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Libertarianism as a Spectrum

by Nikola Lj. Ilievski
written by Nikola Lj. Ilievski

The broader meaning of libertarianism involves theories, schools, and traditions inspired by, related to, and represented by John Locke, Adam Smith, David Hume, the Scottish Enlightenment tradition, John Stuart Mill, the Manchester School of Economics, Frédéric Bastiat and the French Liberal School, the individualist-anarchism tradition, the Austrian School of Economics, Popper’s philosophy of the Open Society, anarcho-capitalism, Objectivism, the Chicago School, public choice theory, Bleeding Heart Libertarianism, big-tent approach libertarianism, and other theories that provide different justifications and interpretations of individual liberty and a free society.

A Guide to the Libertarian spectrum

Since libertarianism can not be regarded as a single and uniform ideology, the existence of divisions is obvious. Libertarianism has been influenced by many authors and traditions before the 19th century, however, its explicit appearance and development is mostly limited to the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. 

Among the most influential predecessors of libertarianism (before the 19th century) are John Locke, Adam Smith, David Hume, Étienne de La Boétie, and John Stuart Mill. These figures can be put into a category of proto liberalism.

The old-school liberals, or the liberals in the 19th century, are represented by Frederic Bastiat, Gustave de Molinari, Herbert Spencer, and Richard Cobden. These liberals are among the first to position individual liberty at the center of socio-political discourse.

Furthermore, in the 19th century, a socialist libertarianism, or an individualist anarchism, emerged on the ideological and social activism scene, with representatives such as Lysander Spooner, Benjamin Tucker, Pierre Joseph Proudhon, and Max Stirner. This type of libertarianism, and/or anarchism, has exercised a strong influence on the reappearance of libertarianism in the 20th century, specifically that of Murray Rothbard, and anarcho-capitalism.

The revival of liberalism came on the scene with the Austrian School of Economics, with Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek in the 20th century. Both of them laid the groundwork for the emergence of the libertarian movement in the USA.

During the mid-20th century, libertarianism reappeared in the USA, and this time through the works of Alfred Jay Nock, Isabel Paterson, Rose Wilder Lane, Leonard Read, and Robert Nozick.

Almost at the same time, the philosophy of Objectivism was established by Ayn Rand, and the members of her collective, such as Nathaniel Branden, Leonard Peikoff, etc. The political implications of the philosophy are manifested as radical capitalism, while they derive from the Objectivist metaphysics, epistemology and ethics. 

After the Second World War, a new wave of liberalism appeared in Europe, which could be named as philosophical liberalism, while among its profound representatives were Karl Popper and Isaiah Berlin. Both of them have enriched the ideas of liberalism, specifically, with the concept of open VS closed society, and the different perspectives on the meaning of freedom, as positive and negative. 

In the second half of the 20th century, during the Cold War, the Chicago School of Economics raised its popularity, mainly through the works of the Nobel Prize winner Milton Friedman and Thomas Sowell. The Chicago boys are also known as neoliberals, advocating for a greater role of markets in a society, as well as greater economic freedom.

Approximately within the same time frame, James Buchanan and Gordon Tullock have developed the Public Choice Theory, with a tremendous significance to the contractarian interpretations of liberty, and a revelation of the political elite’s motives. They are also known as neoliberals.

Mr. Libertarian is a common nickname for Murray Rothbard, who is the founding father of anarcho-capitalism. On the other side, there is David Friedman (the son of Milton Friedman), also an anarcho-capitalist. The difference between the two authors is that Rothbard gives primacy to the moral or ethical justification for individual liberty, while Friedman bases his arguments on utilitarianism.

Left libertarianism, or left market anarchism in the 20th century, is commonly related to the activity of C4SS (Center for Stateless Society), and among the most influential thinkers can be listed Gary Chartier and Karl Hess. Left libertarians oppose capitalism, however, they also favor free markets over a planned economy. Furthermore, they are more likely associated with the left, even though their theory is pretty much similar to individualist anarchism and anarcho-capitalism.  

Paleo-libertarianism appeared on the free market theories scene in the 90-ties of the 20th century. Murray Rothbard and Lew Rockwell, in an attempt to distance themselves from the libertarian movement, which they identified as libertines, declared themselves as paleo-libertarians. The paleo-libertarians were stressing the role of a culture in a society, and agreed that an ideology is not enough for a comprehensive social change. Furthermore, they have adopted a populist strategy, developed from the Old Right.

Bleeding Heart Libertarianism (BHL) is another variant of the -ism, appearing in the 21st century. It is combining the traditional insights of libertarianism, such as individual liberty, free markets, while also adopting goals that are often associated with the left, such as equality, social justice, opposition to structural violence, etc. 

Contemporary libertarianism covers 21st century authors and activists such as Petter Boetke, Walter Block, Lawrence Read, Eamonn Butler, David Boaz, Steven Horwitz, Tom G. Palmer, Edward Stringham, Jeffrey Tucker, and many others, influencing the public opinion through their works and the activities of the think tanks they are part of. 

Finally, in the 21st century, with the appearance of libertarian student groups around the world, following the Hayekian approach on social change, different interpretations of libertarianism emerged in the discourse. The umbrella term covering all of these interpretations and justifications is named Big tent approach libertarianism (or thick libertarianism). Its main protagonists are Tom G. Palmer, Mary Ruwart, David Boaz, and Didiere McClosky.. Since the social change is perceived primarily locally, through grassroots activism, this term allows different approaches to libertarianism, which play their role in the processes towards a freer society.  

