The political philosophy that...

1. ...says no one has the right to initate force against another. Period. Even if it's for their own good.

2. ...says government in a free society exists only to (A)protect its citizens from having force initated on them, and to (B)punish those who have initiated force on others.

3. ...IS NOT ANARCHISM, a belief that everything government provides, society can provide more effectively.

4. ...was derived from classical liberalism, the very philosophy that the United States was founded apon and roughly operated under up until the end of the 1800s.

5. ...is the most logical, humane, and ethical political system ever thought of.

For insight on the *practical* benefits of such a system, interested bodies should read "Healing Our World" by Dr. Mary J. Ruwart, just to get started. (Freely available on the Net.)

"(Left-)Liberals want the government to be your Mommy. Conservatives want government to be your Daddy. Libertarians want it to treat you like an adult."

A political philosophy based on the Non-Aggression Principle, which holds that people should be allowed to live as they choose and make their own choices without interference from government or others, so long as those choices do not involve the initiation of force or fraud against others.

Libertarianism is the opposite of authoritarianism or statism, which is the idea that governments should largely control people, allocate their resources, and make decisions for them, allegedly for their own good or the good of society (in practice usually for the good of those running the government).

The main problem with this delusional notion of co-existence is that it runs afoul of an annoying immutable natural law - roughly translated as "nature abhors a vacuum" - that's understood and exploited by every drug pusher, credit card issuer, Las Vegas casino, and Madison Avenue marketer and even the bailout-happy U.S. Federal Reserve and which was summed up by Edmund Burke:

"Men are qualified for civil liberty in exact proportion to their disposition to put moral chains upon their own appetites; in proportion as they are disposed to listen to the counsels of the wise and good in preference to the flattery of knaves.

"Society cannot exist, unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere; and the less of it there is within, the more there must be without.

"It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things, that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters."

-or as John Adams said:

(The U.S.) constitution was made for a moral and religious people; it is wholly inadequate for any other.

"We favor the repeal of all laws creating 'crimes' without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational purposes."

"The only legitimate use of force is in defense of individual rights life, liberty, and justly acquired property against aggression"

Noun. The belief that pursuing one's own self-interest, while shirking larger social responsibilities, is still somehow humanitarian.

Libertarianism is how the advantaged describe their neglect of the les-advantage: they're "protecting everyone's freedom" by respecting the impoverished's right to be poor.

Also known as Libertarian Capitalism, not to be confused with Libertarian Socialism, which can lay a true claim to the term.

How would you like to pay for air?

To put it bluntly, a political theory for people who don't have the balls to admit they are anarchists.

Random libertarian: No, I'm no anarchist. I just don't believe government should interfere with my live at all. That's all... honest...

Read more:

Urban Dictionary: libertarianism