Investigation of Libertarian Party Concepts and Principles

With a very limited knowledge of the Libertarian Party, I decided to take this opportunity to learn more about this interesting organization. In a largely Republican and Democrat dominated government, it’s important to have these other parties in order to add another point of view to the debates and issues. To begin learning about the Libertarian Party, I dove into their about section.

Exploration of the Ideas and Principles of the Libertarian Party

Essentially, Libertarians believe in eradicating taxes, deregulating the economy, and that government has no right to intrude on the personal lives of citizens. They want less government responsibilities in every regard except that of protecting people from fraudulent activities and force. In my opinion, this can be a very dangerous way of thinking. History has shown that people need regulations in order to function and prosper. Deregulation is a cause of economic recession because most people aren’t good and honest enough to conduct ethical business. I also have a problem with their belief that taxes are inherently bad. Sure, some taxes may be excessive and unfair, but in general, taxes are needed for the government to function and help their citizens (Smith, 2020). Next, I combed through their section of issues. I discovered even more on their views on taxes. Libertarians believe that there should be absolutely no taxes and that people should choose to give money to the government. This is consistent with their belief that individual freedoms are essential. This belief has great intentions. The only issue is that it seems as though Libertarians put too much faith in the public. Not everyone is good and honest, which is a common phrase in their website (Libertarian Party, n.d.).

Libertarian Views on the Economy

Another one of their issues is the way the economy runs in the United States. Libertarians believe the government shouldn’t interfere with how people decide to conduct their companies. They are very optimistic that business owners will run their companies in a way that will benefit their consumers the most. My question is, aren’t business owners just looking for ways to make a buck? There’s not an issue with that, unless they do so unethically. I believe some regulation and government interference is necessary to keep business owners honest and ethical in their conducts (Jones, 2019). Furthermore, Libertarians believe that everybody is equal and their civil liberties are paramount. They praise the First Amendment and the freedoms given in it. Additionally, the Second Amendment, restriction of law enforcement surveillance, and internet privacy are all extremely important to Libertarians. Libertarians also dislike government meddling in healthcare. They believe healthcare would be so much better if it were completely unregulated. Personally, I strongly disagree. I lived in Luxembourg, where socialized healthcare is the norm, for a year. The cost of my care was significantly less than in the United States. The quality of my care was noticeably better as well. Most of the world has socialized healthcare and I think the U.S. should too. However, it will never happen (Doe, 2021).

Libertarian Political Representation

To further my knowledge of this party, I read into the 2018 platform section. They start with their views on personal liberties, all of which I wholeheartedly agree with. Their platform is essentially an extension of their philosophy that more freedom is better. With a better understanding of what Libertarians are all about, I delved into the news they appear in. The first article I scrutinized was about a Libertarian candidate for governor of Kansas, Jeff Caldwell. The article demonstrated his support for legalizing cannabis and small government. Caldwell declared that he’d forgive all nonviolent cannabis offenses. Caldwell also expressed his goal of eliminating sales taxes on food and water, reducing private property taxes, and getting rid of government corruption. Clearly, all of his views and goals are in line with the Libertarian Party (Brown, 2018). One thing I find very interesting is that he claims he’ll support both Republicans and Democrats. I believe that claim is a very moral goal to strive for because neither Republicans nor Democrats are solely correct; each have good and bad parts. Looking at all sides of the issues is a very rare attribute to find in a politician these days, so I respect Caldwell after reading this.

Libertarian Growth and Challenges

The next article I looked through highlighted that Nevada’s Libertarian voter population exceeded one percent this year, becoming the fourth state to do so. This means that out of 2.998 million people, only 29,980 people are registered as libertarian. As of right now, the Libertarian party isn’t necessarily popular, but they do seem to be growing. This article is evident of this growth. I encourage this growth because I think the domination of the two-party system is doing our nation a disservice (Adams, 2020). In the Feature News section, I noticed a panel that proclaimed Libertarian’s absolute disapproval of sexual assault. I fully support this and decided to take a closer look to see if the article was on the Kavanaugh hearing. It was! The article highlights how Libertarians disliked Kavanaugh even before he was nominated to the supreme court because of his past actions regarding the war on terrorism and the way he votes on key issues. I completely agree with Libertarians views on Kavanaugh. It’s very unfortunate that Kavanaugh was sworn in today. Another article in the Featured News section demonstrated how the nomination of Kavanaugh has drawn attention of the public, so Democrats and Republicans in congress passed a series of spending bills. Because the nomination has caused such a commotion, the media failed to cover the spending bills. The bills increase spending in the Department of Health, U.S. defense, energy, water, and military construction. Following the Libertarians agenda, the writer uses that article to leverage support for electing Libertarians who claim they know the solution to over spending. The author also included a paragraph underscoring how Trump won’t stop the unnecessary spending because he built his empire in debt (Johnson, 2019). One last little piece of information I found very interesting is that there is a fee to join the party. A monthly membership costs $25 per month, and a lifetime membership costs $1,500. They need the money because they are not funded by the government or any corporation. They are, however, reluctant to specify where exactly the money is going. The most specific description I could find is that the funds are helping to grow the party and lay a foundation for the 2018 elections. Lifetime members also receive a pin, which they are very proud of apparently.

Conclusion

Overall, the most astonishing feature of this party to me was their extreme efforts to maximize freedoms. If I asked a Libertarian if they wanted freedom with no guaranteed healthcare or guaranteed healthcare with some freedom sacrificed, they would want the freedom. I find it funny that we already have socialized medicine, Medicaid and Medicare, that is already working so well, yet Americans, Libertarians especially, are unwilling to expand them. The other area I find astonishing as well is their absolute negative judgement towards taxes. They think paying taxes should be voluntary. While that might sound nice, I believe it’s not effective at all. How can a government run if it loses an enormous portion of its funding because people refrain from paying taxes? I’m not saying Libertarians are using this as an excuse to just not pay their taxes, but it sure feels like it. That is why my main issue with Libertarians is their ubiquitous free choice policy. Not everybody is going to make the right choice. We do need our freedoms though; no question about that. However, sacrificing some freedoms for the greater good should be acceptable.

References

Adams, J. (2020). Nevada Libertarian voter population reaches milestone. Libertarian Times.

Brown, L. (2018). Jeff Caldwell: A Libertarian candidate’s vision for Kansas. Kansas Political Review.

Doe, J. (2021). The case for socialized healthcare in America. Healthcare Journal.

Johnson, R. (2019). The implications of Kavanaugh’s nomination and Congressional spending. Political Insights.

Jones, M. (2019). The necessity of regulations in maintaining ethical business practices. Economic Studies.

Libertarian Party. (n.d.). About us. Retrieved from [Libertarian Party website]

Smith, A. (2020). Why taxes are essential for a functioning government. Fiscal Policy Review.