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libertarianism

libertarianism

27 8.8
Belief that people should have as much personal freedom as possible with little government control
  • noun
  • /ˌlɪbərˈtɛəriənɪzəm/
translation icon : libertarianismo
  • The core principle of libertarianism is the belief that individual liberty should be prioritized over state control.
  • libertarianism or determinism
  • libertarianism score

And what I want to argue is that libertarianism has shifted over time.

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Examples

  • So from your perspective, what is libertarianism as a philosophy?

  • So what does libertarianism say about the role of government or of the state?

  • Now I argue that libertarianism is the belief system of the Internet.

  • The biggest issue in libertarianism is stopping corporate welfare.

  • Everyone recognizes to some degree the intuitive pull of this brand of libertarianism.

    Academic text (2005)
  • KMW has probably contributed more to libertarianism than 99.9% of all the people who've ever voted libertarian.

    Blog text (9)
  • Many supporters of libertarianism believe that individuals should have the right to make their own decisions without government interference.

  • Libertarianism advocates for minimal government intervention in personal choices and freedoms.

Synonyms

individualism
vslibertarianism
4 5.3

A belief that people should be free to run businesses without government control

extends to freedom in thought, speech, and action beyond mainly economic matters
libertopian ideal
vslibertarianism
  • Jargon
9.9

A belief in maximum personal freedom and very little government control

is a held belief aiming to maximize liberty in thought, speech, and action

Antonyms

120 5.5

A cruel use of power to control and hurt people

A system where one person or small group has almost all political power

How Libertarian

anarchism
10 8.2
libertarianism
27 8.8
liberalism
78 5.8
statism
  • Formal
8 9.1

Surface Forms

Morphology

libertarianism = libertarian (semi-transparent) = libert + arian + ism

While the components 'libertarian' and 'ism' are clear, the specific philosophical and political connotations require additional context.

Etymology

The word libertarianism comes from liberty, which means 'freedom', and the ending -ism, which means 'a belief or system'. So libertarianism is the belief that people should have as much personal freedom as possible and that the government should do as little as possible.