What exactly are the "Libertarian" beliefs or concepts I guess you could say?
469105
The more liberty, the better.  Government should intrude on people's lives as little as possible.  Conservatives claim to be for that, but in practice they aren't; they want to regulate so-called morality, enforce so-called patriotism, interject their personal religion into other people's lives, and all sorts of things that make libertarians roll their eyes.
726444
Yes, these are the same ideas.  Libertarianism in practice creates an environment of true equal opportunity.  In Europe there is not, for example, egalitarian education opportunity; people get told where they can go to school.  Government created this non-egalitarian world, whereas a Libertarian government offers true opportunity to all.   The government Forcing people to treat each other equally in a broken Socialist way destroys the souls of people there are no longer true egalitarian possibities.  There is fake egalitariansm, which harms people long term
58379
Conservative libertarian.
218209
I would discuss the controversy surrounding the concept from a neutral stance.  For example, where does the idea come from?  Why do some people claim that such an idea doesn't really exist?  How do other groups rebut that argument?
315652
There is nothing wrond with being liberal, its the opposite of conservative...  Liberal covers the entire left side of the political spectrum - it's generic for people who believe in individualism, freedom, equality, the social contract and rational evidence-based (as opposed to morality-based) public policy but often disagree on the application of these principles.
922552
Notable ideas: tabula rasa, "government with the consent of the governed"; state of nature; rights of life, liberty and property \nInfluences: Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Grotius, Descartes, Hooker, Hobbes
1179608
Neither and both, I believe in Libertarianism. Fiscal responsibility coupled with personal freedom and responsibility. I think a few of the previous people who have answered you're question are complete boneheads and don't know the first thing about how our system works or how best to effect positive change in our society. Many people resort to slander and name calling when they don't understand and/or don't have a coherent answer for something (yes I am aware of the irony of what I just said). I am financially Conservative. That does not mean that I only like white rich people, that I only care about myself or that I hate the notion of helping someone out of a jam with a little government assistance now and then. It does mean that I think the government spends WAY too much of our money on stupid crap and perpetuates a culture of people relying on the government for everything. If the government didn't confiscate so much of our money to fund wars and keeping so many of our people in prison for non violent offenses and stupid pork barrel projects, we would be better left to be able to take care of ourselves. I am also a social liberal. Conservatives often believe that they know best how I should run my life and that they should be able to dictate to me that I should not be allowed to drink alcohol or at least on any perticular day, or that my children should be taught a certain religion in school. I believe that I own my body and if I want to buy a 6 pack on Sunday, that is my decision, not anyone else's and that the public schools in this country should be neutral. There should be NO religious indoctrination or endorsement of ANY religion in our publically funded schools. \n\nLastly, I do not pity the people who are content to live their lives dependent on the government rather than pull themselves up by the boot straps and improve their situations. It's one thing to need a little help sometimes but to live you life reliant on government assistance is pretty irresponsible. On the same token, I do not envy the wealthy. I do not believe in taxing the wealthy at a higher rate, I believe in equal taxation, equal oportunity. (Allow me to clarify, I am not wealthy by any standard, but I do provide a decent home for my family. I am probably in the lower to central middle class.) I do not believe in punishing success. I do not believe that most people with money are handed it, some are through inheritance, but I believe that most well to do people get that way through hard work and smart decisions. It is the wealthy after all that start the companies that give us jobs. Have you ever gotten a job from a poor person on welfare?
1001919
There ia an abyssal difference between liberty (freedom) and license (anarchy).\n\nThe former is highly desirable because it allows an individual to make their own choices in life according to their own free will and the dictates of their (hopefully) well-formed consciences.\n\nThe latter is an excuse for trampling over everything and everyone in order to prove to oneself that one is a powerful being indeed. Sad, really.\n\nFreedom without responsiblity is anarchy. Period! Human nature being what it is, ie fallen, it could hardly be otherwise.
