How did you become a libertarian?

[TheBlackPeterSchiff]

Explain you ideological history, or have you always been libertarian/anarchist/conservative etc?

Growing I was just a str8 liberal Democrat like most kids. My parents were Democrats, and the black folks in my neighborhood were Democrats so when I turned 18, I registered to vote, and I voted Democrat. But then I saw the Democrat I voted for was just a crook (mayor of N.O.). I wasnt to politically involved back then, I might check out the mainstream news channels, see what people are talking about. But I usually gravitated toward the candidate that would talk about jobs and growing high tech industry. Bobby Jindal was the first Republican I voted for back in 04 when ran for Governor and lost. But at the same time I was also disenchanted with Bush, who I always felt was a horrible President (never was a big fan of wars). Then as I got more into life, started working, paying taxes, having to support myself I started finding myself getting pissed of at the welfare system in this country. Here I am, and black man, grew up in the hood like everyone else, but I was able to break free. Yet Im paying all these taxes to support some other lazy fuckers. Shit pissed me off but people would try to tell me "it's fair" and "spreading the wealth is a good thing"...they would try to turn me onto socialism, but I read Karl Marx and did all kind of reading, and it just seemed stupid to me. I didn't even seem like it would work theoretically let alone in practice.

Then I was more of a independent that was fiscally conservative, but as I look back I was pretty much a statist. I even was a fan of Bill O'Reilly (although I disagreed with his war mongering). Never did like Hannity though. By 07 I was so sick of wars I just wanted Bush out and someone else in, Obama was running on ending the war in Iraq so he pretty much had my vote. And back then, if you look at what he was saying he held some libertarian positions (change the drug war, decriminalize marijuana, etc). So he was cool with me. Then I kept hearing about this Ron Paul character, I check out his website. This crazy guy was talking about eliminating the income tax, ending the military industrial complex (which I had no idea what that was back then), making drugs legal, eliminating entire departments......I was like WTF, I've never heard stuff like this before!!! But something about it was intriguing.

Still, I moved on with my statist ways. Then I started reading more and more about the Military industrial complex, the corrupt taxation system, and the unlawful things that were happening under Bush, and was getting more sick to my stomach. Then...the 08 meltdown happened. All this talk about giving hundreds of billions to banks, it just did not sit well with me, meanwhile Obama and McCain are for it. Then one day, a friend of mine tells me, I need to check out this video called Peter Schiff was right. I did and was floored. This guy new exactly what was he was talking about and it felt right. Further investigation lead me to Mises.org. I spent nights just reading articles on the site that just opened my eyes. It felt like I've been drugged my whole life and I was starting to sober up. I started running across people that though just like me and they put me onto this site, lewrockwell.com, books about Austrian economics, freedom, liberty, etc. I was engulfed in knowledge and truth telling.

Now, here I am.

[Brett]

When I got into politics all I saw in the media was Hilary and Obama. I thought they were both batshit crazy. Then I saw McCain as the only other option, so I naturally supported him. About a month before the inauguration I read Ron Paul's "The Revolution". Since then I've slowly become more of an anarchocapitalist and a social libertarian.

[Bruno]

In the 80's, I hated the absurdity of the Drug War or our foreign policy, so I didn't see myself siding with Reagan. Eight years of hoping for something else.

I thought there was hope with Clinton, but he escalated the Drug war, built more prisons, 100,000 officers on the streets, etc. Eight years of hoping for something else.

It was during the Clinton years that I read Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do - The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in Our Free Country by Peter McWilliams. That book really hit home with me.

I haven't felt aligned with either party since.

Bush: Well, eight more years of hoping for something else.

Obama: 'nuff said. Hopefully only four years?

[Chester Copperpot]

I think Ive always been libertarian but never knew what it was called until I was at a 4-h fair back in the 1980s.. And I met the libertarian party who had a booth set up and I took that little political quiz of theirs...I remember hearing a badnarik ad some years ago and liking everything I heard. I had no idea who the guys was, that he was a libertarian or a constitutionalist, etc. but i still liked his platform.

[ARealConservative]

like most, I became libertarian because I was young and ignorant.

As I matured, I realized it isn't a viable position. Mankind is nowhere near ready for pure libertarian ideology.

[Chester Copperpot]

like most, I became libertarian because I was young and ignorant.

As I matured, I realized it isn't a viable position. Mankind is nowhere near ready for pure libertarian ideology.

That might be true... But I refuse to grow up.:cool:

[ChaosControl]

I've always been conservative, I think my only real change was foreign policy. I used to be moderate in that I'd be fine with interventionism as long as it benefited us, now of course I'm non-interventionist. I'm not sure where that got changed. Somewhere between I would guess January of 05 and January of 07 though.

[Paulitical Correctness]

Until '07 I was pro-Bush, pro-war, and anti-everything else (I was one of those straight edge kids that dropped acquaintances like flies over cigarettes, alcohol, etc..)

One of my best friends, for whatever reason, patched things up with me dozens of times after our differences over weed. About the time I noticed Ron Paul (who is this guy they're treating like shit?...) in the debates was around the same time I was trying to tolerate her "drug" use.

"The non-aggression axiom is the lynchpin of the philosophy of libertarianism. It states, simply, that it shall be legal for anyone to do anything he wants, provided only that he not initiate (or threaten) violence against the person or legitimately owned property of another." - I read that on LRC and everything clicked.

The rest just fell into place bit by bit as I sat intrigued by the debates.

Ultimately, it was the non-aggression axiom that brought me over...but my friend's persistence in tolerating my authoritarian views on weed helped tremendously.

Ironically, she voted Clinton.

[Agorism]

2003 invasion of Iraq + a republican who was against it (Ron Paul)

[pcosmar]

I lived in a cage.
Though it was my own fault (Stupidity of youth) I was convicted on my own testimony and accepted my punishment.

Having lived in a cage, I value my freedom more than ever.
I know, recognize, and understand the cage.

