How I became a libertarian

Over the next few weeks I plan to post a series of articles describing some of my political beliefs in hopes of spreading the message that there are others out there (many more than you probably imagine) whose beliefs don't fall neatly under the categories of Democrat and Republican (or even liberal or conservative). I figured I should start the series by describing how my thinking evolved.

The truth is, I've always been a libertarian. It just took me some time to realize it.

When I first registered to vote when I was 18, I didn't know much about politics. We didn't talk much about politics at home. I thought my parents were probably Democrats but didn't really know. When I first registed, Republican was the popular party in power, so I just went with that.

I didn't think much about politics for a while after that. But one incident sticks out in my memory--I was an intern at the Rochester City Schools and one of the other interns, obviously politically wise and ambitious, asked me, "So, what are your political leanings?" After a few seconds of my deer-in-the-headlights nonresponse, she continued, "You know, are you liberal or conserative?" I don't recall exactly how I answered, but somehow I came up with a response that satisfied her for the moment.

But that exchange motivated me to do some research. What does it mean to be liberal or conservative? How do those terms relate to the Democrat and Republican parties?

What I found confused me right from the start. Liberalism and conservatism can mean so many different things. Liberalism as originally defined seemed to match a lot of my beliefs: individual rights, freedom of speech, small government. But it doesn't seem to mean that anymore. Now, it seems to be more about ensuring opportunities for everyone: minimum wages, welfare, affirmative action. Conservatism seems to mean the things that liberalism used to mean with an emphasis on slow change in contrast to liberalism. But what is this about social conservatism vs. economic conservatism?

There were so many conflicts when trying to fit my beliefs into those two buckets. I believe that people should keep what they earn rather than paying it to the government. I guess that makes me a Republican. But I believe in a woman's right to choose abortion. That seems to be a Democratic thing. I think welfare and social security are generally bad ideas. Doesn't that make me a Republican? But I believe same-sex unions should be allowed. Doesn't that make me a Democrat? Where is the logic in all this? The consistency? So I remained confused for a while, feeling like I either didn't understand or just didn't have a real political party to call home.

I don't recall exactly how I stumbled onto the Libertarian party and libertarianism in general. But from the moment I did, everything seemed to fit my beliefs. It made sense and was logical and consistent.

There are a lot of misconceptions about what it means to be libertarian. "Aren't they just all about legalizing drugs?", "Don't they want to abolish the government?", "Are those the people that think 9/11 was orchestrated by the U.S. government?" or "Yeah, right, like they ever have a chance of being taken seriously."

Libertarianism is rooted in the idea of individual liberty. That means that people should be allowed to do what they want as long as they don't harm someone else. The purpose of government is to protect that liberty. Note that the U.S. Constitution was built on this principle (ignoring, for now, that it failed to prohibit slavery). So, it is generally fair to say libertarians believe in a government like the one described in our Constitution as designed by our founders.

We believe a big centralized government like the one we have today is actually contrary to the idea that government is for protecting liberties because it takes away more liberties than it protects. It is hugely ineffecient and can't help but be greatly influenced by special interests. It treats us like children rather than responsible individuals and that becomes a growing self-fulfilling prophecy.

I'll talk more about libertarian principles in the weeks ahead. Do you know where you fit into the political spectrum? If not, try the World's Smallest Political Quiz. Post your questions, comments, or perspectives below.