In an article ostensibly about the reemergence of the libertarian movement, Michael Kinsley from Time magazine sums up the ideology in simple terms "Libertarians are against government in all its manifestations". As if the philosophy of Liberty should be equated with Anarchy.
It is often posited that to be free and to be safe are mutually exclusive. That society works despite our free will, not because of it. Of course, this makes it seem as if Libertarians are seeking government power simply to destroy it. This is partially true, but still misses the point. Libertarians and small "l" libertarians all share a common vision of a government that is indeed smaller (note: this does not mean a complete lack of government), but more importantly a government which is focused on things that are appropriate for a society to use government force to compel. Which brings us to the most basic libertarian view. Libertarians, rightly, see that government has one primary tool by which to enact its policies: that is the use or threat of coercive force. And that to use or threaten force against eachother for all but the most necessary reasons is inherently evil and leads to greater conflict in society
Collective self defense and enforcing a set of laws, laws which are aimed at regulating people's interactions in order to maximize individual Liberty and Happiness, these are the mission of government. Laws that meddle in people's privacy and private lives should not exist. But laws that deter and punish harmful acts between people should be enforced as much as possible. There is nothing anarchical about libertarianism. In fact, most libertarians would seek simpler more focused laws, more in tune with human nature, not because they wish for anarchy, but because we wish to prevent it. We see an overreaching and meddlesome patchwork of laws, combined with over taxation, and topped off with too much discretionary authority in hands of police, unelected committees, and "regulatory" agencies. The combined effect of this unwieldly government power over society is to bring us closer to anarchy because when laws cannot be regularly enforced, then they will be selectively applied using other criteria. All that discretionary authority is prone to corruption which leads to an erosion of the rule of law.
Liberty is the antithesis of Anarchy, while we see authoritarianism and this new "Communitarianism" as Anarchy's precursor. But decide for yourself, is individual liberty irresponsible and impractical? And why do so many journalists write so disparigingly about the philosophy of liberty that gives them the freedom to write their poisonous words? What is it in human nature that yearns to be free, while something else in us yearns for others to decide for us?
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