Libertarianism: Difference between revisions

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In the mid-19th century,''<ref name="Dejacque" />'' libertarianism originated as a form of [[left-wing politics]] such as [[Anti-authoritarianism|anti-authoritarian]] and [[Anti-statism|anti-state]] [[Socialism|socialists]] like [[Anarchism|anarchists]],<ref>Long, Roderick T. (2012). "The Rise of Social Anarchism". In Gaus, Gerald F.; D'Agostino, Fred, eds. ''The Routledge Companion to Social and Political Philosophy''. [https://books.google.com/books?id=advfCgAAQBAJ&dq=In+the+meantime%2C+anarchist+theories+of+a+more+communist+or+collectivist+character+had+bee+developing+as+well.+One+important+pioneer+is+French+anarcho-communists+Joseph+D%C3%A9jacque+%281821%E2%80%931864%29%2C&pg=PA223 p. 223] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930075228/https://books.google.com/books?id=advfCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA223&dq=In+the+meantime%2C+anarchist+theories+of+a+more+communist+or+collectivist+character+had+bee+developing+as+well.+One+important+pioneer+is+French+anarcho-communists+Joseph+D%C3%A9jacque+%281821%E2%80%931864%29%2C&hl=it&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiZ3vmnxsrmAhWTbsAKHQHXA5AQ6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q=In%20the%20meantime%2C%20anarchist%20theories%20of%20a%20more%20communist%20or%20collectivist%20character%20had%20bee%20developing%20as%20well.%20One%20important%20pioneer%20is%20French%20anarcho-communists%20Joseph%20D%C3%A9jacque%20(1821%E2%80%931864)%2C&f=false |date=30 September 2020 }}. "In the meantime, anarchist theories of a more communist or collectivist character had been developing as well. One important pioneer is French anarcho-communist Joseph Déjacque (1821–1864), who [...] appears to have been the first thinker to adopt the term 'libertarian' for this position; hence 'libertarianism' initially denoted a communist rather than a free-market ideology."</ref> especially [[Social anarchism|social anarchists]],<ref>Long, Roderick T. (2012). "Anarchism". In Gaus, Gerald F.; D'Agostino, Fred, eds. ''The Routledge Companion to Social and Political Philosophy''. [https://books.google.com/books?id=advfCgAAQBAJ&q=In+its+oldest+sense%2C+it+is+a+synonym+either+for+anarchism+in+general+or+social+anarchism+in+particular&pg=PA223 p. 227] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930075228/https://books.google.com/books?id=advfCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA223&dq=In+the+meantime%2C+anarchist+theories+of+a+more+communist+or+collectivist+character+had+bee+developing+as+well.+One+important+pioneer+is+French+anarcho-communists+Joseph+D%C3%A9jacque+%281821%E2%80%931864%29%2C&hl=it&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiZ3vmnxsrmAhWTbsAKHQHXA5AQ6AEIKjAA#v=snippet&q=In%20its%20oldest%20sense%2C%20it%20is%20a%20synonym%20either%20for%20anarchism%20in%20general%20or%20social%20anarchism%20in%20particular&f=false |date=30 September 2020 }}. "In its oldest sense, it is a synonym either for anarchism in general or social anarchism in particular."</ref> but more generally [[Anarcho-communism|libertarian communists]]/[[Libertarian socialism#Marxist|Marxists]] and [[Libertarian socialism|libertarian socialists]].<ref name="RothbardBetrayal">{{cite book|last1=Rothbard|first1=Murray|url=https://cdn.mises.org/The%20Betrayal%20of%20the%20American%20Right_2.pdf|title=The Betrayal of the American Right|orig-date=2007|year=2009|publisher=Mises Institute|isbn=978-1610165013|page=83|quote=One gratifying aspect of our rise to some prominence is that, for the first time in my memory, we, 'our side,' had captured a crucial word from the enemy. 'Libertarians' had long been simply a polite word for left-wing anarchists, that is for anti-private property anarchists, either of the communist or syndicalist variety. But now we had taken it over.|access-date=10 November 2019|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221173352/https://cdn.mises.org/The%20Betrayal%20of%20the%20American%20Right_2.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Marshall"/> These libertarians sought to [[abolish capitalism]] and [[private ownership]] of the [[means of production]], or else to restrict their purview or effects to [[usufruct]] property norms, in favor of [[Common ownership|common]] or [[Worker cooperative|cooperative ownership]] and [[Workers' self-management|management]], viewing private property in the means of production as a barrier to freedom and liberty.{{refn|<ref name="Kropotkin">{{cite book|title=Anarchism: A Collection of Revolutionary Writings|last=Kropotkin|first=Peter|publisher=Courier Dover Publications|year=1927|isbn=978-0486119861|page=150|quote=It attacks not only capital, but also the main sources of the power of capitalism: law, authority, and the State.