920578
I'm an independent voter and have never belonged to either party - I guess I'm just not a joiner. I've tried to get a handle on liberal vs. conservative labels to see where I stand but there's so much overlap between the two, as well as differences within each label, that I'm not sure these generalizations have any distinct meaning. \n\nDescriptions for liberalism include classical American liberalism, modern American liberalism, and paleoliberalism. Conservatism can be classical, ideological, neoconservatism, paleoconservatism, social conservatism, fiscal conservatism, or libertarianism. Some of these labels, on either side of the semantic fence, seem to share pretty much the same beliefs so, outside of the generalizations made by political parties and the media, there's a good deal of commonality. In addition, it seems both Democrats and Republicans, as well as liberals and conservatives all seem to believe in individual rights, free enterprise, representative democracy, and the rule of law. I have my own issues but neither party nor nor any ideology satisfies me. I guess I'm too particular to let other people do my thinking for me.
871891
i'm guessing the overlap is that unitarians don't necessarily believe in God and libertarians don't necessarily believe in government?  just a little joke...i don't know much about either philosophy...
765000
In your example, I would hope the passerby is a Libertarian. \n\nYour typical Democrat would blame you for the attack. \n\nYour typical Republican would call the police, who would be underpaid, understaffed, and arrive too late to do anything but fill out a toe-tag. \n\nA Libertarian would recognize that your right of self-ownership is being threatened, recognize your right to defend yourself, and by extension, their right to assist in your defense, and logically conclude that it is in their own best interest to do so.
937078
Alex,I would say you are a libertarian with some conservative leanings.
156556
You're not a Liberalist, if you know nothing about it.\n\nAnyway, I will try to simplify. Liberalism is the believe that the individual should be free of society and government restriction as long as he  (in the earlier liberalism was based on free men; women, children and slaves weren't included) respect and stop at the others' freedom. Liberty is postive freedom. Liberalism is in favour of individualism. Usually Liberalism is seen to include capitalism.\n\nHope that will help.
864138
Pure unadulterated Anarchy.... If you had a plot of land, with a creek running through, fish, trees, pasture, fields for crops.... and you built your own house out of locally available materials, worked the land, domesticated the local wildlife, lived in total self sufficiency (liberals hate this part) without outside interference, then along comes a neighbor (yes, there are neighbors doing the same thing) with a shiny piece of metal you would like to have, you trade something for it, eggs,hides, dried fish...jerky. Money\n is always around.  The very concept of "A Country" implies trade and the existence of money, and law (shudder) and there goes the neighborhood. \n\nAnarchy is a political concept NOT a bunch of idiots running wild in the streets setting fires and breaking things... It takes extreme self discipline and self sufficiency to be a successful Anarchist.... and not much law or money.  Governments are direly afraid of the concept of true Anarchy.\n\n"Them that beat their swords into plowshares will end up plowing for them that don't...."
367668
I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican. And I do care. So I guess there's no place for me in your universe. \n\nIf I had to name an affiliation, it would be Libertarian.
51237
Libertarianism is a political philosophy[1] that supports individual rights, private property rights, and free market capitalism. Libertarians believe that as long as individuals do not initiate physical force, the threat of it, or fraud against another person or their property, they should be free to do with their own bodies and property as they see fit. Thus, libertarians oppose government intervention in private affairs to forcibly prevent victimless crimes; if participation in an activity is consensual (i.e. not prompted by initiatory coercion or fraud), libertarians allow it. As such, they support the legalization of drugs, gambling, and prostitution. Libertarians are also against censorship, prohibiting gang membership, mandating seatbelts, and taxing alcohol and tobacco. They believe government should not only refrain from imposing restraints on non-violent action, but also refrain imposing any supposed positive moral obligation individuals. For libertarians, government can legitimately intervene only to prevent coercion. Libertarians apply nonaggression and self-ownership to everyone, but accept material inequality as a natural result of liberty.
540431
Some say life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Others say life, liberty, and property. Maybe there should be 4 principles.