I am a Free Man. I wish to remain so. I wish it for others.
:cool:

[speciallyblend]

Harry Browne, we need a new brandname, combine the lp/tp/cp leaders and rpr/rpd and indys and we would have a viable 2nd party!!! create a new platform and brandname!! it can be done eventually once everyone has exhausted the use of the failed gop establishment! never say never or there never would of been a republican party!!

[kylejack]

"I'm not a libertarian."
-Rand Paul

[torchbearer]

I was born one.

[Au-H2O]

I have always been fairly anti big governement. I remember arguing with my eighth grade History teacher. I remember him implying that raising the minimum wage was something that had no downside. I remember saying, "Well, I think that some people deserve minimum wage," and he didn't take to kindly to that. Looking back I probably come up with a more persuasive arguement, but I was only in 8th grade.

I was a Sean Hannity type of conservative (minus the being a closed minded jerk part). I remember running through my hometown during the '08 Presidential primaries and I saw this Ron Paul lawn sign. I remember laughing at it. What joke! I supported Huckabee in the primaries, and I voted McCain for president.

Eventually I started reading more and more about politics, and I read "The Revolution." I've been hooked on The Austrian school ever since. I've also had a complete turn around to being a non-interventionist.

[Live_Free_Or_Die]

I have never trusted people who would ask me to convert to a belief under a threat of force.

[TheBlackPeterSchiff]

Interesting stuff guys. Keep it coming.

[dannno]

I was into politics as a kid, very interested, always asking a lot of questions. I got into Rush Limbaugh from hearing him on the radio and a lot of what he said made sense. I read his books and agreed with a lot of it..

Then my best friend's dad who was a genius MIT grad was a libertarian and he got me off the Republican bandwagon and I decided I was more libertarian.. I was a big fan of Gary Johnson back when he was governor, and wrote him a letter and I got a good reply.

I went to college and Nader/Chomsky and the whole anti-war, anti-crony capitalism, pro-environmental movement got me kinda caught up in that, but I always told people I was a green/libertarian.. I was socially liberal and fiscally responsible.. but I still didn't "get it" completely until Ron Paul came on the scene and tied everything together for me.

[fisharmor]

It's really interesting to read everyone else's responses.

I was a kid once, but I was never a liberal Democrat. My parents were (and unfortunately still are) Republicans, so I inherited that.

I was a volatile kid. I never did like to be pushed around or told what to do. Well, that's not an accurate description: several times while being bullied at school I found myself in tears, not because I was upset at the bully, but because it's all I could do to keep from fingering the back of his eye socket, or killing him with a history textbook.

My love affair with Mary Jane started in the late 80's. I had a problem with it initially, and my folks put me in a rehab session that kept me off it for a couple years. Not legal trouble, nor school punishment, nor being the son of a Coast Guard officer who busted shipfulls of the stuff had anything to do with how I ended up: only indulging periodically.

Voted for the first time for Bush in the Bush/Clinton race. Voted Republican in every presidential race but the last one, all in the name of the lesser evil. Voted largely Republican in small elections, too, also under the this-muppet-is-less-of-a-muppet doctrine.

I bought into the warmaking Lee Greenwood bullshit pretty hardcore.

It was the internet that brought me around.

I never lived in a literal cage. I am still in a process started in 2007 by Ron Paul, where I am realizing the extent of the figurative cage we live in, and how little one needs to do to move from figurative to literal.

I don't generally self identify as libertarian. I suppose what I would say of myself is that I am finding something new every day that we all take for granted, a gospel truth handed down by our betters, which, upon investing a mere five seconds of ponderance thereon, is clearly revealed to be utter horseshit.

But there's no word for that.

[JCF]

I grew up in a Mexican family. I lived with many people in my life... Anyone from my drug dealing gang affiliated father to my mother's best friends who were white and very christian.

A lot of sexual experiences and a lot of drugs and alcohol around when I was younger (7-12 years old). On the flip side I was around VERY socially conservative people for a short time which conflicted with my "Let it all hang out" attitude.

When I was around 13 my mother and step dad got into heroin. Long story short we ended up becoming homeless. During this time churches took us in, I saw a lot of bad and good people... A lot liars and thieves. People teaching me how to "properly" steal from stores or how to use things and return them to get the money back etc... Some of these guys even stole from the church which really kinda made me resent a lot of poor homeless people.

At least in my case 50% tended to be good people who wanted to get back on their feet while the other 50% would go around stealing from all the churches and then find someway to get vouchers (welfare) to get into hotels for a month.


Oh by the way, my parents didn't stop using drugs and didn't bother to work or look for food until the unemployment checks stopped coming. Life (food-wise) was better in the churches.

===

So then comes around 2007, we get our tax return and enough money to get into a small apartment. Eventually we got enough to move into a more "safe" neighborhood, this is when I started getting into politics (around 15 years old). I got into the independent study program which let me do ALL my work at home. So I had a lot of free time; and what came next? TALK RADIO!

Now I was into it all, Rush, Levin, Savage... I never got into Hannity because he always seemed pretty phony.

But man did I love talk radio, I thought they were geniuses because anytime a "lib" would come on they would completely destroy them with their attacks. Being the angsty teenager with anger problems I have, I really loved hearing the loud rudeness within these hosts.

One day I was very sick and I was listening to Michael Savage, something just came over me and I said to myself "these guys don't care about me, they just want to sell a book". So soon after I stopped listening, eventually their rantings and attacks against their callers really became boring and I noticed they never really took any intelligent callers who would challenge them on the issues (especially socially conservative issues).


I started to view the liberal side, I didn't know much about libertarians. Because of all the talk radio it was always "liberal vs conservative".

Dem underground, rev left, dailykos... I didn't want to become a liberal I was just very interested. I started doing MY OWN research on the issues, not only reading up on certain laws but making sure I knew what my local "conservatives" were voting on (project vote smart).