}}</ref><ref name="Otero">{{cite book|title=Radical Priorities|last=Otero|first=Carlos Peregrin|publisher=[[AK Press]]|others=Chomsky, Noam Chomsky|year=2003|isbn=1902593693|editor-last=Otero|editor-first=Carlos Peregrin|edition=3rd|location=Oakland, California|page=26|chapter=Introduction to Chomsky's Social Theory}}</ref><ref name="Chomsky 2003">{{cite book|title=Radical Priorities|last=Chomsky|first=Noam|publisher=[[AK Press]]|year=2003|isbn=1902593693|editor=Carlos Peregrin Otero|edition=3rd|location=Oakland, California|pages=227–228}}<!-- Verified 22 November 2011. --></ref><ref name="Carlson p. 1006">Carlson, Jennifer D. (2012). "Libertarianism". In Miller, Wilbur R. ''The Social History of Crime and Punishment in America: An Encyclopedia''. SAGE Publications. [https://books.google.com/books?id=tYME6Z35nyAC&dq=right-libertarianism&pg=PA1006 p. 1006] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221173347/https://books.google.it/books?id=tYME6Z35nyAC&pg=PA1006&dq=right-libertarianism&hl=it&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjVoNT9_uvlAhWN6aQKHWZ6AUUQ6AEINjAB |date=21 December 2019 }}. "[S]ocialist libertarians view any concentration of power into the hands of a few (whether politically or economically) as antithetical to freedom and thus advocate for the simultaneous abolition of both government and capitalism".</ref>}} While all libertarians support some level of [[individual rights]], [[Left-libertarianism|left-libertarians]] differ by supporting an [[Egalitarianism|egalitarian]] [[Redistribution of wealth|redistribution]] of natural resources.<ref name=":6" /> Left-libertarian{{refn|<ref name="Kymlicka" /><ref name="Goodway" /><ref name="Marshall p. 641" /><ref name="Spitz" /><ref name="Newman" />}} ideologies include [[Anarchism#Schools of thought|anarchist schools of thought]], alongside many other anti-[[Paternalism|paternalist]] and [[New Left]] [[schools of thought]] centered around [[economic egalitarianism]] as well as [[geolibertarianism]], [[green politics]], [[market-oriented left-libertarianism]] and the [[Steiner–Vallentyne school]].{{refn|<ref name="Kymlicka" /><ref name="Spitz" /><ref name="Routledge p. 227">"Anarchism". In Gaus, Gerald F.; D'Agostino, Fred, eds. (2012). ''The Routledge Companion to Social and Political Philosophy''. p. 227. "The term 'left-libertarianism' has at least three meanings. In its oldest sense, it is a synonym either for anarchism in general or social anarchism in particular. Later it became a term for the left or Konkinite wing of the free-market libertarian movement, and has since come to cover a range of pro-market but anti-capitalist positions, mostly individualist anarchist, including agorism and mutualism, often with an implication of sympathies (such as for radical feminism or the labor movement) not usually shared by anarcho-capitalists. In a third sense it has recently come to be applied to a position combining individual self-ownership with an egalitarian approach to natural resources; most proponents of this position are not anarchists."</ref><ref name="Vallentyne" /><ref name="Carson">Carson, Kevin (15 June 2014). [https://c4ss.org/content/28216 "What is Left-Libertarianism?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903175118/http://c4ss.org/content/28216 |date=3 September 2019 }}. Center for a Stateless Society. Retrieved 28 November 2019.</ref> }} After the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|fall of the Soviet Union]], libertarian socialism grew in popularity and influence as part of [[Anti-war movement|anti-war]], [[Anti-capitalism|anti-capitalist]] and [[Anti-globalization movement|anti-]] and [[Alter-globalization|alter-globalisation]] movements.<ref name="rupert" />{{Sfn|Hahnel|2005|pp=138–139}}

In the mid-20th century, American [[right-libertarian]]{{refn|<ref name="Goodway"/><ref name="Newman"/><ref name="Marshall p. 565"/><ref name="Carlson"/>}} proponents of [[anarcho-capitalism]] and [[Night watchman state|minarchism]] co-opted<ref name="RothbardBetrayal"/> the term ''libertarian'' to advocate ''[[laissez-faire]]'' [[capitalism]] and strong [[private property rights]] such as in land, infrastructure and natural resources.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hussain|first=Syed B.|title=Encyclopedia of Capitalism, Volume 2|year=2004|publisher=Facts on File Inc|location=New York|isbn=0816052247|page=492|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FbVZAAAAYAAJ|quote=In the modern world, political ideologies are largely defined by their attitude towards capitalism. Marxists want to overthrow it, liberals to curtail it extensively, conservatives to curtail it moderately. Those who maintain that capitalism is an excellent economic system, unfairly maligned, with little or no need for corrective government policy, are generally known as libertarians.|access-date=31 October 2015|archive-date=30 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930075322/https://books.google.com/books?id=FbVZAAAAYAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> The latter is the dominant form of [[libertarianism in the United States]].