Hello and welcome to the Libertarian Discussion Thread. I've commented on this thread's validity and I believed that we needed one in conjunction with the Right- and Left- wing discussion threads, which do not really address libertarian concerns and arguments, and are unsatisfactory for most people who want to explore libertarianism and libertarian thinking without having to trudge through the other threads, evidenced here.
Because “we” libertarians tend to see ourselves as distinct from the modern right and left, I’ve decided that it would be prudent for a specifically libertarian discussion thread. Topics for discussion may include, the US Libertarian Party, various libertarian parties - some more prominent or successful than others - across the globe, the libertarian ideology, conflicts between libertarians, conflicts between libertarians and other political ideologies, the practical application of libertarianism, Medieval Iceland and other supposedly libertarian societies, "thick" verse "thin" libertarianism, natural rights verse consequentialist arguments, and other various arguments. Note that this thread may also apply to adherents of classical and neo- liberalism, of which there is some overlap, with the main differences being values and philosophy instead of policy per se, and adherents of anarchist ideologies such as agorism, voluntaryism, and even mutualism whose origins also arose out of classical liberalism and like their ancestor still maintain a steadfast commitment to free markets and social liberties, despite some major differences in policy, voting and electoral change, as well as views on property and what constitutes as breach of aggression, and sometimes related but distinct ideologies such as Objectivism which had an influence on modern libertarianism.
Because this thread literally won't float without a topic of discussion, allow me to start with one: Who, out of the three most popular candidates running for the US Libertarian Party presidential spot, do you support? Their juicy details that would make some of the Reps and Dems blush below:
Gary Johnson, who had been the 2012 Libertarian nominee for president, pulled an amazing one million votes last election (the size of a large city!), is fairly popular amongst Libertarians while at the same time managing to be swallowable for the public. Former two-term governor of New Mexico who holds a record for vetoed legislation. Pro-choice, and believes that Jewish bakers should be forced to bake Nazi cakes for Nazis. The most "liberal," out of the candidates, self described "bleeding heart libertarian," but that wasn't enough for him to say back in January that we should ban the burka, although he did quickly rescind it. Climbed Mount Everest because why not.
John McAfee, a cybersecurity expert, a billionaire and "lady's man" (rawr), and has significantly more name recognition than the other candidates, seems to have some sort of personal grudge against Gary Johnson. Was apparently wanted by the government of Belize under suspicionfor committing murder. Seems to take the "middle" position on everything, opining to know what the definition of a drug is before answering whether the drug war should end. If Gary Johnson is the drugged out hippie, this guy is the drug dealer, at least according to Petersen.
Austin Petersen, a thirty-five year old internet troll and the designer of what is probably the most click-baity site on the internet, has no political credentials whatsoever unlike Johnson or the wealth and connections of McAfee. Pro-life, arguably the most "conservative" (libertarian-conservative) of the three, has an interesting economic policy called the "penny plan" in which 1% of spending would be axed from all departments until the US debt is brought under line IIRC. Believes we should enact letters of marque against ISIS instead of boots on the ground in the Middle East, an idea popular amongst some libertarians and also pirates.
If you haven't already, I'd recommend watching the Stossel debates between these three candidates if you want a greater understanding of them, even if it can be cringe inducing at times.
To answer my question, I think Gary Johnson is the best suited for the presidency. First of all, the fact that the other candidates do not have any political credentials worries me greatly, as the presidency is not just any executive office but you are literally running for the helm of what is perhaps one of the strongest countries both militarily and economically in the world, I think that experience should almost be required for running. Finally, Johnson has scored over 11% in some university polls in which last year rarely came above 7%, which I think is a sign that in conjunction with the media time he's gotten over the last several years and the growing amount of people - like generally fiscally conservative establishment Republicans and leftists who dislike Hillary but wouldn't vote for Trump if it comes down between them, he could have the potential to do very well - if not win the presidency, then at least skyrocket the Libertarian Party and other third parties into media attention, bring to light much needed electoral reform and possibly gain the 5% necessary to secure next year's federal funding and ballot access which significantly would significantly free up resources for the Libertarian Party to work off of that.
Edit: Yes I am aware that 6marion9 made another thread, but I found it was rather inadequate to start a discussion and I am amazed that the mods haven’t locked it, furthermore it doesn’t really convey what needed to be said.
Poll Results
Poll 1: Who would you support for the Libertarian Party candidacy? (The Liberated Territories) - 63% Voted Gary Johnson
Poll 2: What type of libertarian are you?
Constitutionalist - 20%
Minarchist - 21%
Anarcho-Capitalist - 8%
Voluntaryist/Agorist - 2%
Egoist/Individualist - 6%
Mutualist - 4%
Georgist - 3%
None of the Above/Not libertarian - 36%
Poll 3: Best Libertarian Ideologue
Murray Rothbard - 4%
Robert Nozick - 22%
Ron Paul - 18%
David D. Friedman - 1%
Hans-Hermann Hoppe - 12%
Milton Friedman - 32%
Roderick T. Long - 1%
Samuel Edward Konkin III - 1%
Walter Block - 1%
Other - 8%
Poll 4: Where do you live?
United States - 56%
Canada - 2%
United Kingdom - 8%
Australia - 8%
France - No votes
Germany - 2%
Spain - No votes
Czech Republic - 2%
Brazil - 2%
some other weird ass place - 19%
Poll 5: What religion do you belong to?
