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This article deals with the libertarianism as defined in America and several other nations. For a discussion of the meaning of the term libertarian that is traditional in Europe, see libertarian socialism.
For the use of the term "libertarianism" in the philosophy of free will see libertarianism (philosophy).
"Libertarian" and "libertarianism" are also used to refer to liberty in a general way. For example, someone arguing for civil liberties may be known as a "civil libertarian", regardless of their exact political allegiances.
Libertarianism is a political philosophy which advocates individual rights and a limited government. In common with many other modern political ideologies, Libertarians believe that individuals should be free to do anything they want, so long as they do not infringe upon the rights of others. Libertarians typically emphasise civil rights (such as the right to a fair trial or political participation, sometimes thought of as negative rights) over social rights (the right to a free education or employment, sometimes thought of as positive rights).
The term "libertarianism" in the above sense has been in widespread use only since the 1950s. Libertarian had previously been used most commonly by anarchists to describe themselves, avoiding the derogatory connotations of the word "anarchy". In the aftermath of the crushing of the Paris Commune in 1871, anarchism and anarchists were officially outlawed in many countries for decades, so anarchists often called their groups and publications by another name — hence the adoption of the libertaire as an alternative term in French. In this formulation, which continued in both Europe and the US during the first half of the 20th century19th century 20th century 21st century more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901- 2000 in the sense of the Gre, libertarianism is a variant of socialismFor information on mainstream political parties using the term "Socialist", see Social democracy and Democratic socialism For the governments of the USSR, the PRC, and others, see: Communist state Other variants of Socialism include Marxism, Communism, an.
This is all in marked distinction to the modern US usage, by which libertarians are not socialists at all, and most of them are not anarchistsAnarchism is a generic term describing various political philosophies and social movements that advocate the elimination of hierarchy and imposed authority. These philosophies use anarchy to mean a society based on voluntary cooperation of free individual, but minarchistsIn civics, Minarchism sometimes called minimal statism, is the view that government should be as small as possible. Many minarchists consider themselves part of the libertarian tradition, and claim that what they call minarchy continues the traditions of (i.e., advocates of some minimal state). The term became popular in the United StatesThe United States of America also referred to as the United States U. America ¹ or the States is a federal republic in central North America, stretching from the Atlantic in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It shares land borders with Canada in in the middle of the 20th century19th century 20th century 21st century more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901- 2000 in the sense of the Gre, with thinkers who saw themselves as continuing the classical liberalIn terms of politics, the word liberal (or Liberal can refer to: an adherent of the ideology of liberalism or something in accordance to this ideology. Note: the words "liberal" or "liberalism" can be different in various countries and can be related to t tradition of the EnlightenmentFor the period in European history, The Age of Enlightenment For the corresponding movement in the European Jewish community, see Haskalah''. For the Hindu religious concept of enlightenment, see moksha For the Buddhist religious concept, see enlightenmen. By that time the term liberalismLiberalism is a political current embracing several historical and present-day ideologies that claim defense of individual liberty as the purpose of government. It typically favors the right to dissent from orthodox tenets or established authorities in po had come to refer within the United States to belief in government regulation of the economy and government redistribution of wealth. These classical liberal thinkers therefore came to call themselves libertarians; and from the United States the term has spread to the rest of the world.
However, the traditional use of the term continues in Europe, where the French word libertaire, the Spanish word libertario, etc., are usually translated into English as libertarian.