<ref name="Carlson"/> This new form of libertarianism was, a revival of [[classical liberalism in the United States]],<ref name="Adams 2001">{{cite book |last=Adams |first=Ian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=apstK1qIvvMC5wDQFBFM0FMC&pg=PA32PA4 | title=PoliticalLibertarianism: IdeologyFor Todayand Against |publisher isbn=Manchester978-0-7425-4259-4 University| Presslast1=Duncan |year first1=2001Craig |isbn last2=9780719060205Machan |edition first2=reprinted,Tibor revisedR. |location date=Manchester}}</ref>{{page2 June 2024 needed|date publisher=JulyRowman & Littlefield 2022}} which</ref> occurred due to [[Modern liberalism in the United States|American liberals']] embracing [[Progressivism in the United States|progressivism]] and [[economic interventionism]] in the early 20th century after the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]] and with the [[New Deal]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fee.org/articles/who-is-a-libertarian/|title=Who is a libertarian?|last=Russell|first=Dean|year=1955|website=[[Foundation for Economic Education]]|quote=Many of us call ourselves 'liberals.' And it is true that the word 'liberal' once described persons who respected the individual and feared the use of mass compulsions. But the leftists have now corrupted that once-proud term to identify themselves and their program of more government ownership of property and more controls over persons. As a result, those of us who believe in freedom must explain that when we call ourselves liberals, we mean liberals in the uncorrupted classical sense. At best, this is awkward and subject to misunderstanding. Here is a suggestion: Let those of us who love liberty trade-mark and reserve for our own use the good and honorable word 'libertarian'.}}</ref> Since the 1970s, right-libertarianism has spread beyond the United States,<ref name="Teles & Kenney 2007">Teles, Steven; Kenney, Daniel A. "Spreading the Word: The Diffusion of American Conservatism in Europe and Beyond". In Kopsten, Jeffrey; Steinmo, Sven, eds. (2007). [https://books.google.com/books?id=Mfy3k0BWBNAC ''Growing Apart?: America and Europe in the Twenty-First Century'']. [[Cambridge University Press]]. pp. 136–169.</ref> with [[List of libertarian political parties|right-libertarian parties]] being established in the [[United Kingdom]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Singleton |first=Alex |date=30 May 2008 |title=How Libertarians undermine liberty |work=Daily Telegraph |url=http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/alexsingleton/4341751/How_Libertarians_undermine_liberty/ |url-status=dead |access-date=10 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090625210549/http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/alexsingleton/4341751/How_Libertarians_undermine_liberty/ |archive-date=25 June 2009}}</ref> [[Israel]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Staff writer |author-link=Staff writer |date=24 March 2019 |title=Feiglin: Palestinians in Gaza had more rights under Israel |work=[[Israel Hayom]] |url=https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/03/24/today-on-the-israelections-program-moshe-feiglin/ |access-date=26 August 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Harkov |first=Lahav |date=17 March 2019 |title=The Feiglin phenomenon |url=https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/The-Feiglin-phenomenon-583567 |access-date=17 March 2019 |website=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |quote=The leader of the rising Zehut Party is attracting more than just young potheads to his libertarian platform.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Zehut |url=https://en.idi.org.il/israeli-elections-and-parties/parties/zehut/ |access-date=21 February 2019 |website=[[Israel Democracy Institute]] |quote=[...] and personal liberty. Its platform includes libertarian economic positions [...].}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Eglash |first=Ruth |date=4 April 2019 |title=A pro-pot party could tip the scales in Israel's upcoming election |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/a-pro-pot-party-could-tip-the-scales-in-israels-upcoming-election/2019/04/04/01060ec4-5617-11e9-aa83-504f086bf5d6_story.html |access-date=7 April 2019 |quote=Now you have two special-interest groups. What pulls them together is the strong libertarian, anti-state agenda that works well for both.}}</ref> [[South Africa]]<ref>Staden, Martin (2 December 2015). [http://rationalstandard.com/remembering-the-founder-of-sa-libertarianism-dr-marc-swanepoel "Remembering the Founder of SA Libertarianism, Dr. Marc Swanepoel"]. ''Rational Standard''. Retrieved 20 September 2020.</ref> and [[Argentina]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2021/10/07/javier-milei-a-libertarian-may-be-elected-to-argentinas-congress|title=Javier Milei, a libertarian, may be elected to Argentina’sArgentina's congress|publisher=[[The Economist]]|date=7 October 2021|access-date=21 November 2023}}</ref> Minarchists advocate for [[night-watchman state]]s which maintain only those functions of government necessary to safeguard natural rights, understood in terms of self-ownership or autonomy,<ref name=":3" /> while anarcho-capitalists advocate for the replacement of all state institutions with private institutions.