pollution aren’t inherent to capitalism but rather stem from government mismanagement. Privatization can solve problems by aligning ecological conservation with economic incentives. Businesses, as owners of natural resources, have self-interest in preserving them sustainably.

For example, if rivers or forests were private assets, their owners would sue polluters or focus on long-term maintenance. Pollution becomes less profitable without the buffer of State-funded cleanup or subsidized waste-disposal systems.

Even waste management could improve with private solutions like competitive sewer technologies, emphasizing eco-friendly, self-sustaining infrastructure.

Examples

• Copper mining companies manage resource extraction better without intervention.
• Privatized forests ensure sustainable logging practices.
• Eco-friendly toilets could thrive without State-run sewer monopolies.

9. Stay out of foreign conflicts whenever possible

Libertarianism’s anti-war stance emphasizes nonaggression principles, challenging interventionist foreign policies. Unlike private disputes, war involves nationalism and mass destruction, harming innocent populations.

Libertarians argue that self-defense remains permissible for individuals or guerrilla groups, but national interventions often escalate violence. For modern nation-states, war commonly equates to cycles of depriving freedom domestically while creating devastation abroad.

Avoid entanglements and refrain from deluding others—let societies fix internal coercive structures without external interference.

Examples

• Modern warfare causes far more civilian casualties than medieval conflicts.
• Governments forcibly conscript citizens, violating ethical boundaries.
• Libertarians support guerrilla resistance when populations defend personal freedom.

Takeaways

1. Examine public services and question whether private-sector models might better meet community needs.
2. Deepen understanding of how nonaggression principles affect everyday views on morality, laws, and personal rights.
3. Advocate against interventions or regulations that enforce morality or disadvantage free markets.