Overtime I came to understand and respect the liberal viewpoint but I still wasn't convinced because even though I knew the attacks against them from the talk show hosts were empty, the democrats were still liars and thieves, all I had to do was watch c-span to see them for who they truly are.

On another board there were a few Libertarians/Constitutionalists, now they were for the most part very intelligent and unlike the liberals and conservatives on the board they would stick to the issues and not bring up stupid personal attacks because they weren't about that, they just wanted to get the word out.

Next comes Ron Paul (the election was over already), and I heard a bit about him but I never understood why people called him crazy or why he was so huge. It came to the point where I was googling "why is Ron Paul crazy". Too lazy intellectually to read anything I decided to just see what democrats/progressives had to say about him. They said he was a "crazy racist kook" that was "good on Foreign policy but crazy on everything else"... Then I hear them say "one of the last real republicans". Which really hit home with me, I don't care about the racist thing, even if it is true... I don't think he hates blacks or would intentionally harm blacks with the way he votes.

But I really was interested so I finally decided to look him up, checked out the debates on youtube, viewed his voting record and FINALLY started to check out the specifics of what people were saying and not just eating the words and taking it as truth.

I've come to like the libertarian mindset. Now of course I naturally stay wary of everyone (even Ron Paul) I no longer can worship any politician, no matter what their voting record looks like... I know these are the Ron Paul forums but it's just with me now.


I'm now 17, turning 18 on April 8th and I'm joining the Marines. I'm only signing up for 4 years (8 I guess... Reserves or whatever). I'm a gentleman with good manners and I love being around family. Kind of weird for my age but whatever :confused:

These days it's all about going out and meeting my teacher to return the work. Seeing homeless guys snort drugs off trashcans, people in drag going into stores, watching 20 year old losers get swindled out of a bunch of money (by really smooth people with NICE rental cars). You know, reality :rolleyes:

the only person I actually respect in my family would be my Uncle who's been serving for 23+ years.

Now he's seen the evils of affirmative action and quotas, he tells me he's passed up for promotion so a black or Mexican can get the spot even though he does much better on the tests or whatever it is they do. He holds no anger for minorities though (he's not my blood). But it sucks because he's one rank away from the top and they're forcing him into retirement soon. He's a good christian guy who hasn't done anything bad to anyone. Nicest guy you'll ever meet.


I hate to use such labels but I guess my views would be libertarian. I could go on but I think posted what was (for the most part) relevant. Sorry for how messy it got near the end.

[Elwar]

When I went to college I was deciding whether or not I was a Republican or Democrat because that's all I thought there were.

I went to hear Bill Clinton speak at my college and realized I wasn't a Democrat...so I must be a Republican...

My biggest issue has always been the income tax. I've hated it since before my first paycheck. After seeing that the Republican Party was the party of slowing down the Democrats and not about smaller government, I found the Libertarian Party. Both through Irwin Schiff and through Harry Browne.

[Erazmus]

How did I become a libertarian? The short answer, I started thinking for myself. :)

[akforme]

I never really was too much into politics. I hated Bush and Reagan growing up. Rush had a TV show for a while and I tried watching it but it turned me off from republicans. It was always the dems fault and the GOP could do no wrong, and I hate that.

I voted for Clinton out of high school but voted GOP for my reps. I hated bush right from the start and voted for both Gore and Kerry. By the time Kerry came around I voted for him out of hatred for GW more than anything else. I remember telling my neocon friends who'd I argue that I wasn't a liberal, that I don't agree with them either. I remember saying, I'm for freedom no matter what the issue is but part of me actually thought that's what liberals believed that too, at least more than neocons. After the dems got control in 06 I really was unhappy with how they acted.

At the beginning of the 08 race I gave a 100 bucks to Biden and thought he was the best choice. I remember the first time I heard Ron Paul which was on Real Time and I thought he was a bit weird. He actually didn't agree with the civil war. After watching the first couple GOP debates he said something that caught my attention and that was the federal reserve. My dad, who's more a liberal union worker, always told me the banks run the world and that JFK was killed by the Federal Reserve. However that's all he ever said about it, and I couldn't understand what he meant.. After hearing Ron say that I started my research and after about 3 months I woke up to what I have missed all along.

The funny thing is my dad will not give Ron Paul a chance. "I'm not voting for no god damn republican from texas" is all I get in response when I bring him up but he totally agrees with everything I say especially the federal reserve.

[TheBlackPeterSchiff]

Great responses guys. Real interesting shit.

Great write up JCF! Sorry to hear about your uncle that keeps getting passed up for promotions due to Affirmative Action. Please dont feel any angst towards minorities for that. The system is just screwed on so many levels.

[heavenlyboy34]

Used to be a conservative, but life experiences and readings convinced me that libertarianism (esp. the anarchist strain of it) is correct.

[bunklocoempire]

I was raised with the “lesser of two evils” philosophy (Republican version). Due to apathy/hopelessness/fear I simply voted party line. At the time of the Iraq War I began questioning the methods/reasoning of the invasion. Who gains, who pays, why we were attacked, best method of dealing with threats, etc., etc..

I saw Ron Paul on “The Daily Show”. I researched Paul and found I agreed with his message.

After all my research and good results, I still found myself having one last “knee-jerk” experience (the LAST one) with the infamous Rudy/Paul “blame America” moment. I worked through that quickly –within minutes. I had discovered the danger of fear, and what being bombarded with constant fear leads to –control.

I have found over the years that my Christian faith has grown in direct proportion to my faith in Liberty –and vice versa. One compliments the other extremely well.

The emphasis of both being on individual relationships and responsibilities (God/man and man/mankind), wanting to do something instead of having to do something (true freedom), as well as the courage demanded by my Christian faith and courage demanded by faith in Liberty. :)



Bunkloco

[heavenlyboy34]

like most, I became libertarian because I was young and ignorant.

