Libertarian: Big L vs. Little l

[UtahApocalypse]

So have seen may people complain about the media calling Ron Paul a libertarian. I want to explain something I learned from members of my meetup here.

Libertarian with a capital "L" is related to the political party, which indeed Ron Paul is no longer part of. He did change parties for the 1988 election but other then that has been a Republican.

libertarian with a small case "l" which would be someone who practices Libertarian principles is a political philosophy or a family of related political philosophies based on very strong support for individual liberty. Libertarians see protection of private property as essential for liberty and seek to minimize, as much as possible, the power of the state over individuals and their properties.

Now if you read the last you will see that indeed Dr. Paul is a libertarian, and I hope that you feel the same. This may not be the reasoning for the media calling him that, but it is a very legitimate defense to anyone asking about him being libertarian.

[me3]

I'm confused about what Libertarian Republicans are.

[torchbearer]

Libertarian Republican would make sense if..
Libertarian was describing a life philosophy and Republican was describing a governmental philosophy.

[EotS]

The term "libertarian" has been hijacked just as the term "liberal" has, and just as the term "federalist" was back in the days of the founders.

The Stato Institute, Glenn Beck, and even Reason with Gillespie as it's editor, are prime examples of this. Statist, warmongering semi-neocons calling themselves "libertarians."

[BrianH]

So have seen may people complain about the media calling Ron Paul a libertarian. I want to explain something I learned from members of my meetup here.

Libertarian with a capital "L" is related to the political party, which indeed Ron Paul is no longer part of. He did change parties for the 1988 election but other then that has been a Republican.

libertarian with a small case "l" which would be someone who practices Libertarian principles is a political philosophy or a family of related political philosophies based on very strong support for individual liberty. Libertarians see protection of private property as essential for liberty and seek to minimize, as much as possible, the power of the state over individuals and their properties.

Now if you read the last you will see that indeed Dr. Paul is a libertarian, and I hope that you feel the same. This may not be the reasoning for the media calling him that, but it is a very legitimate defense to anyone asking about him being libertarian.

Yes but the problem is the average reader may be confused and not understand that he is running as a Republican. Nowhere in the article do they correct this impression someone might have. I talk to people all the time who don't know who Ron Paul is. When I set up an event in this little Iowa town, people invariably come up to me and say "are you Ron Paul". Good grief - they have no idea who he is or what party he is.So yes it is worth correcting the media when they don't call him a republican.

[torchbearer]

Yes but the problem is the average reader may be confused and not understand that he is running as a Republican. Nowhere in the article do they correct this impression someone might have. I talk to people all the time who don't know who Ron Paul is. When I set up an event in this little Iowa town, people invariably come up to me and say "are you Ron Paul". Good grief - they have no idea who he is or what party he is.So yes it is worth correcting the media when they don't call him a republican.

If people are that dumb, we are in serious trouble.... what Ron Paul is selling requires that you have more than 2 brain cells.

[axiomata]

It's much easier to differentiate in text based communication as you can see whether a capital or lowercase "L" is used. I do think pundits should say that he is "a small-L libertarian" or a "libertarian-Republican" on TV and radio.

But also, some blame should go to the Libertarian Party for confusing things by naming their party directly after a political ideology. Imagine if the Republican Party was known as the Conservative Party and the Democratic Party was the Liberal Party like is common across the pond. It'd sure make it tough for independents and partied centrists to describe their political ideology without using those adjectives which would confuse things.

[me3]

Libertarian Republican would make sense if..
Libertarian was describing a life philosophy and Republican was describing a governmental philosophy.
Yeah, but Eric Dondero calls himself a Libertarian Republican (I think he has a Libertarian Republican Caucus or something), yet I've seen people on here calling themselves the same thing.

I'm just wondering if Libertarian Republican is like Fiscal Conservative or Social Conservative Republican, or if it is actually a group.

Kinda confusing.

[jake]

Libertarian Republican would make sense if..
Libertarian was describing a life philosophy and Republican was describing a governmental philosophy.

aka social libertarianism and conservative economically

[Psyclone]

Yeah, but Eric Dondero calls himself a Libertarian Republican (I think he has a Libertarian Republican Caucus or something), yet I've seen people on here calling themselves the same thing.

I'm just wondering if Libertarian Republican is like Fiscal Conservative or Social Conservative Republican, or if it is actually a group.

Kinda confusing.


There is a specific group called the Republican Liberty Caucus that consists of Republicans who have a libertarian philosophy. A libertarian Republican is a member of the Republican Party who holds libertarian views. A Libertarian Republican (note, Libertarian with a capital "L") would, I presume, be someone who is a member of both the Libertarian and Republican political parties. Under this definition, Dr. Paul is a Libertarian Republican because he is a life member of the Libertarian Party in addition to being a member of the Republican Party. Dr. Paul would also be a libertarian Republican as well because he is a member of the Republican Party who, in general, holds libertarian views.