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Geloso |first1=Vincent |last2=Leeson |first2=Peter T. |date=2020 |title=Are Anarcho-Capitalists Insane? Medieval Icelandic Conflict Institutions in Comparative Perspective |url=https://www.cairn.info/revue-d-economie-politique-2020-6-page-957.htm |journal=Revue d'économie politique |language=en |volume=130 |issue=6 |pages=957–974 |doi=10.3917/redp.306.0115 |issn=0373-2630 |quote=Anarcho-capitalism is a variety of libertarianism according to which all government institutions can and should be replaced by private ones. |s2cid=235008718|doi-access=free}}</ref> Some right-wing variants of libertarianism, such as anarcho-capitalism, hashave been labeled as [[Far-right politics|''far-right'']] or [[Radical right (United States)|''radical right'']] by some scholars.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goodwin |first=Barbara |title=Using Political Ideas |publisher=John Wiley and Sons, Inc. |year=2016 |isbn=978-1118708385 |location=Hoboken, NJ |page=151 |quote=Howewer, enough has been said to show that most anarchists have nothing in common with those libertarians of the far-right, the anarcho-capitalists [...]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Liberalism: Old and New |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0521703055 |editor-last=Paul |editor-first=Ellen F. |volume=24 |page=199 |editor-last2=Miller |editor-first2=Fred D. |editor-last3=Paul |editor-first3=Jeffrey}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Oxford Handbook of Political Philosophy |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0195376692 |editor-last=Estlund |editor-first=David |page=162}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hammer |first=Espen |title=Encyclopedia of Philosophy and the Social Sciences |publisher=SAGE Publications |year=2013 |isbn=978-1506332611 |editor-last=Kaldis |editor-first=Byron |volume=1 |pages=558–560 |chapter=Libertarianism, Political}}</ref> Right-wing libertarian ideals are also prominent in far-right [[American militia movement]] associated with extremist anti-government ideas.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Oxford Handbook of Social Movements |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0191667824 |editor-last=della Porta |editor-first=Donatella |page=527 |quote=[...] these militia organizations often revived long-since discarded state militia insignia and organization names while simultaneously aligning them with contemporary far-right libertarian politics (Crothers 2004). |editor-last2=Diani |editor-first2=Mario}}</ref>

Traditionally, libertarian practice has taken extraparliamentary form,{{citation needed|date=November 2023}} such as in the [[Spanish Revolution of 1936]], the [[New Left]], the [[Zapatista uprising]], the [[Tea Party movement]], and the [[Rojava Revolution]]. However, libertarian practice has also taken parliamentary form in recent years.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}} In 2022, student activist and self-described libertarian socialist [[Gabriel Boric]] became [[head of state]] of [[Chile]] after winning the [[2021 Chilean presidential election]] with the {{lang|es|[[Apruebo Dignidad]]|italic=no}} coalition.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |title=A new group of left-wing presidents takes over in Latin America |worknewspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2022/03/12/a-new-group-of-left-wing-presidents-takes-over-in-latin-america |access-date=2023-11-22 |issn=0013-0613}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Can a rise of leftist leaders bring real change to Latin America? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/program/the-stream/2022/3/23/can-a-rise-of-leftist-leaders-bring-real-change-to-latin-america |access-date=2023-11-22 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite news |last=Boyes |first=Roger |date=2023-11-22 |title=Biden risks losing Latin America to Beijing |newspaper=[[The Times]] |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/biden-risks-losing-latin-america-to-beijing-tcrl9c0zp |access-date=2023-11-22 |archive-url=https://archive.istoday/521cr20220614221555/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/biden-risks-losing-latin-america-to-beijing-tcrl9c0zp |archive-date=June 14, 2022 |issn=0140-0460}}</ref> In 2023, Argentine economist [[Javier Milei]] became the first openopenly right-wing libertarian head of state,<ref name="FoxMilei">{{citationcite web needed|datelast1=NovemberUnsworth 2023|reasonfirst1=CitedDavid source|title=Javier neverMilei claimscrushes himArgentine toleft, bebecomes "theworld's first" libertarian head of state |url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/javier-milei-crushes-argentine-left-becomes-worlds-first-libertarian-head-state |website=[[Fox News]] |access-date=25 November 2023 |date=19 November 2023}}</ref> after winning [[2023 Argentine general election|that year's general election]] with the [[La Libertad Avanza]] coalition.<ref name=":9">{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/argentina-readies-vote-likely-presidential-election-thriller-2023-11-19/|publisher=[[Reuters]]|title=Argentine libertarian Milei pledges new political era after election win|date=20 November 2023|access-date=21 November 2023}}</ref>