As I matured, I realized it isn't a viable position. Mankind is nowhere near ready for pure libertarian ideology.

Why is it unviable? Because it is unpopular? That's a poor excuse. If that's your reason, you would have to abandon capitalism, Constitutionalism, and any notion of "rights" because, in the grand scheme of things, they just aren't popular. Servitude and tyranny are far more common in history than any notion of individual liberty.

I agree that most humans aren't ready for libertarianism (just as most are too dependent on welfare of some sort to be truly free), but that does not make it unviable or an unworthy goal. :cool:

[ARealConservative]

Why is it unviable? Because it is unpopular? That's a poor excuse. If that's your reason, you would have to abandon capitalism, Constitutionalism, and any notion of "rights" because, in the grand scheme of things, they just aren't popular. Servitude and tyranny are far more common in history than any notion of individual liberty.

I agree that most humans aren't ready for libertarianism (just as most are too dependent on welfare of some sort to be truly free), but that does not make it unviable or an unworthy goal. :cool:

Has nothing to do with popularity. It has to do with viability.

It is as viable as expecting the lion population to become vegetarians

[tremendoustie]

Has nothing to do with popularity. It has to do with viability.

It is as viable as expecting the lion population to become vegetarians

Do you believe we will always have murderers? Of course. Do you believe that therefore we should accept murder? No.

We should work to eliminate aggressive violence. How likely we are to succeed, and to what extent, is irrelevant.

[Old Ducker]

like most, I became libertarian because I was young and ignorant.

As I matured, I realized it isn't a viable position. Mankind is nowhere near ready for pure libertarian ideology.

Whatever. Why don't you start a "Why I quit being a libertarian" thread instead of hijacking this one?

[speciallyblend]

loving all the answers. i woke up thanks to harry browne before that i was democrat!!

[Bruno]

thread off track


Whatever. Why don't you start a "Why I quit being a libertarian" thread instead of hijacking this one?

and right back on the rails

[treyfu]

I grew up in a Republican household, but when I went to college, I began thinking for myself for once. I began to be more open to "socially liberal" ideas. This evolved into thinking of myself as "fiscally conservative and socially liberal", but I didn't really understand this was a very simple definition of a libertarian....

And then I discovered Ron Paul. First saw his name on Digg forums, and as I read about where he stood on policies, I found myself agreeing on most things right away, and thinking about the others until I realized they made since.

Since then I've studied economics in my spare time and have evolved into a pretty pure libertarian.

[heavenlyboy34]

Has nothing to do with popularity. It has to do with viability.

It is as viable as expecting the lion population to become vegetarians

Not so. Unless you mean through the political process-then you'd be accurate. The political process is thoroughly corrupt and aggressive, and libertarianism wouldn't succeed this way (the Declaration of Independence wouldn't have either). The way libertarianism succeeds is through effectively communicating to real people. Indeed, the critical mass of people would have to abandon Statism before libertarianism could succeed on a mass scale. However, as Harry Browne, et. al. showed, libertarianism can still succeed on the individual level. (see "How I Found Freedom In an Unfree World")

[Elle]

I didn't realize I held Libertarian ideology until I had to take a political quiz in a Poli Sci class in college.

I've always thought that people should be able to do what they want as long as they were not harming anyone else.

Do as ye will, harm ye none.

[speciallyblend]

Not so. Unless you mean through the political process-then you'd be accurate. The political process is thoroughly corrupt and aggressive, and libertarianism wouldn't succeed this way (the Declaration of Independence wouldn't have either). The way libertarianism succeeds is through effectively communicating to real people. Indeed, the critical mass of people would have to abandon Statism before libertarianism could succeed on a mass scale. However, as Harry Browne, et. al. showed, libertarianism can still succeed on the individual level. (see "How I Found Freedom In an Unfree World")

harry browne was the man i met him 2 times way back then;) the gop should be thanking harry browne or i wouldn't have joined the gop or support Ron Paul 2012!!

[ARealConservative]

Not so. Unless you mean through the political process-then you'd be accurate. The political process is thoroughly corrupt and aggressive, and libertarianism wouldn't succeed this way (the Declaration of Independence wouldn't have either). The way libertarianism succeeds is through effectively communicating to real people. Indeed, the critical mass of people would have to abandon Statism before libertarianism could succeed on a mass scale. However, as Harry Browne, et. al. showed, libertarianism can still succeed on the individual level. (see "How I Found Freedom In an Unfree World")


Great. Don’t see how that actually helps anybody. Someone can sit in prison for 10 years reminding themselves that the morality trap is just a trap, all the while they are living with a significant decrease in freedom.

[Che]

I was born and educated in S. Korea until I emigrated to the states for better education. But the conditions in S. Korea and the dominant US military bases right next to my apartment is what intrigued me to study U.S. foreign policy. Then, I read Chalmers Johnson's "Blowback", that was when I finally got to understand the whole puzzle and tried to fit in the puzzle. Meanwhile, the 9/11 and Iraq/Afghanistan War led me to a new path. I curiously questioned myself how the U.S foreign policy is intricately financed by the Federal Reserve. That was when I delved into austrian economics, stock market finance, anarchocapitalism, fiat currency, sound money, and how pretty much fcked we are.
Now that you ask, come to think of it, I wouldn't be in this place if it wasn't Congressman Ron Paul, he was the one that really dragged me out of the Plato's cave and opened my eyes.

[heavenlyboy34]

Great. Don’t see how that actually helps anybody. Someone can sit in prison for 10 years reminding themselves that the morality trap is just a trap, all the while they are living with a significant decrease in freedom.

It helps you in that you can find your own freedom and work around government (it's explained in Browne's book in good detail), and that it's not reasonable to expect freedom from the government. from pg 14, "It's not likely that you'll ever gain your freedom by joining, marching, picketing, or complaining--because all those methods rely upon changing the attitudes of others. What I have in mind concerns the
use of methods over which you have complete control." :cool:

[TroySmith]

Always interested in politics, history, philosophy.