Main divisions in libertarianism

Having in mind that we can not talk about a single and uniform ideology of libertarianism, there is a need to stress the differences in the interpretations, justifications, and strategies for a free(er) society. 

a.) Reactionary and radical libertarianism

According to Matt Zwolinski and John Tomasi, the fundamental division in libertarianism is found between radical and reactionary libertarianism. On a basic level, the reactionaries are aiming to defend and preserve the social status quo and improve the position of individual liberty. On the other side, the radicals are the ones standing for a radical change in the socio-political status quo. Zwolinski and Tomasi, in their book The Individualists: Radicals, Reactionaries, and the Struggle for the Soul of Libertarianism, stressed that reactionary libertarianism is the one that appeared as a response to the rise of socialist ideas (in Europe in the 19th century) and the rise of Soviet Union and its allies (in the 20th century). Contrarily, radicalism in libertarianism can be seen in the individualist anarchist movement in the 19th century in America. The pioneers of individualist anarchism fought for a radical change in the socio-political institutions in the United States. 

b.) Moral and utilitarian libertarianism

The division between ontological, or moralist, and utilitarian libertarian is also a crucial difference accompanying the idea. The moralists provide the ideas with justifications based on philosophy, or specifically, morality, ethics. They are focused on the morality principles, and the political ones are an upgrade on the first ones. Furthermore, they are not obsessed with the consequences the principles are producing, but rather with their proper application in the system. Among the most popular libertarian moralists are Lysander Spooner, Murray Rothbard, Ayn Rand, and Robert Nozick. The starting position of the moralist is usually the concept of individual rights and the principle of self-ownership. 

On the other side, utilitarianism is primarily based on economics. The utilitarians are concerned with the consequences of the application of individual liberty in the socio-political system. They argue that a political system based on individual liberty tends to achieve the greatest good for the greatest part in society. Among the most notable representatives of utilitarianism in the libertarian ideas are Friedrich Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, David Friedman, Hans Hermann Hoppe, as well as the representatives of Bleeding Heart Libertarianism.

c.) Minarchist and anarchist libertarianism

Probably the most evident difference among the libertarians is their vision of a free society. While the majority perceives a strictly limited night-watchmen state as a guarantor of individual rights and minimum objective order in society, some see the vision of a free society as matching the ideotely of a stateless society. Among the most vocal proponents of minarchism was Ayn Rand, who claimed that the violence in a society must be put under the objective control of the government. Friedrich Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, and the majority of the libertarian thinkers have also been minarchists. Also, besides the starting anarchist position in their works, Robert Nozick and James Buchanan both can be regarded as minarchists. 

On the other side, the founding father of anarchistic libertarianism can be identified as Gustave de Molinari. The anarchist tradition in libertarianism is represented by the 19th-century individualist anarchists, such as Lysander Spooner and Benjamin Tucker. Furthermore, the anarchism within the libertarian ideas reemerged in the 20th century, this time under the brand of anarcho-capitalism, through the activism of Murray Rothbard. Other names linked to the anarchist and utilitarian tradition in libertarianism are David Friedman, Bryan Caplan, and Hans Hermann Hoppe. 

d.) Process and goal-oriented libertarianism

Each ideology consists of three integral parts: eidology (critique of the social status quo), ideelogy (strategy for change), and ideotely (the final goal). Ideotely, as a branch of ideology is an essential part of libertarianism. Almost all libertarian theorists are developing a vision for a free society. However, the need for a gradual improvement of the state of individual liberty is a necessity in the process of social change towards a free society. According to that, most libertarian theories are goal-oriented, while the rest are process-oriented. 

Among the few libertarian thinkers who dominantly approach the ideas as a process of constant improvement, can be listed Tom G. Palmer, David Boaz, and other representatives of the Big Tent approach libertarianism. The rest are more occupied with their vision of a free society, often neglecting the various strategies for social change, which can be engaged in the process. 

e.) Absolutistic and pluralistic libertarianism

The final division line is the one drawn between what can be called absolutistic and pluralistic libertarianism. The absolutistic one holds tight to its unique positions, avoiding compromises at any cost. On the other side, the pluralistic one is regarded as a softer one and is often inclined towards compromises. An elementary example of absolutistic libertarianism (even though there is an issue with classifying this philosophy as part of libertarianism) is Ayn Rand’s Objectivism. Although the political implications of the philosophy are almost identical to those of libertarianism, Rand’s insistence on the hierarchical structure of her philosophy has resulted in her public animosity towards libertarians. Also, Rothbard’s anarcho-capitalism can be regarded as absolutistic, since it insists on the concept of a stateless society as a final goal of libertarianism, at any cost. On the other side, pluralistic libertarianism is common for Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman, since both of them have developed a more open, and thus plural, variant of libertarianism (classical liberalism and neoliberalism). Still, the best example for pluralistic libertarianism is the Big-tent approach, since it is open to different justifications, interpretations, and local applications of the ideas.

Conclusion

Libertarianism represents a philosophy of liberty, which can not be regarded as a coherent, comprehensive, systematic ideology, philosophy, or theory. 

On one hand, it represents a true treasure when an idea can be defended from different points of view, such as philosophical, moral, utilitarian, and economic. However, on the other hand, this pluralism present in libertarianism leaves a space for rising disputes among the interpretations, which are found to be challenging in the processes of promoting and applying the idea in a social context. 

Finally, all of these interpretations are not adverse to each other, and people who promote the ideas should have in mind most of them, since the best promotion and defense of an idea is done on multiple fronts.   

References

Wendy McElroy – Murray N. Rothbard: Mr. Libertarian (rothbard.it).

Nikola Lj. Ilievski holds a PhD in political science, works as a Teaching associate at Integrated Business Faculty in Skopje, and serves as the National Coordinator of Macedonia Students For Liberty. His research interests involve history and different traditions of libertarianism, processes of social change, and particularly the concept of the Overton window of political possibility. His main influences are Ludwig von Mises, Murray Rothbard and Lysander Spooner.

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