The first recorded use of the term ''libertarian'' was in 1789, when [[William Belsham]] wrote about [[Libertarianism (metaphysics)|libertarianism]] in the context of metaphysics.<ref>{{cite book|author=William Belsham|title=Essays|publisher=C. Dilly|year=1789|postscript=Original from the University of Michigan, digitized 21 May 2007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z6Y0AAAAMAAJ&q=William+Belsham+libertarian&pg=PA11|page=11|access-date=26 October 2020|archive-date=11 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411095920/https://books.google.com/books?id=Z6Y0AAAAMAAJ&q=William+Belsham+libertarian&pg=PA11|url-status=live}}</ref> As early as 1796, ''libertarian'' came to mean an advocate or defender of liberty, especially in the political and social spheres, when the London Packet printed on 12 February the following: "Lately marched out of the Prison at Bristol, 450 of the French Libertarians".<ref>OED November 2010 edition</ref> It was again used in a political sense in 1802 in a short piece critiquing a poem by "the author of Gebir" and has since been used with this meaning.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120802021008/http://archive.mises.org/18385/the-origin-of-libertarianism ''The British Critic'']. p. 432. "The author's Latin verses, which are rather more intelligible than his English, mark him for a furious Libertarian (if we may coin such a term) and a zealous admirer of France, and her liberty, under Bonaparte; such liberty!"</ref><ref>[[John Robert Seeley|Seeley, John Robert]] (1878). ''Life and Times of Stein: Or Germany and Prussia in the Napoleonic Age''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 3: 355.</ref><ref>[[Frederick William Maitland|Maitland, Frederick William]] (July 1901). "William Stubbs, Bishop of Oxford". ''[[English Historical Review]]''. 16[.3]: 419.</ref>

According to modern American libertarian [[Walter Block]], left-libertarians and right-libertarians agree with certain libertarian premises, but "where [they] differ is in terms of the logical implications of these founding axioms".<ref name="Block">Block, Walter (2010). [https://mises.org/journals/jls/22_1/22_1_8.pdf "Libertarianism Is Unique and Belongs Neither to the Right Nor the Left: A Critique of the Views of Long, Holcombe, and Baden on the Left, Hoppe, Feser, and Paul on the Right"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513050938/http://mises.org/journals/jls/22_1/22_1_8.pdf |date=13 May 2014 }}. ''[[Journal of Libertarian Studies]]''. '''22'''. pp. 127–170.</ref> Although several modern American libertarians reject the [[political spectrum]], especially the [[left–right political spectrum]],<ref name="Rothbard">Rothbard, Murray (1 March 1971). [https://mises.org/library/left-and-right-within-libertarianism "The Left and Right Within Libertarianism"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101091933/https://mises.org/library/left-and-right-within-libertarianism |date=1 November 2020 }}. ''WIN: Peace and Freedom Through Nonviolent Action''. '''7''' (4): 6–10. Retrieved 14 January 2020.</ref><ref name="Read">Read, Leonard E. (January 1956). [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/neither-left-nor-right#axzz2Vgjo32JJ "Neither Left Nor Right"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718043628/http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/neither-left-nor-right#axzz2Vgjo32JJ |date=18 July 2014 }}. ''[[The Freeman]]''. '''48''' (2): 71–73.</ref><ref name="Browne">Browne, Harry (21 December 1998). [http://www.harrybrowne.org/articles/Abortion.htm "The Libertarian Stand on Abortion"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101006055112/http://www.harrybrowne.org/articles/Abortion.htm |date=6 October 2010 }}. HarryBrowne.org. Retrieved 14 January 2020.</ref><ref name="Raimondo">Raimondo, Justin (2000). ''An Enemy of the State''. Chapter 4: "Beyond left and right". [[Prometheus Books]]. p. 159.</ref><ref name="Machan">Machan, Tibor R. (2004). [http://www.hoover.org/publications/books/8300 "Neither Left Nor Right: Selected Columns"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101182255/http://www.hoover.org/publications/books/8300 |date=1 January 2011 }}. '''522'''. [[Hoover Institution Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0817939823}}.