Ayn Rand and Ron Paul helped me pull it all together.

[lester1/2jr]

became politicized after 9/11 and went through neo con, liberal etc till dicovery pat buchanan's columns, then justin raimaondo and ron paul

[surf]

HS (Austrian) Econ - a libertarian teacher many moons ago

[Chieppa1]

Hated Hannity because my father always listened to him. Saw snowball incident on Youtube. Googled "Ron Paul". Liked what I saw. Ordered "Revolution". Finished it in one day. That was that. 2 years later and I've totally converted my father.

[RM918]

Hated Hannity because my father always listened to him. Saw snowball incident on Youtube. Googled "Ron Paul". Liked what I saw. Ordered "Revolution". Finished it in one day. That was that. 2 years later and I've totally converted my father.

And they said snowballs never got us anywhere.

Me, I was pretty much neoconny because my family was Republicanish. I didn't even really understand politics at all so figured Iraq got what came to them. Then I saw the Giuliani-Paul debacle and I went from there, "What? We don't HAVE to be gigantic pricks to everybody?".

[tremendoustie]

Pro-war conservative -> pro-war "libertarian" -> anti-war libertarian -> supporter of NAP.

My starting point was mainly determined by Rush and other talk show hosts, as well as my family's beliefs. For quite some time, I tried to come up with moral forms of taxation. I was floored when I discovered RP, but disagreed with him on foreign policy. After listening to what he had to say, I changed my mind on that issue. Finally, I decided that there is no moral form of taxation, and the use of aggressive violence leads to nothing good.

[speciallyblend]

Hated Hannity because my father always listened to him. Saw snowball incident on Youtube. Googled "Ron Paul". Liked what I saw. Ordered "Revolution". Finished it in one day. That was that. 2 years later and I've totally converted my father.

hmmmm ,now i am thinking how can i sticker snowballs in the co mtns and have them splatter Ron Paul 2012 on impact:)

[ibaghdadi]

BlackPeterSchiff, you beat me to it. I was just about to start this very thread. Anyway, here's my (very short, and censored) story.

I'm a game programmer by education, and since 2000 had been running a software development firm. I've always been an avid reader, and by the second half of 2004 I felt like I'm intellectually stagnating, having read everything that can be read about my field. I decided to pick up a topic I knew absolutely nothing about: economics.

I started reading a standard college textbook (with the usual Keynsians story), but to its credit it did give an exposure to classical economics as well (each instance ending with how it doesn't work and we need the government to step in, blah blah). Going through the book I discovered that I was always a "classical liberal" economically speaking - I was just finding the words for it.

I still love going through the notes I scribbled in that book through my first reading... mind you, this was before I even heard of Mises or Rothbard, or Schiff, or even Ron Paul...! Here's some of my notes:

"It seems to me that government interference in the economy extends a trend that should have died... I'd rather have a sharp crash, then recover, than have a decade-long recession"
"Keynsian economics are big government economics, inflation economics, and one step ahead lies socialism"
I thought that Keynes was an economic genius and held FDR in high regard. Now I despise both of them.


Shortly after, a friend of mine introduced me to Mises.org and Austrian economics. I took this quiz (http://mises.org/quiz.aspx) on Mises.org and found out, yet again, and before reading anything on Austrian theory, that I'm already "an Austrian".

By 2005 I was having heated discussions with just about everyone I knew about how the US empire is unsustainable and that an economic collapse is going to bring it down. And of course, I was ridiculed (not nearly as publicly as Schiff, though).

I only started identifying as "libertarian" around 2008, having "discovered" that there's actually a word for what I've believed all along.

I won't comment on what was before 2004 because it may scare some people. I guess I'll keep it for another time.


Iyad

[TCE]

Started off as a Socialist. I thought the government could pass a law and the world's problems would be cured. Despised Bush on a million and one levels and thus, thought I was a Democrat. However, I kept wondering why government was always so incompetent. It took so much more money to accomplish things in the government over the private sector. I saw all entitlements being abused. So I moved away from that and eventually heard about Dr. Paul through Dr. Mercola/Naturalnews.com and liked what he had to say. A year later, I looked into all of his positions and now I am a borderline anarcho-capitalist.

[ARealConservative]

Whatever. Why don't you start a "Why I quit being a libertarian" thread instead of hijacking this one?

how is giving my honest answer a thread hijack exactly?

In a sense, your reaction is a microcosm of my discovery. I said something offensive (to you), and you sprung to action seeking to modify my behavior. It's human nature.

[jake]

how is giving my honest answer a thread hijack exactly?

In a sense, your reaction is a microcosm of my discovery. I said something offensive (to you), and you sprung to action seeking to modify my behavior. It's human nature.

oh boy.. :rolleyes:

[FunkBuddha]

How did you become a libertarian?

The Lady of the Lake,
[angels sing]
her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur
from the bosom of the water signifying by Divine Providence that I,
FunkBuddha, was to carry Excalibur.
[singing stops]
That is why I am a libertarian!

[speciallyblend]

The Lady of the Lake,
[angels sing]
her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur
from the bosom of the water signifying by Divine Providence that I,
FunkBuddha, was to carry Excalibur.
[singing stops]
That is why I am a libertarian!

this deserves this classic RON PAUL 2012 baby;)

YouTube - Excalibur (1981) - Montage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA8MeJFRh04)

makes my hair stand up everytime:)

[Natalie]

My dad is a Libertarian. In school, we had to do that Kids Vote thing, and my dad complained to the school for only giving us two choices.

[haaaylee]

for me it was like blacking out, my friend sent me a Ron Paul link during the elections and at first i said "Oh God, a Republican who is pro-life? After Bush? No way." And then before i knew it all i could do was be here, study economics, and buy as many Libertarian books as possible on Amazon.com. It literally felt like it happened over night, and i can't even tell you what it was on Ron's website that did it- but somehow that man convinced me real fast. . .

