Many people have taken a test that places them on a political scale somewhere. However, this test is not complete. It places people as either an extreme conservative(reactionary), conservative, moderate, liberal, extreme liberal(anarchist). The problem with this scale is that it goes two ways... Left, or right. Each side of the political coin(liberal or conservative) has a degree of freedom. If you believe in a little of each, you're probably a moderate. The question becomes, what if you believe in both freedoms to an extreme(you'll see what freedoms I'm talking about in a minute) I ran into this problem in High School. Except, my philosophies were in reverse. I was more authoritarian back then. I came out as a moderate, leaning on the conservative side. If I took the Libertarian test, I would have been authoritarian, or at least moderate, with an authoritarian twist... Now, my philosophies have taken a reverse, and I was confused as to what I was, seeing as I didn't believe in democrat or republican ideals, what was I? If you find yourself in the same situation, read on...
When a liberal calls a conservative a nazi, this is not true. They certainly do restrict personal freedoms, but they grant freedom elsewhere. Economic freedom. It's called the Free Market. The government, according to this philosophy, has no right to take from people the fruits of their labor... Prices of goods should be dictated by the market, and other such stuff. In other words, the government has no right to interfere in business, except with other countries, and perhaps in intra-state commerce(this is left open to debate amongst people).
Now, the conservatives have called the liberals communists, because they believe in socialism, which is an economic slavery... Theft, from one group, to give to another group. This is morally wrong. However, they believe that we all have the right to choose what we want to do. That's called Civil Liberties. So, we see that each side of the coin has a certain part of freedom granted to it, even though their major parties don't necessarily stand by their beliefs...
Authoritarianism takes the worst of both of these... Economic Slavery(socialism, also known as government theft), and Limitations on personal liberties... They claim it is for the best of all people. It's ok for the government to steal, because it's helping the disadvantaged... And, it's ok for the government to take away your freedom, so it can protect you from murderers, rapists, etc... you can be searched at any time, even if you're not a rapist, just so you can be protected from one.
Libertarianism, on the other hand, believes in the most possible freedom. Little to no taxes(I'd prefer to see none whatsoever), freedom to deal with who you want to deal with, and the ability to do what you want to do; whether that be going to whatever church you want(without the fear of being torched), say what you want to say(that includes talking about controversial issues, such as AIDS, abortion, and speaking out against the government), putting whatever drugs you wish into your body, and the ability to live your life as you see fit, so long as you don't physically interfere in the life of another. This means that you cannot fight physically hurt someone, except in the case of self-defense, and you cannot steal from someone, amongst a host of other things... No rape, no murder, no theft, etc... That is the only thing government should be there to protect us from. We are guaranteed the right to life, liberty and PURSUIT of happiness. It did not say we will be assured happiness, but just the right to try to find happiness. Just because I think happiness can't be found in something, doesn't mean I have to stop you from trying, because perhaps you will have found happiness in that thing.
The biggest problem in todays society is a fear of risk. We want to protect people from risk, from danger, and this is where the problem is. People who believe in authority aren't necessarily evil people. They honestly want to help people, to protect them. It's a noble ideal. However, the question is... Is protection worth the price of liberty? For me, it isn't. Take this little test to find out if you're a libertarian.
It is important to realize that Libertarians are not "anarchists" but rather "minarchists"... They don't believe in NO government, for the government is there to protect individuals from harm from other individuals. People say that libertarianism leads to destruction, because they say it's anarchy. No, no, no, I say. This is one of the hardest things to get through peoples heads... No matter what you tell them, they seem to think you believe in anarchy. Libertarian does not allow room for theft, murder, rape, violence against others, as an anarchistic society would. Those who harm others would get their punishments. People fail to see the protection, and think that if you get rid of government in economic, and personal affairs, there's not government at all. They think that minimum government means a slowly expanding government, as opposed to a shrinking government. For more information on this, see Harry Browne's page, and pick up his book "Why Government Doesn't Work."