Correction: Some Libertarians don't believe in government. As an anarchist, I happen to be one of those who don't. But many Libertarians do want some level of government to exist. Those who are consistent libertarians and apply the Non-Aggression Principle to questions of public policy want such governments as exists to be voluntarily funded and strictly limited to the roles of protecting life, liberty, and justly acquired property, but of course not everyone who joins the Libertarian Party holds consistently libertarian views.
It's taken me years – decades – of paying attention to government and politics, and personal engagement as a pro-freedom activist, to come to the point of calling myself an anarchist. As such, I may be behind the curve; former California U.S. Senate candidate Richard Boddie used to joke that the difference between a libertarian and an anarchist is "Six or seven years*, if you're paying attention". (*I may be misrecollecting the specific time frame he cited, but it was something like that.)
Now as an anarchist, let me clarify some of the things I don't believe in, because there are a lot misconceptions out there about anarchism:
• Indiscriminate violence, looting, destruction of personal private property. Although I am not a pacifist and believe people have the moral right to use force in defense against aggression, I'm committed to political change through peaceful means. Unlike Donald Trump, I would never encourage violence against someone speaking in opposition to me at a public rally.
• The immediate overnight abolition of all government. Rome wasn't built in a day, as the saying goes. If it were possible to magically abolish all governments tomorrow, it is most likely that new organizations acting as governments would quickly arise to replace them, without societal and cultural evolution preceding the change. The road to sustainable anarchy clearly leads through limited government.
• Feuding tribes (like the ones that populate the United States)! Both Democrats and Republicans (the "blue" tribe and the "red" tribe) are essentially seeking to control each other's lives, and forever fighting over control of government in order to have the means to impose their values by force on the other tribe as well as on the rest of us. Only Libertarians are saying no, we don't want to seize power for our tribe, we want to throw the Ring of Power into Mount Doom not wield it and be corrupted by that power in turn, because we understand that power corrupts. The communist belief that the State will "wither away" under the right leadership is a myth, as is the notion that with "good" people in office, a powerful government can sustainably remain benevolent and benign (a notion that many members of both dominant tribes still seem to believe).
Libertarians, both anarchists and minarchists (believers in minimal government), generally seek to let people decide how to use their own resources, and live as they choose so long as it does not involve violating the equal rights of others, without any interference from those in power. How you spend your money, who you sleep with and how, what you put into your body, how you use your personal property, what you believe, what you publicly say, who you choose to associate with in your personal or business affairs, should all be up to you as long as it is voluntary and consensual.
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))
