Libertarian Quotes

The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.

Since 1920, the vast increase in welfare beneficiaries and the extension of the franchise to women - two constituencies that are notoriously tough for libertarians - have rendered the notion of "capitalist democracy" into an oxymoron.

You can't reason people out of beliefs they weren't reasoned into.

No one may threaten or commit violence ('aggress') against another man's person or property. Violence may be employed only against the man who commits such violence; that is, only defensively against the aggressive violence of another. In short, no violence may be employed against a non-aggressor. Here is the fundamental rule from which can be deduced the entire corpus of libertarian theory.

There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please.

The system of private property is the most important guaranty of freedom, not only for those who own property, but scarcely less for those who do not.

As for my personal politics, some people seem to think I'm some kind of archlibertarian, a hyper-conservative.

I was brought up as a Republican. But when I realized that at the end of the day there wasn't much difference between a Democrat and Republican, I became a libertarian.

The essential notion of a capitalist society ... is voluntary cooperation, voluntary exchange. The essential notion of a socialist society is force.

There can be no freedom without freedom to fail.

People ask me what I am politically and I've previously offered this equation: I became a conservative by being around liberals. And I became a libertarian after being around conservatives.

Ask not what you can do for your country; ask what your government is doing to you.

Now I call myself a bleeding heart libertarian. Because I do believe in the principles of Libertarianism as an ideal - because I'm an idealist.

Better to die on your feet than live on your knees.

In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet and say to us, Make us your slaves, but feed us.

I'm an atheist. I suppose you can call me a sort of libertarian anarchist. I regard religion with fear and suspicion. It's not enough to say that I don't believe in God. I actually regard the system as distressing: I am offended by some of the things said in the Bible and the Qur'an and I refute them.

I'm not sitting in judgment on whether or not libertarians can participate in a political process whose very nature they oppose.

A protective tariff is a typical conspiracy in restraint of trade.

I have been a libertarian in my past but now I consider myself a classical liberal.

I'm not a knee-jerk conservative. I passionately believe in free markets and less government, but not to the point of being a libertarian.

I'm always looking for an opportunity to bring progressive Democrats together with some conservative libertarian types, because there are places where we can agree.

The program of liberalism if condensed into a single word, would have to read: property, that is, private ownership of the means of production.

Gradualism in theory is perpetuity in practice.

To be governed ... is to be watched, inspected, directed, indoctrinated, numbered, estimated, regulated, commanded, controlled, law-driven, preached at, spied upon, censured, checked, valued, enrolled - by creatures who have neither the right, nor the wisdom, nor the virtue to do so.

Libertarian: everyone leaves everyone else alone