Websters Dictionary defines a Libertarian as:
1: an advocate of the doctrine of free will
2a: a person who upholds the principles of individual liberty especially of thought and action.
Libertarianism has come to be one of the most misunderstood political parties of my generation. Many of us actually agree with this party on several issues without even realizing it. Do you think the government should have minimal influence in whom we marry or what we do with our bodies? Well, then you agree with some Libertarian ideals already.
How about abortion? The Libertarian party believes in the sanctity of life, but they do not state that the government should decide what a woman can or cannot do with her own body.
Then there is the drug war. The Libertarian party argues that drug prohibition takes away safety. In the 1920's during alcohol prohibition, the mafia was thriving and the murder rate rose nearly 70 percent, but in 1933 when the law was lifted, the murder rate fell near its pre-prohibition level. Now, with drug prohibition, we have drive by shootings and the murder rate has nearly doubled.
Then there is the issue of foreign policy. The U.S. currently spends approximately $14 billion per year on foreign aid. Since the end of World War II, the United States has spent more than $400 billion on aid to other countries. The U.S. Agency for International Development itself admits, "Only a handful of countries that started receiving U.S. assistance in the 1950s and 1960s has ever graduated from dependent status."
Even when aid reaches its intended beneficiaries, the results are often counterproductive. An example of this would be when a devastating earthquake hit Guatemala, the local farmers were trying to sell their surplus grain when they found the market flooded by the U.S. Food for Peace program. As a result, according to the Institute for Food and Development Policy, "food aid stood in the way of development." According to journalist Michael Maren, a long-time volunteer with such groups as the Peace Corps, aid to Somalia aggravated the country's famine, disrupted local agriculture, and turned nomadic tribesmen into "relief junkies."
Want to find out what Political Party you are most compatible with? Take this short, and free, quiz to get an idea.