libertarian

plural libertarians · alternative Libertarian

1. One who advocates liberty, either generally or in relation to a specific issue.

   civil libertarian

   one who favours civil liberties

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   cultural libertarian

   one who favours cultural freedom

   Synonyms: eleutheromaniac · Antonyms: antilibertarian, nonlibertarian

2. human sciencesA believer in the freedom of thinking beings to choose their own destiny (the doctrine of free will) as opposed to those who believe the future is predetermined (the doctrine of necessity).First known use late 18th c.

   [W]here is the difference betvveen the Libertarian, vvho ſays that the mind chuſes the motive; and the Neceſſarian, vvho aſſerts that the motive determines the mind; if the volition be the neceſſary reſult of all the previous circumſtances?

   1789, [William Belsham], “Essay I. On Liberty and Necessity.”, in Essays, Philosophical, Historical, and Literary, London: […] C[harles] Dilly, […], →OCLC, page 11

3. One who advocates libertarianism (“a political philosophy maintaining that all persons are the absolute owners of their own lives, and should be free to do whatever they wish with their persons or property, provided they allow others that same liberty”); also, a member of a political party supporting libertarianism.
   1. IrelandUKgovernmentAn antiauthoritarian believer in left-libertarianism, a political doctrine that stresses both individual freedom and social equality, and advocates shared ownership of natural resources.

      While anarchism and socialist libertarians have a rich history of revolutionary thinkers ranging from Emma Goldman to George Orwell, the best-known socialist libertarian thinker of today is probably Noam Chomsky.

      2012, Jennifer D. Carlson, “Libertarianism”, in Wilbur R. Miller, editor, The Social History of Crime and Punishment in America: An Encyclopedia, Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, →ISBN, page 1008, column 1

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      [Gustav] Landauer's reorientation of anarchist theory and practice in the direction of idealist and völkisch thought was often incomprehensible to the more traditional libertarians, and in the period of the second Sozialist Landauer no longer felt entirely comfortable with the simple "anarchist" label. For Landauer anarchism and socialism had always been different expressions of the same view; now he regarded anarchism as "merely the negative side of what is positively called socialism."

      1973, Eugene Lunn, “The Romantic as Socialist”, in Prophet of Community: The Romantic Socialism of Gustav Landauer, Berkeley; Los Angeles, Calif.; London: University of California Press, →ISBN, page 200

      Antonyms: antilibertarian, nonlibertarian

   2. USgovernmentA believer in right-libertarianism, a political doctrine that emphasizes individual liberty and a lack of governmental intervention, oversight, and regulation, both in economic matters (that is, a belief in the free market) and in personal behaviour provided that no one's rights are threatened or violated.

      Antonyms: antilibertarian, nonlibertarian

4. crosswordingAn Araucarian.

comparative more libertarian · superlative most libertarian · alternative Libertarian

1. Advocating liberty; also, having a relative tendency towards liberty.

   He has libertarian views.

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   Libertarian paternalism is the view that, because the way options are presented to citizens affects what they choose, society should present options in a way that "nudges" our intuitive selves to make choices that are more consistent with what our more deliberative selves would have chosen if they were in control.

   2012 January, Steven Sloman, “The Battle Between Intuition and Deliberation [review of Thinking, Fast and Slow (2011) by Daniel Kahneman]”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, New Haven, Conn.: Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 12 Jun 2017, page 74

   Antonyms: antilibertarian, nonlibertarian

2. human sciencesRelating to the doctrine of free will as opposed to the doctrine of necessity.

   Antonyms: necessitarian

3. governmentRelating to, or advocating, libertarianism; also, relating to a political party supporting libertarianism.

   a libertarian capitalist

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   For a long time, libertarian was interchangeable in France with anarchist but in recent years, its meaning has become more ambivalent. Some anarchists like David Guérin will call themselves ‘libertarian socialists’, partly to avoid the negative overtones still associated with anarchism, and partly to stress the place of anarchism with the socialist tradition. Even Marxists of the New Left like E[dward] P[almer] Thompson call themselves ‘libertarian’ to distinguish themselves from those authoritarian socialists and communists who believe in revolutionary dictatorship and vanguard parties.

   1991, Peter H[ugh] Marshall, “The Relevance of Anarchism”, in Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism, London: Harper Perennial, published 2008, →ISBN, part 7 (The Legacy of Anarchism), page 641

   Rand Paul's presidential campaign has drafted in his father, libertarian icon Ron Paul, to directly attack Republican rival Ted Cruz in a robocall in Iowa, the first time the former presidential candidate has gone on the offensive on his son’s behalf.

   2016 January 13, Ben Jacobs, “Ron Paul criticizes Cruz's absence from Fed vote in support of son's campaign”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 Apr 2023

   Anonymous activities have over the years leaned incoherently to the libertarian left and right, and everything in between, singling out everyone from Justin Bieber fans to feminists, fascists, cybersecurity specialists, and engaged in the kind of pervert-exposing vigilantism that blue-collar tabloid readers have long been mocked for.

   2017, Angela Nagle, “The Leaderless Digital Counter-revolution”, in Kill All Normies: The Online Culture Wars from Tumblr and 4chan to the Alt-right and Trump, Alresford, Hampshire: Zero Books, John Hunt Publishing, →ISBN, page 13

   It was a one-stop political and policy shop, a sort of shadow Republican Party but crafted in the libertarian molds of the Kochs and entirely controlled by them. That wasn’t the only thing that the Koch brothers did differently.

   2019 August 23, Chris Cillizza, “How the Koch brothers fundamentally changed modern politics”, in CNN, archived from the original on 05 Aug 2022

   Antonyms: antilibertarian, nonlibertarian

4. crosswordingAraucarian.

plural Libertarians · alternative libertarian

1. governmentA member of a political party or movement that uses the term "Libertarian" in its name (e.g., the Libertarian Party of the United States); one who is likely to support policies that are libertarian.

   To many, it seemed that the Libertarians were a genuinely relevant third party in US politics, which is overwhelmingly dominated by Republicans and Democrats.

   2020 August 23, Adam Gabbatt, “The Libertarian party was up and coming in 2016. What happened?”, in The Guardian

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   Rather than immediately enter the convention – held in the back room of the restaurant – McAfee posted up outside, having his photograph taken with Libertarians and passersby, smoking cigarettes and acting up for the four-person film crew he had arrived with.

   2016 May 1, Adam Gabbatt, “Truth or fiction? John McAfee for the Libertarian party's presidential nominee”, in The Guardian

alternative libertarian

1. not comparablegovernmentOf, or pertaining to, a Libertarian Party.

   The results also revealed a striking data point: Libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen’s share of the vote in some of these states was higher than margins between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

   2020 November 8, Victoria Bekiempis, “Was Libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen a 'spoiler' for Trump?”, in The Guardian

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   The Libertarian vice-presidential candidate this November is an internet talkshow host who ran for office alongside a man wearing a boot on his head, and who has promised the electorate free ponies, “zombie power” and the killing of baby Hitler.

   2020 August 23, Adam Gabbatt, “The Libertarian party was up and coming in 2016. What happened?”, in The Guardian