</ref> several strands of libertarianism in the United States and right-libertarianism have been described as being right-wing,<ref name="Robin">{{cite book|title=The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Sarah Palin|last=Robin|first=Corey|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2011|isbn=978-0199793747|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780199793747/page/15 15–16]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780199793747/page/15}}</ref> [[New Right]]<ref>{{cite journal|title=Right‐LibertarianRight-Libertarian Parties and the "New Values": A Re‐examinationRe-examination|last1=Harmel|first1=Robert|last2=Gibson|first2=Rachel K.|journal=Scandinavian Political Studies|date=June 1995|volume=18|issue=July 1993|pages=97–118|doi=10.1111/j.1467-9477.1995.tb00157.x}}</ref><ref>Robinson, Emily; ''et al.'' (2017). [https://academic.oup.com/tcbh/article/28/2/268/3061496 "Telling stories about post-war Britain: popular individualism and the 'crisis' of the 1970s"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803093146/https://academic.oup.com/tcbh/article/28/2/268/3061496 |date=3 August 2020 }}. ''Twentieth Century British History''. '''28''' (2): 268–304.</ref> or [[Far-right politics|radical right]]<ref>Kitschelt, Herbert; McGann, Anthony J. (1997) [1995]. ''[[The Radical Right in Western Europe|The Radical Right in Western Europe: A Comparative Analysis]]''. University of Michigan Press. [https://books.google.com/books?id=AZiD0rsmqO4C&dq=%22right-libertarianism%22&pg=PA27 p. 27] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805010036/https://books.google.com/books?id=AZiD0rsmqO4C&pg=PA27&dq=%22right-libertarianism%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=p5rcUPreFaXv0gGnvICACA&ved=0CDwQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22right-libertarianism%22&f=false |date=5 August 2020 }}. {{ISBN|978-0472084418}}.</ref><ref>Mudde, Cas (11 October 2016). [https://books.google.com/books?id=3PgwDQAAQBAJ&q=Right-libertarianism ''The Populist Radical Right: A Reader''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804162515/https://books.google.com/books?id=3PgwDQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Populist+Radical+Right:+A+Reader&hl=it&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj60OqKmYHnAhVQDOwKHelHBMIQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=Right-libertarianism&f=false |date=4 August 2020 }} (1st ed.). Routledge. {{ISBN|978-1138673861}}.</ref> and [[reactionary]].<ref name="Baradat">{{cite book|title=Political Ideologies|last=Baradat|first=Leon P.|publisher=Routledge|year=2015|page=31|isbn=978-1317345558}}</ref> While some American libertarians such as [[Walter Block]],<ref name="Block"/> [[Harry Browne]],<ref name="Browne"/> [[Tibor Machan]],<ref name="Machan"/> [[Justin Raimondo]],<ref name="Raimondo"/> [[Leonard Read]]<ref name="Read"/> and [[Murray Rothbard]]<ref name="Rothbard"/> deny any association with either the left or right, other American libertarians such as [[Kevin Carson]],<ref name="Carson"/> [[Karl Hess]],<ref>Hess, Karl (18 February 2015). [https://c4ss.org/content/35952 "Anarchism Without Hyphens & The Left/Right Spectrum"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200317182806/https://c4ss.org/content/35952 |date=17 March 2020 }}. Center for a Stateless Society. Tulsa Alliance of the Libertarian Left. Retrieved 17 March 2020. "The far left, as far as you can get away from the right, would logically represent the opposite tendency and, in fact, has done just that throughout history. The left has been the side of politics and economics that opposes the concentration of power and wealth and, instead, advocates and works toward the distribution of power into the maximum number of hands."</ref> and Roderick T. Long<ref>Long, Roderick T. (8 April 2006). [https://mises.org/library/rothbards-left-and-right-forty-years-later "Rothbard's 'Left and Right': Forty Years Later"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010073127/https://mises.org/library/rothbards-left-and-right-forty-years-later |date=10 October 2019 }}. Mises Institute. Rothbard Memorial Lecture, Austrian Scholars Conference 2006. Retrieved 17 March 2020.</ref> have written about libertarianism's left-wing opposition to authoritarian rule and argued that libertarianism is fundamentally a left-wing position. Rothbard himself previously made the same point.<ref>Rothbard, Murray (Spring 1965). "Left and Right: The Prospects for Liberty". ''Left and Right: A Journal of Libertarian Thought''. '''1''' (1): 4–22.</ref>

Libertarianism is a "[t]heory upholding...[individual] rights...above all else" and seeks to "reduce" the power of a state or states, especially ones a libertarian lives in or is closely associated with, to "safeguard" and maintain individualism.<ref name=":212">{{Cite book |lastlast1=Black |firstfirst1=Jeremy |title=World History |last2=Brewer |first2=Paul |last3=Shaw |first3=Anthony |last4=Chandler |first4=Malcolm |last5=Cheshire |first5=Gerard |last6=Cranfield |first6=Ingrid |last7=Ralph Lewis |first7=Brenda |last8=Sutherland |first8=Joe |last9=Vint |first9=Robert |publisher=Parragon Books |year=2003 |isbn=0-75258-227-5 |location=[[Bath, Somerset]] |pages=342 |author-link=Jeremy Black (historian)}}</ref>

