What is "libertarianism"

Libertarianism \Lib`er*ta"ri*an*ism\ (-[i^]z'm), n. Libertarian principles or doctrines.

n. A political philosophy maintaining that all persons are the absolute owners of their own lives, and should be free to do whatever they wish with their persons or property, provided they allow others that same liberty.

n. an ideological belief in freedom of thought and speech

Libertarianism is one of the main philosophical positions related to the problems of free will and determinism, which are part of the larger domain of metaphysics. In particular, libertarianism, which is an incompatibilist position, argues that free will is logically incompatible with a deterministic universe and that agents have free will, and that, therefore, determinism is false. Although compatibilism, the view that determinism and free will are in fact compatible, is the most popular position on free will amongst professional philosophers, metaphysical libertarianism is discussed, though not necessarily endorsed, by several philosophers, such as Peter van Inwagen, Robert Kane, Robert Nozick, Carl Ginet, Harry Frankfurt, E.J. Lowe, Alfred Mele, Roderick Chisholm, Daniel Dennett, and Galen Strawson.

Libertarianism (, "free") is a collection of political philosophies that uphold liberty. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and freedom of choice, emphasizing political freedom, voluntary association, and the primacy of individual judgment. Libertarianism has been applied as an umbrella term to a wide range of political ideas through modern history.

Libertarians generally share a skepticism of authority; however, they diverge on the scope of their opposition to existing political and economic systems. Various schools of libertarian thought offer a range of views regarding the legitimate functions of state and private power, often calling to restrict or to dissolve coercive social institutions.

Some libertarians advocate laissez-faire capitalism and strong private property rights, such as in land, infrastructure, and natural resources. Others, notably libertarian socialists, seek to abolish capitalism and private ownership of the means of production in favor of their common or cooperative ownership and management. An additional line of division is between minarchists and anarchists. While minarchists think that a minimal centralized government is necessary, anarchists propose to completely eliminate the state.

The term libertarian originally referred to a philosophical belief in free will. The term libertarianism became associated with anti-state socialism and Enlightenment-influenced political movements critical of institutional authority believed to serve forms of social domination and injustice. The term has generally retained its political usage as a synonym for either social or individualist anarchism through much of the world. However, in the United States it has since come to describe pro-capitalist economic liberalism more so than anti-capitalist egalitarianism. In the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, libertarianism is defined as the moral view that agents initially fully own themselves and have certain moral powers to acquire property rights in external things.

Libertarianism (sometimes called "social libertarianism" ) is the set of related political philosophies that uphold liberty as the highest political end.

Libertarianism may also refer to:

• Anarchism, an anti-state philosophy for which some use the term "libertarianism" synonymously
• Civil libertarianism, a strain of political thought that emphasizes the supremacy of individual rights and personal freedoms over and against any kind of authority
• Libertarian socialism, a group of political philosophies which aspire to create a non-hierarchical society without private ownership of the means of production or an authoritarian state
• Libertarianism in South Africa
• Libertarianism in the United Kingdom
• Libertarianism in the United States
• Right-libertarianism, a term used by some political analysts and media sources to specify libertarian political philosophies which explicitly support free-market capitalism and property rights
• Libertarianism (metaphysics), philosophical position supporting free will against determinism
• One of several Libertarian political parties and libertarian organizations