[mediahasyou]

I was raised by a Republican father in a county that votes 80% Republican.

As a young child, my father asked "why the world was the way it is" which instilled curiosity in me.

I became interested in Glenn Beck and the global warming debate in fall 2008.

In 2008, I saw Ron Paul in a debate and saw that he was the only one that I agreed with economicly.

I looked up Ron Paul that brought me to the propagandistic youtube videos. The stuff made sense. I became delving deeper into the internet searching for the reasons why the world is the way it is.

[mediahasyou]

The Lady of the Lake,
[angels sing]
her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur
from the bosom of the water signifying by Divine Providence that I,
FunkBuddha, was to carry Excalibur.
[singing stops]
That is why I am a libertarian!

YouTube - A New Perspective (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs9GUUeskhM)

[emazur]

2000 was the first year I was old enough to vote in a presidential election. Up til then I didn't know much or have an opinion on politics, though I had always thought politicians were bullshitters in suits.

I hated college (and my whole public education) but somewhat by chance I took an economics course taught by an Austrian (Randall Holcombe) - the class itself was just OK but he wrote the textbook that we were using (Public Policy and the Quality of Life) and I thought it was awesome - finished it within a week on my own accord. Had never heard of libertarianism or the LP up til then. Voted for Harry Browne, but left the US the next year and didn't really follow the news or politics for several years while I was away, though I did subscribe to an email newsletter from the Advocates for Self Government. That's where I first heard of Ron Paul.
I was back in the US during some of the '08 race and was pleased to see that Ron Paul had gotten pretty popular on the internet. After the economic collapse I read up on politics and econ a great deal and am surer than ever that libertarianism is the best.

[Number19]

What is a "libertarian" if not someone who loves liberty - and freedom. I was born a Texan and grew into childhood with stories of Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, William Travis - and the Alamo. But in 1957, at the age of 9 and in the 3rd grade, I became a Son of Liberty. That year Walt Disney brought out the movie Johnny Tremain, telling the story of the Boston Tea Party and the Battles of Lexington and Concorde - and the Sons of Liberty. That movie was a defining point in my young life. The movie and the title song - the fife and drum march The Liberty Tree - has stayed with me. In 2005 Disney re-released the movie on DVD and, even in the much simpler style of the 50's, I still find the movie inspiring. I've never wavered on the path I set upon that year. In 1978 and 1979 my letters to the editor, defending freedom and liberty, were being published on a regular basis by the old Houston Post and a much more conservative Houston Chronicle. In late 1979 I was called by a reader who asked, "Are you a Libertarian?" and I responded, "What's a Libertarian?" and he replied, "Someone who believes the things you are writing in the paper".

[BuddyRey]

I started out as kind of a brainwashed social conservative and neocon as a teenager in the late '90s and early '00s because of the school I was going to (if you didn't love G.W. Bush, as far as my classmates were concerned, you were a "baby-killer"), but then I got intensely disillusioned with the Republican Party after high school and became a hippie liberal Democrat, very much in the vein of Dennis Kucinich.

I stayed in that mindset for a couple years and bravely cheered on the Dems in 2006 election, but then felt deeply betrayed when Nancy Pelosi announced that impeachment of Dubya was "off the table" and that the wars would go on more or less as scheduled.

In mid-2007, I was sick and tired of the whole Washington process and doubted that I'd ever get involved in electoral politics again, but I happened to hear about Ron Paul through the Alex Jones show. Skeptical, I tuned into the first Republican debate, and got my world rocked by a man whose directness, sincerity, honesty, and compassion was something I was entirely unaccustomed to from politicians.

Still a lefty at heart but eager to learn more, I started posting here soon after, got some economic sense beat into me through the tireless effort of my fellow RPFers, and gradually evolved from liberalism, to geolibertarianism, to Constitutional minarchism, and finally Anarcho-Capitalism.

[freshjiva]

I became libertarian by listening to Ron Paul in the 2008 debates. Before, I was a die-hard neo-conservative College Republican. Bush and Cheney were my heroes.

Oh, how I have changed my views...

[charrob]

i'm vehemently against war unless it's absolutely necessary. -after getting home from work on 9/11, a friend wrote an email to make sure we were all okay and my very words on 9/11 were: 'what has happened does not scare me and does not surprise me because of our country's foreign policy; what scares me is what my government's response is going to be'. Sure enough, my nightmare came true.

yes- we needed to go into afghanistan at that point- but we should have been out of there in 3 months. And, imho, there needed to be a worldwide discussion about it with Osama Bin Ladin: why they did it, and how we could work together so that it never happens again. But of course that never happened. And our foreign policy which historically has never been friendly to the muslims, now has become even worse. We had the opportunity: the world sympathized with us at that time: and we blew it. Now the world hates us: and who can blame them?

i'm also vehemently against sanctions which always hurt the people and never hurt the leaders. This was true for Iraq when Clinton imposed the sanctions as well as North Korea. And as historians all know: it was unjust sanctions against Germany after WWI that allowed Hitler to come into power. Germany wasn't even responsible for WWI, yet they were dealt the brunt of anger from the world community. (Which of course resulted in WWII.) After WWI the sanctions (treaty of Versailles- France/England) literally starved the people in Germany: children with blown up bellies were literally dying in the streets, all their ports were closed, etc.

So when Ron Paul is against the kind of sanctions Hillary and Obama are doing their best to inflict on the Iranian people, I'm with him 110%. And, what's also sad, is their student uprisings against their government which could, in effect, lead to a more peaceful Iran, will now turn into anger against the U.S as we starve them.

So what lead me to the libertarian movement? Foreign policy, civil liberty abuses (ie. the patriot act), torture/indefinite detentions.