Elements of libertarianism can be traced back to the higher-law concepts of the [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]] and the [[Israelites]], and [[Christian theologians]] who argued for the moral worth of the individual and the division of the world into two realms, one of which is the province of God and thus beyond the power of states to control it.<ref name="Boaz" /><ref name="cato.org">Boaz, David (21 November 1998). [https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/preface-japanese-edition-libertarianism-primer "Preface for the Japanese Edition of Libertarianism: A Primer"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210055131/https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/preface-japanese-edition-libertarianism-primer |date=10 December 2019 }}. [[Cato Institute]]. Retrieved 10 December 2019.</ref> The [[Right-libertarianism|right-libertarian]] economist [[Murray Rothbard]] suggested that Chinese [[Taoist]] philosopher [[Laozi]] was the first libertarian,<ref>Rothbard, Murray (2005). Excerpt from "Concepts of the Role of Intellectuals in Social Change Toward Laissez Faire", ''The Journal of Libertarian Studies'', Vol. IX, No. 2 (Fall 1990) at [https://mises.org/daily/1967 mises.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108220713/http://mises.org/daily/1967 |date=8 November 2014 }}</ref> likening Laozi's ideas on government to [[Friedrich Hayek]]'s theory of [[spontaneous order]].<ref>Rothbard, Murray (2005). "The Ancient Chinese Libertarian Tradition", ''Mises Daily'' (5 December 2005) (original source unknown) at [https://mises.org/daily/1967 mises.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108220713/http://mises.org/daily/1967 |date=8 November 2014 }}</ref> Similarly, the [[Cato Institute]]'s [[David Boaz]] includes passages from the ''[[Tao Te Ching]]'' in his 1997 book ''The Libertarian Reader'' and noted in an article for the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' that Laozi advocated for rulers to "do nothing" because "without law or compulsion, men would dwell in harmony."<ref name="Boaz2">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Libertarianism |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/339321/libertarianism |access-date=21 February 2017 |date=30 January 2009 |author-link=David Boaz |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504222253/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/339321/libertarianism |archive-date=4 May 2015 |quote=An appreciation for spontaneous order can be found in the writings of the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu (6th century bce), who urged rulers to "do nothing" because "without law or compulsion, men would dwell in harmony." |author=Boaz, David |url-status=live}}</ref> Libertarianism was influenced by debates within [[Scholasticism]] regarding private property and [[slavery]].<ref name="Boaz" /> Scholastic thinkers, including [[Thomas Aquinas]], [[Francisco de Vitoria]], and [[Bartolomé de las Casas|Bartolomé de Las Casas]], argued for the concept of "self-mastery" as the foundation of a system supporting individual rights.<ref name="Boaz" />

In January 1776, only two years after coming to America from England, Thomas Paine published his pamphlet ''[[Common Sense (pamphlet)|Common Sense]]'' calling for independence for the colonies.<ref name=Sprading>Sprading, Charles T. (1913) [1995]. ''Liberty and the Great Libertarians''. [[Mises Institute]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=STQJ_DjQuw8C&dq=Thomas+Paine+libertarian&pg=PA74 p. 74] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805003223/https://books.google.com/books?id=STQJ_DjQuw8C&pg=PA74&dq=Thomas+Paine+libertarian&sa=X#v=onepage&q=Thomas%20Paine%20libertarian |date=5 August 2020 }}. {{ISBN|978-1610161077}}.</ref> Paine promoted liberal ideas in clear and concise language that allowed the general public to understand the debates among the political elites.<ref>Hoffman, David C. (Fall 2006). "Paine and Prejudice: Rhetorical Leadership through Perceptual Framing in Common Sense". ''Rhetoric and Public Affairs''. '''9''' (3): 373–410.</ref> ''Common Sense'' was immensely popular in disseminating these ideas,<ref>Maier, Pauline (1997). ''American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence''. New York City: Knopf. pp. 90–91.</ref> selling hundreds of thousands of copies.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hitchens |first=Christopher |title=Thomas Paine's Rights of Man |year=2006 |isbn=0802143830 |publisher=[[Grove Press]] |page=37}}</ref> Paine would later write the ''[[Rights of Man]]'' and ''[[The Age of Reason]]'' and participate in the [[French Revolution]].<ref name=Sprading/> Paine's theory of property showed a "libertarian concern" with the redistribution of resources.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Lamb |first=Robert |year=2010 |title=Liberty, Equality, and the Boundaries of Ownership: Thomas Paine's Theory of Property Rights |journal=Review of Politics |volume=72 |issue=3 |pages=483–511 |doi=10.1017/s0034670510000331 |hdl=10871/9896 |s2cid=55413082 |url=https://semanticscholar.org/paper/a176b1ceaa106c703806e7aaa11e6c1b850edc35 |access-date=1 December 2019 |archive-date=19 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419203438/https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Liberty%2C-Equality%2C-and-the-Boundaries-of-Ownership%3A-Lamb/a176b1ceaa106c703806e7aaa11e6c1b850edc35 |url-status=live |hdl-access=free}}</ref>

