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- What is Libertarianism?
- The Libertarian movement is committed to America's heritage of freedom: (1) individual liberty and personal responsibility; (2) a free-market economy of abundance and prosperity; (3) a foreign policy of non-intervention, peace, and free trade.
- The Libertarian movement is built on two main principles: you and only you own your life, along with your body, your mind, your soul, and your time; and no one has the right to initiate the use of force against another person. From these basic human rights, Libertarians have often come to the conclusion that government has only one function: to protect us from people who would take away our rights internally (making a police force a legitimate function) and externally (making the military and intelligence agencies a legitimate function). (more information)
- What is Global Libertarianism?
- Due to current economic, social and political trends, (see globalization) there are ceratin apsects of the social contract that have changed and hence so has the scope of government's appropriate authority and responsibilities. However, this must only be done with the support of a large majority of the individuals responsible for this government and the basic responsibilies are constant, despite the pervertion of these principles by many in the political forum today.
Like Libertarians, Global Libertarians see the main responsibility of government, at all levels, as defense through means of the military, intelligence agencies, police, State Departments and oversight of business. The government must also provide for, threw the rule of law, a reasonable level of fairness in individual rights. All other responsibilities are held by individuals, and their closest centers at the municipality and in some cases the states. (more information)
- How does GL deal with economic issues?
- Governments, at all level, should do nothing but set minimum standards for fair practices, safety in the workplace and environmental concerns. (Also, to maintain a competitive edge in the global marketplace, education must be available to all but this wll be dealt with within the social policy section despite its economic implications.)
Many Libertarians do not feel the government has the authority to raise revenue through taxation, especially income taxes, however it is our contention that the government has to raise funds to provide those services that we all benfit from and can be most efficiently provided for at the collective level. For those services, like defense, we must all pay as we all benefit. Additional services however should be paid for by voluntary means through lotteries, the sale of bonds, and various other established programs similar in nature. (more information)
- How does GL deal with social issues?
- It is the responsibility of individuals to take part in their communities. Individuals can take on social actions much more efficiently and effectively than most levels of government. Regardless however, people's time and money is their own and the government hasn't the authority or reason to take them away for many current social programs. If an individual would rather give to cancer research than a food bank or Catholic charities than secular ones, so be it. (more information)
- How does GL deal with political issues?
- It must be recognized that all government authority is derived from the individual. The government can not simply take away the rights of individuals unless that right or action would take the rights of another legally defined individual away. Hence, political power must be returned to the people. Accordingly, as government never lets go of anything without being forced to, people must take back their power as, "You only have the freedoms that you are willing to fight for." (more information)
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