What turned me away from the left? The ideals upon which the left always represented during my youth that i believed in (and still believe in): ie. antiwar, pro-civil liberties, anti-torture, pro-environment (conservation is a conservative ideal :)), is now a thing of the past. The left used to stand for these principles, particularly back in the 60's when i was young. They no longer do.

And boy was i surprised to take the Nolan Chart quiz! I still feel like i have leftist tendencies (socially liberal) but the nolan chart quiz showed me as a libertarian:

http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs475.snc3/26051_109855659028060_100000108791083_247274_80011 13_s.jpg

[Krugerrand]

This thread sounds like a self-help group.

"Hi, everyone. I'm Krugerrand and I'm a libertarian."

[RM918]

this thread sounds like a self-help group.

"hi, everyone. I'm krugerrand and i'm a libertarian."

hi krugerrand.

[AlexMerced]

I always had libertarian tendencies, and was loosely familiar with the terms, but the 2008 campaign is what really made me define political views

[Distinguished Gentleman]

The Giuliani conflict.
I decided to do some fact checking to prove Ron wrong, and well, you could imagine how that turned out. It awakened a voracious appetite to learn about history, foreign policy, economics, and civil liberties. I had been politically homeless; I hated my socialist professors but found the counterarguments of most conservatives unconvincing. Ron Paul was the third path, one that both made sense and felt right.

Listening to you guys stories and comparing them to my own reminds me of a story and an important point about challenging others with regard to policy. Libertarianism usually starts when someone states it loud and proud, openly challenging other worldviews. When your words hit an intelligent person, not prone to emotionalism, it often just clicks. I remember taking a class called Globalization II, which was an anti-capitalism indoctrination class that all honor students had to take to keep their scholarships. We even had to read the likes of Naomi Klein. As the semester went on, I grew confident. I abandoned my reserved deportment and challenged students and professors who made ignorant comments. YouTube - Milton Friedman - Greed (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWsx1X8PV_A) is a good example of how to engage liberals on economics. The professor asked us if we believed health care was a right, and only one person raised her hand. No, I hadn't single-handedly convinced a whole classroom to become libertarians. Students (like most people) are scared and impressionable, following the mood of the classroom and rationalizing it later. Challenging the liberal worldview set the room into a mood of defiance, one in which agreeing with professor didn't make you intelligent or a good student. Many months later, a guy came up to me and told me that I had made a lot of sense and it was incredibly gratifying. Follow the RP model in life is a great way to bring people into our worldview.
Love the stories, hope to hear more.

[2young2vote]

I wasn't too interested in politics. I supported the wars and the regulations and was a typical Neo-con. Then I was on the internet and saw one of Ron Paul's videos. I was changed on-the-spot while watching it. It just all clicked into place. Then i came to find that my dad was one too so he helped me i guess.

[payme_rick]

I was trying to find the end of a rainbow because my mother was kidnapped by lepricons and I figured that's where they had put her... on the way a unicorn told me to read Ron Paul's The Revolution... I said "Okay"... but the unicorn just stood there looking at me... I asked "uhhh... can I help you?"... the unicorn said "read the book... now"... so a day later, tired as hell, I finally finished the book... the unicorn then knelt down and told me to hop on... she took me as swiftly as possible to the end of the rainbow and there was my mother... sitting there... reading "The Revolution"... it was all a trick, the lepricons were even in on it...

No, seriously, I was the typical neo-con up until a couple of years ago when I finally started questioning my beliefs on things (war etc...)... not gunna lie, that slime-ball Glenn Beck helped me along the way... I read some of the things he suggested and it got me going this direction... but I had to leave the guy behind pre-Medina because I felt he had stauled... wasn't cuttin' it for me...

it took a long time... but now that I've read more and discussed more, I understand freedom more, and understand we need to do something...

actually funny, a couple of years ago I sat on the couch, drunk off my ass watching the news... I started thinking of things, and it's like my thoughts reversed on a lot of things and I said to myself "Wow... am I a liberal?"... nah, libertarian...

[idirtify]

Explain you ideological history, or have you always been libertarian/anarchist/conservative etc?

Growing I was just a str8 liberal Democrat like most kids. My parents were Democrats, and the black folks in my neighborhood were Democrats so when I turned 18, I registered to vote, and I voted Democrat. But then I saw the Democrat I voted for was just a crook (mayor of N.O.). I wasnt to politically involved back then, I might check out the mainstream news channels, see what people are talking about. But I usually gravitated toward the candidate that would talk about jobs and growing high tech industry. Bobby Jindal was the first Republican I voted for back in 04 when ran for Governor and lost. But at the same time I was also disenchanted with Bush, who I always felt was a horrible President (never was a big fan of wars). Then as I got more into life, started working, paying taxes, having to support myself I started finding myself getting pissed of at the welfare system in this country. Here I am, and black man, grew up in the hood like everyone else, but I was able to break free. Yet Im paying all these taxes to support some other lazy fuckers. Shit pissed me off but people would try to tell me "it's fair" and "spreading the wealth is a good thing"...they would try to turn me onto socialism, but I read Karl Marx and did all kind of reading, and it just seemed stupid to me. I didn't even seem like it would work theoretically let alone in practice.

Then I was more of a independent that was fiscally conservative, but as I look back I was pretty much a statist. I even was a fan of Bill O'Reilly (although I disagreed with his war mongering). Never did like Hannity though. By 07 I was so sick of wars I just wanted Bush out and someone else in, Obama was running on ending the war in Iraq so he pretty much had my vote. And back then, if you look at what he was saying he held some libertarian positions (change the drug war, decriminalize marijuana, etc). So he was cool with me. Then I kept hearing about this Ron Paul character, I check out his website. This crazy guy was talking about eliminating the income tax, ending the military industrial complex (which I had no idea what that was back then), making drugs legal, eliminating entire departments......I was like WTF, I've never heard stuff like this before!!! But something about it was intriguing.