The [[Revolutions of 1917–1923|revolutionary wave of 1917–1923]] saw the active participation of anarchists in Russia and Europe. Russian anarchists participated alongside the [[Bolshevik]]s in both the [[February Revolution|February]] and [[October Revolution|October]] 1917 revolutions. However, Bolsheviks in central Russia quickly began to imprison or drive underground the libertarian anarchists. Many fled to Ukraine,.<ref>{{cite book|last=Avrich|first=Paul|title=The Russian Anarchists|publisher=AK Press|location=Stirling|year=2006|isbn=1904859488|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5pqSkSgKacAC&q=The+Russian+Anarchists+libertarian&pg=PA195|pages=195, 204|access-date=26 October 2020|archive-date=23 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323162647/https://books.google.com/books?id=5pqSkSgKacAC&q=The+Russian+Anarchists+libertarian&pg=PA195|url-status=live}}</ref> whereAfter theythe fought for theanarchist [[Makhnovshchina]] inhelped the [[Russian Civil War]]stave againstoff the [[White movement]], monarchists and other opponents of revolution and then against Bolsheviks as part ofduring the [[RevolutionaryRussian InsurgentCivil Army of Ukraine]] led by [[Nestor MakhnoWar]], who established an anarchist society in the region.Bolsheviks Theturned victory ofon the Bolsheviks damaged anarchist movements internationally as workersMakkhnovists and activistscontributed joined [[Communist party|Communist parties]]. In France andto the Unitedschism States, for example, members ofbetween the major syndicalist movements of the [[Confédération générale du travail|CGT]]anarcho-syndicalists and [[Industrial Workers of the World|IWW]] joined the [[Comintern|Communist International]]Communists.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Drachkovitch|editor1-first=Milorad M.|first=Max|last=Nomad|author-link=Max Nomad|contribution=The Anarchist Tradition|title=The Revolutionary Internationals, 1864–1943|publisher=Stanford University Press|page=88|year=1966|isbn=0804702934}}{{verify source|datechapter-url=March 2013https://archive.org/details/revolutionaryint0000unse_y9l9/page/88/mode/2up}}</ref>

In 1971, a small group led by [[David Nolan (libertarian)|David Nolan]] formed the [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian Party]],<ref>Winter, Bill. [https://waybackbooks.archive-it.org/all/20170525185828/https://groups.yahoogoogle.com/neo/groups/cp3/conversations/topics/9701 "1971–2001: The Libertarian Party's 30th Anniversary Year: Remembering the first three decades of America's 'Party of Principle'"].{{dead link|datebooks?id=January 2018|bot1abOEAAAQBAJ&pg=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} ''LP News''.PA337</ref> which has run a presidential candidate every election year since 1972. Other libertarian organizations, such as the [[Center for Libertarian Studies]] and the Cato Institute, were also formed in the 1970s.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110716024031/http://www.isil.org/network/global/C19/ International Society for Individual Liberty Freedom Network list].</ref> Philosopher [[John Hospers]], a one-time member of Rand's inner circle, proposed a non-initiation of force principle to unite both groups, but this statement later became a required "pledge" for candidates of the Libertarian Party and Hospers became its first presidential candidate in 1972.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://71republic.com/2018/11/11/the-libertarian-party-history/|title=The Libertarian Party: A History From Hospers to Johnson|website=71 Republic|date=11 November 2018|access-date=22 March 2019|archive-date=22 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322220233/https://71republic.com/2018/11/11/the-libertarian-party-history/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2022, student activist and self-described libertarian socialist [[Gabriel Boric]] became [[head of state]] of [[Chile]] after winning the [[2021 Chilean presidential election]] with the {{lang|es|[[Apruebo Dignidad]]|italic=no}} coalition.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":8" />

In 2023, Argentine economist [[Javier Milei]] became the first open right-wingopenly libertarian head of state,{{citation<ref needed|datename=November 2023|reason=Cited source never describes him as "the firstFoxMilei".}}/> after winning [[2023 Argentine general election|that year's general election]] with the [[La Libertad Avanza]] coalition.<ref name=":9" />

{{social and political philosophy}}