You may have heard of conservative and liberal ideology. However another ideology is difficult to clarify. Please read this article about libertarianism. What is it? Are they more liberal or conservative? Why do few people identify themselves as libertarians? Why might the ideology be appealing/off-putting?
9 Comments
Rubi Pelayo
10/6/2010 02:13:41 pm
Libertarianism seems to be the middle ground between being a conservative and a liberal. In my opinion, Libertarianism is more liberal as they support ideas such as gay marriage, legalization of some drugs, and immigration which right now seems to be something that most conservative people don't agree with, making them appear as more open minded people. I believe that few people identify themselves as libertarians because people tend to either be liberal or conservative and their ideas are a bit conterversal;therefore, they believe that no one will support their ideology and it's difficult to be in the middle of two different ideologies. The ideal might be appealing to those who don't completely agree with the beliefs of their chosen party so it gives them a spot where they can gather ideas from both parties and personalize them. However, this ideology can be off-putting because it's harder to express ideas which can sometimes contradict each other and have people actually consider or take into account your opinion.
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Liam Van Keuren
10/6/2010 02:22:07 pm
Libertarianism is basiclly the gray line between a republican and democrat although they do lean towards the right more, sometimes. Liberals are like Democrates in a more social way like legalizing gay marriage and legalizing all drugs, and more like a Republican in a economic way like no takes and no welfare. I belive being a liberal is off putting because people like to say they are one party or the other,republican or democratic, they don't like to say I am a liberal so I am just in between, "I can't make up my mind." Some people don't like to be just another party other than republican or democratic.
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Mayra
10/6/2010 02:46:22 pm
I think that libertarianism is a bit liberal due to that they support gay marriages,and immigration and many more. In which most conservatives people dont agree with some of this things mentioned.Fewer people identify themselves as libertarians because they cant really decide on what side they really want to be in so they stay in between.So basically the people will follow the side that will benefit them and that they like.
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Dakota Rose
10/7/2010 01:49:24 am
According to the above article, Librertarianism is a combination of both far-right conservatists, and far-left liberals. For example: the article says that Libertarians believe in eliminating taxes, welfare, and governmental regulation of private companies. But also, they believe in legalizing all drugs - everything from marijuana to PCP - alonside completely legalizing gay marriage and prostitution, as well as the US completely opening up all borders to everyone. Upon examining their views, I have concluded that Libertarians are neither Republican nor Democrat. They are both extremes of those parties, and have no middle grount. It thus is easy to understand why not many people align themselves with the Libertarians; Libertarianims is one of the most radical of the political parties. Therefore, their views can easily be too much for most people to align to. It can be extremely hard for most level-headed US citizens to adhere to an ideology that want to legalize drugs as horribly detrimental as PCP and Methamphetamine. But there are your drug addicts. But take away things like Welfare, and you've lost them, alongside many poor people. You gain the poor without taxes, but with open borders and free immigration, those looking for jobs no longer will vote. Even when some people accept some of the Libertarian views, other views make those same people go away. It draws people in, only to push them away. This will not work in government beacuse many of their ideas will make most citizens hate them. Only those who are either too stupid or too blind to see the dangers of many of the Libertarian ideals will vote for them, and then only for a change in government, like what happened in Germany when Hitler was elected. The citizents hated their government, and thus voted for Hitler, who some had never even heard of before, just to change the structure of government in an attempt to make things better.
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Keenan Frankel
10/7/2010 04:44:37 am
Libertarianism is not very far left or right, in fact its in between republicans and democrats. Libertarianism has elements of both liberal and conservative ideas. For example, Libertarianism is liberal because they believe in legalization of drugs for responsible adults, lenient immigration policies, gay marriage, and the elimination of taxes and welfare. On the more conservative end, they believe in less government involvement in business and commerce. Either way, few people are able to identify themselves as Libertarian because their views are often conflicting, but those who do identify themselves as Libertarian have a problem with being either a democrat or a republican. Libertarianism may appear to be a good option for those leaning in between liberal and conservative parties, however they have views that are extremely left or extremely right, ensuring that no one will be happy and no progress could ever be made in the USA if Libertarians were in control of government. Libertarianism is somewhat hypocritical by claiming to be in the middle of Democrat and Republican ideals.
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Keenan
10/7/2010 04:45:43 am
Oops, I meant to erase that first sentence.
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Diane Meyer
10/7/2010 02:45:16 pm
Based on this article, Libertarianism is a confluence of democratic and republican beliefs. It supports as little government involvement in daily life as possible. It is difficult to determine whether a Libertarianism should be more associated with the democratic party or the republican party, as Libertarianism upholds ideals of both parties. It is liberal in the sense that it supports gay marriage, the legalization of all drugs, and the use of the military only for self defense. However, it also supports the Republican beliefs of less regulation of private businesses, no taxes, and no welfare. According to the article, though, Libertarians tend to vote more Republican, as Republicans support less government infringement regarding peoples businesses and personal lives than do Democrats.
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Gaby Rulon
10/7/2010 03:53:50 pm
Libertarians desire less government control over the public yet tolerance for more socially inclined concepts. Therefore I believe that libertarian ideas are centered upon the dislike towards being controlled by higher powers such as government or laws. That is why Libertarians vote in favor for less government control (Republicans) yet for more social freedom (supposedly supported by democrats). Libertarians therefore cannot be defined as either conservatives or democrats but a party in between. Although in this article it states how Libertarians are more known for their somewhat conservative beliefs, this is just due to the fact that conservatives support less government control. Since they are unable to find a happy medium they must resort to their next option: the Republican party. Because their ideas are somewhat controversial many people are unwilling to accept their beliefs. Although Libertarianism supports the freedoms of an individual much of its ideology has no basis of control or stability. Therefore although it stands between two polar opposites its ideas are actually not based upon compromise. it desires extreme freedom without much regulation. could this promote a stable government?
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Matt Myers
10/8/2010 03:16:50 am
Libertarians are difficult to place on a political map, for they share both extreme liberal ideas, as well as extreme conservative ideas. The ideas expressed are so broad that many people could not identify with all of them, leading to their withdrawl of libertarian identity. Many libertarian ideas are too extreme, such as immigration. There needs to be regulation, not just "free trade wide open borders."
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