Still, I moved on with my statist ways. Then I started reading more and more about the Military industrial complex, the corrupt taxation system, and the unlawful things that were happening under Bush, and was getting more sick to my stomach. Then...the 08 meltdown happened. All this talk about giving hundreds of billions to banks, it just did not sit well with me, meanwhile Obama and McCain are for it. Then one day, a friend of mine tells me, I need to check out this video called Peter Schiff was right. I did and was floored. This guy new exactly what was he was talking about and it felt right. Further investigation lead me to Mises.org. I spent nights just reading articles on the site that just opened my eyes. It felt like I've been drugged my whole life and I was starting to sober up. I started running across people that though just like me and they put me onto this site, lewrockwell.com, books about Austrian economics, freedom, liberty, etc. I was engulfed in knowledge and truth telling.

Now, here I am.

great story; great thread.

[idirtify]

like most, I became libertarian because I was young and ignorant.

As I matured, I realized it isn't a viable position. Mankind is nowhere near ready for pure libertarian ideology.

Like most, I was statist when I was young and ignorant.

As I matured, I realized it isn't a viable position. Mankind is not designed for socialist or fascist ideology.

[johnrocks]

I dibdn't ever call myself one, I always considered myself a conservative, people like Ron Paul, Robert Taft, Barry Goldwater etc.; even though they differed on some issued was what conservatism was, the social/neo "conservatives" redefined the word and stole it's name leaving people like me to be called "libertarian".

[Icymudpuppy]

I grew up on a farm and saw first hand how government economic intervention was destroying my father's livelihood. So I was always into economic freedom.

Personal liberty became an important issue when I read about Dr. Kevorkian. I saw my grandfather suffer, and am glad my father had the courage to pull the plug, but what if he hadn't and my grandfather had needed his doctor's help. People should be able to live or die in whatever way they want without government interference.

[idirtify]

Curiously the member “Peace&Freedom”* in the thread “Anyone else tired of hearing ‘Legalize Marijuana To Tax It’?”
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=238013&page=10
argues against educating people with direct libertarian information by claiming “our principled position is unpersuasive to non-liberty audiences”. Many posts in this thread about conversions serve as hard evidence to the contrary. Undiluted messages of liberty are the most effective in recruiting converts – and that includes information about drug legalization, and the best way to promote it.

*said poster appears to have left the building.

[christagious]

Interesting posts on here. I remember I was initially somewhat of a fan of Bush, I thought the whole "get the terrorists" thing after 9/11 was a good idea and I would argue with some of my friends about the System of a Down song "Boom!" because my friends liked the anti-war anti-bush message and I didn't. I was probably 14 around this time. Then I started listening to punk rock, Anti-Flag, NOFX some of that. This was around 2003 or something like that so the anti-Bush mentality was strong and these two bands were very anti-Bush. I then developed an "anybody but Bush" mentality basically because I thought it was the "punk" thing to do. Basically I figured that I was a "punk rocker" by saying I was liberal even though deep down I didn't agree with a lot of the stuff. At this time I had a high school friend who was trying to wake me up to this Michael Badnarik guy and the Libertarian philosophy. This kid listened to punk but swore off Anti-Flag, NOFX and all those other bands as soon as they jumped on the anti-bush bandwagon. So he was trying to wake me up but I wasn't really hearing it. Then fast forward a few years and a couple experiences and the 2008 election. Early on in the election cycle I was looking at Hillary because "no one died when Clinton lied" and this was before anybody heard of this up and coming star Obama. And then one day I discovered Ron Paul. I don't remember how but I saw a speech or something and I was sold. I ate up libertarian ideas from that point on. And since then I've apologized to my friend who tried waking me up 6 years ago. Better late then never I guess

[idirtify]

I would give a profile my conversion process, but the unique details could risk incurring more state wrath. Suffice it to say that I was a victim of state aggression and the only thing good to come out of it was my priceless education.

[Legend1104]

Neither of my parents were voters or interested. It was not until I started dating my furture wife that I got interested. A lot of people at my church, including her, were interested, and so I began taking most of their opinions. I voted for Bush and McCain, supported the war, etc.. I saw Ron Paul on the debates and thought he was an idiot but seemed to know a bit about economics. Around the beginning of the economic crisis I remembered that I thought Ron Paul know about economics and looked him up. Then ordered his book "Gold, Peace, and Prosperity," and began to read it. I believed in much of what he said. I still found myself having trouble against certain issues that all of my in-laws believed in, like the war, but eventually I came around. I found it hard at first to balance my religious beliefs with these new ideas, but now I have realized that they go hand in hand. The Bible talks about the liberty we have in Christ and how in other times, "God gave them over to their lusts." I have realized that God allows man to choose to destroy himself (even though he does not desire that for us) and has given us perfect liberty. Many Christians have this idea that Christians should promote the ideals of God and his morals in society. I also believe that. The problem is that too many Christians have abdicated that responsibility to the government. They get the government to outlaw what is thought to be sin or wrong. The problem, I believe, is that the gov. only has the power of force and cannot change the heart. The only way to get someone to follow the morals of the Bible is to change their heart. That, in my opinion, is the responsibility of churches, families, and communities. I am still growing.

[Bucjason]

I grew up in the 80's , as a child , listening to Reagan preach about freedom, self-empowerment, and limited government. Although many think Reagan didn't practice what he preached as much as he should , his message struck a chord with me as being "right" , and I've believed it ever since.

[BamaFanNKy]

Birth.


Most my family are Republicans that were of Libertarian background.

[Soca Taliban]

I think for me it started when one day I came home from class and my brother asked me, "Did you know that the US is not a democracy, but a republic?" I looked at him like he was a moron, but I decided to google it. Then I started reading about individuals and property rights and from there I was hooked.

Before, my views and opinions had good intentions, but they sometimes clashed with other good intention views. Now, my views are based on principles and don't clash anymore. Also listening to Ron Paul and Peter Schiff during the presidential debates solidified my new found beliefs