Classical Liberalism: Why Should Liberals Like Libertarian Ideas? - Learn Liberty

For instance, both liberals and libertarians want to eliminate poverty and offer more opportunities to the population at large. Liberals and libertarians also emphasize the importance of freedom and human well-being. From a libertarian perspective, government is not the answer to these problems. In fact, libertarians view concentrated political power as the single largest threat to individual liberty. They also see wealth as a liberating force, creating more choices and opportunities for all people.

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[fernandov]

I HATE the fact that liberal means social-democrat in the U.S., and the worst thing is that many americans don't see what's wrong with this... :/

if liberals were understood as liberals, the "libertarian" term wouldn't be necessary..

[markchild]

That last part 'The unfair advantages of the wealthy classes come about not because of their position, but rather using their position to manipulate the government to bring benefits to themselves that they wouldn't get in the competitive market.'

Sounds exactly like the problem we are having in the US right now. The 'trickle down' system has hardly worked to lift up the less fortunate

[alexd]

This is what I was thinking about recently. This guy describes me perfectly, I recently transformed from a "liberal" into a libertarian for the simple reason that I like liberty and morality in same time, what I was missing was more information and reasoning; I also happen to not mind crunching new information and philosophy. A liberal stays liberal mainly as a result of ignorance, not bad intentions.

[alexanderschroeder]

Watching this on election night 2020. I am a libertarian, and I believe if we got our party to increase its support it would begin to unit our country

[burntgod]

I think fewer than 10% live on under a dollar a day now in 2019.

[totustuus]

I came to the libertarian camp from the left. I had an emotionalized view of the economy, but the introduction of logic into my otherwise superficial thinking (though exposure to, for instance, the Mises Institute) was like a window being thrown open on the dimness of my mind. I went from the pedantic puffery of my sociology training to a truly consistent philosophy of voluntaryism. It was like seeing for the first time. I challenge you all to think critically about ideas presented to you. Pax!

[DankWilly]

"The answer is concentrated political power." like that of the rich individuals and corporations? That's where your libertarianism and my classical liberalism split.

[walkthejosh]

Many libertarian class analyses essentially say that the only way for individuals or groups to gain significant and meaningful economic power over others is through political means. A system of voluntary exchanges (markets) will tend towards equality as such exchanges will be mutually beneficial. Only when one party has the power of the state on its side do significant imbalances occur.

[KrinkenRohleder]

Liberty requires the decentralization of political as well as economic power. The second one is often ignored by those who classify themselves as libertarians. Some regulation undoubtedly cripples growth, however some regulations enable free markets to flourish. The hard part is knowing the difference. Adam Smith warned against the natural formation of centralized power in the free market system that would disable competition. He was very accurate in his predictions indeed.

[kookieless]

a social system which believes in freedom of action and thought and free will, in which the producers possess both political power and the means of producing and distributing goods.

[daeuri]

Estimates for plague deaths (from the 14th century to the present) are around 75 million. Malaria kills about 1.2 million per year. R. J. Rummel, in a study called DEATH BY GOVERNMENT, estimates that governments were responsible for 169 million deaths in the 20th century alone. More than a few libertarians have referred to the Rummel study to make the point Davies alludes to.

[MarkColdren]

Great stuff. Poverty is the natural state of man, and capitalism is its cure. Gary Johnson 2012.

[MrWolffighters]

Ultimately, we both agree that free trade is the best way to orient out economy. We disagree with redistribution, but that is really a small disagreement within the confines of a free trade society. It has been a good debate.

[MegaAstrodude]

Actually, they do. When a country passes tariffs, retaliatory tariffs might hurt for a couple of months, but it benefits by building its industries more efficiently. The US economy, which was protectionist until the 1970's, thrived off of protectionism.

[MyContext]

0:40-0:52: No, it is concentrated power - not just governmental power, since, governmental power is always derived in large part from the people who benefit directly from that power (people who have something to protect), it is the imbalance of this power against the average member of a society that ultimately destroys a society.

I think the tax code should reflect degrees of disproportionality. It would give incentive for the higher income groups to consider the lower income groups.

[jameslacy]

On the contrary, the major trigger for the financial collapse was banks over-lending to the sub-prime mortgage market. This behavior was encouraged because the banks could offload these loans to Fannie and Freddie Mac (both of which are government organizations) and the risk was transferred to the taxpayers while they still made their profit.

Without the subsidies and bailouts corporations would be much more cautious in their business activities because they would bear the risk.

[MyContext]

Let's NOT forget the various interests behind those actions....

[clintcastle]

When was the last time you saw a referee slam dunk in a players face and then call a defensive foul on him while giving his points to the other team?

[m.afreeman]

Just because there are less people eating the pie, that doesn't mean that there will be pie left over later.

[stephenbailey]

Libertarianism is based on a particular collection of first principles. It is an ideology. One must conform one's programmatic choices to fit into an ideological outlook.
Social democracy is a pragmatic approach which seeks to solve arising problems while at the same time respecting individual rights and the voice of the populace. It is a balancing act that includes consensus building and compromise.
That is why ideologues on the Right (libertarians) and on the Left (socialists) dislike social democracy (American 'liberalism').