Libertarianism

Libertarianism is the belief that each person has the right to live his life as he chooses so long as he respects the equal rights of others. Libertarians defend each person’s right to life, liberty, and property. In the libertarian view, voluntary agreement is the gold standard of human relationships. If there is no good reason to forbid something (a good reason being that it violates the rights of others), it should be allowed. Force should be reserved for prohibiting or punishing those who themselves use force, such as murderers, robbers, rapists, kidnappers, and defrauders (who practice a kind of theft). Most people live their own lives by that code of ethics. Libertarians believe that that code should be applied consistently, even to the actions of governments, which should be restricted to protecting people from violations of their rights. Governments should not use their powers to censor speech, conscript the young, prohibit voluntary exchanges, steal or “redistribute” property, or interfere in the lives of individuals who are otherwise minding their own business.

Lib​er​tar​i​an​ism​.org
A project of the Cato Institute, Lib​er​tar​i​an​ism​.org provides instant access to writings, multimedia programs, and research from the best contemporary and historical minds on individual liberty, limited government, economics, free markets, history, law, philosophy, political science, and more. The site includes online access to the Encyclopedia of Libertarianism, as well as free print and audio editions of Libertarianism.org’s library of books.