Right-libertarianism,
[Rothbard, Murray (1 March 1971)]
"The Left and Right Within Libertarianism"
. ''WIN: Peace and Freedom Through Nonviolent Action''. 7 (4): 6–10. Retrieved 14 January 2020.[Goodway, David (2006). '' Anarchist Seeds Beneath the Snow: Left-Libertarian Thought and British Writers from William Morris to Colin Ward''. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press]
p. 4
. "The problem with the term 'libertarian' is that it is now also used by the Right. ..In its moderate form, right libertarianism embraces ''laissez-faire'' liberals like Robert Nozick who call for a minimal State, and in its extreme form, anarcho-capitalists like Murray Rothbard and David Friedman who entirely repudiate the role of the State and look to the market as a means of ensuring social order".[Carlson, Jennifer D. (2012). "Libertarianism". In Miller, Wilburn R., ed. ''The Social History of Crime and Punishment in America''. London: Sage Publications]
p. 1006
. . also known as libertarian capitalism,
or right-wing libertarianism,
[ "It is important to distinguish between anarchism and certain strands of right-wing libertarianism which at times go by the same name (for example, Murray Rothbard's anarcho-capitalism). There is a complex debate within this tradition between those like Robert Nozick, who advocate a 'minimal state', and those like Rothbard who want to do away with the state altogether and allow all transactions to be governed by the market alone. From an anarchist perspective, however, both positions—the minimal state (minarchist) and the no-state ('anarchist') positions—neglect the problem of economic domination; in other words, they neglect the hierarchies, oppressions, and forms of exploitation that would inevitably arise in laissez-faire 'free' market. ..Anarchism, therefore, has no truck with this right-wing libertarianism, not only because it neglects economic inequality and domination, but also because in practice (and theory) it is highly inconsistent and contradictory. The individual freedom invoked by right-wing libertarians is only narrow economic freedom within the constraints of a capitalist market, which, as anarchists show, is no freedom at all.] is a
libertarian political philosophy
Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and Political legitimacy, legitimacy of political institutions, such as State (polity), states. This field investigates different ...
that supports
capitalist
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
property rights
The right to property, or the right to own property (cf. ownership), is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their Possession (law), possessions. A general recognition of a right to private property is found more rarely ...
and
market distribution of
natural resources. The term ''right-libertarianism'' is used to distinguish this class of views on the nature of
property
Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, re ...
and
capital from
left-libertarianism, a variant of libertarianism that combines
self-ownership with an egalitarian approach to property and income. In contrast to socialist libertarianism,
capitalist libertarianism supports
free-market capitalism.
Like other forms of libertarianism, it supports
civil liberties,
especially
natural law
Natural law (, ) is a Philosophy, philosophical and legal theory that posits the existence of a set of inherent laws derived from nature and universal moral principles, which are discoverable through reason. In ethics, natural law theory asserts ...
,
negative rights, the
non-aggression principle,
and a significant transformation or outright elimination of the modern
welfare state.
Right-libertarian political thought is characterized by the strict priority given to
liberty
Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...
, with the need to maximize the realm of individual freedom and minimize the scope of government authority. Right-libertarians typically see the
state as the principal threat to liberty. This
anti-statism differs from anarcho-socialist theory (but not individualist anarchist theory) in that it is based upon private property norms and strong
individualism that places less emphasis on human sociability or cooperation.
Right-libertarian philosophy is also rooted in the ideas of
individual rights and ''
laissez-faire'' economics. The right-libertarian theory of individual rights generally follows the
homestead principle and the
labor theory of property, stressing self-ownership and that people have an absolute right to the property that their labor produces. Economically, right-libertarians make no distinction between capitalism and free markets and view any attempt to dictate the market process as counterproductive, emphasizing the mechanisms and self-regulating nature of the market whilst portraying
government intervention and attempts to
redistribute wealth as criminally immoral, unnecessary, and counter-productive. Although all right-libertarians oppose government intervention, there is a division between
anarcho-capitalists, who view the state as an unnecessary evil and want property rights protected without statutory law through market-generated tort, contract and property law; and minarchists, who support the need for a minimal state, often referred to as a
night-watchman state, to provide its citizens with
courts,
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
, and
police
The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
.
[Marshall, Peter (2008). '' Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism''. London: Harper Perennial. p. 565. "The problem with the term 'libertarian' is that it is now also used by the Right. ..In its moderate form, right libertarianism embraces ''laissez-faire'' liberals like Robert Nozick who call for a minimal State, and in its extreme form, anarcho-capitalists like Murray Rothbard and David Friedman who entirely repudiate the role of the State and look to the market as a means of ensuring social order".]
Like libertarians of all varieties, right-libertarians refer to themselves simply as ''libertarians''.
Being the most common type of
libertarianism in the United States,
right-libertarianism has become the most common referent of ''libertarianism''
there since the late 20th century while historically and elsewhere
[Bookchin, Murray (January 1986)]
"The Greening of Politics: Toward a New Kind of Political Practice"
. ''Green Perspectives: Newsletter of the Green Program Project'' (1). "We have permitted cynical political reactionaries and the spokesmen of large corporations to pre-empt these basic libertarian American ideals. We have permitted them not only to become the specious voice of these ideals such that individualism has been used to justify egotism; the pursuit of happiness to justify greed, and even our emphasis on local and regional autonomy has been used to justify parochialism, insularism, and exclusivity—often against ethnic minorities and so-called deviant individuals. We have even permitted these reactionaries to stake out a claim to the word libertarian, a word, in fact, that was literally devised in the 1890s in France by Elisée Reclus as a substitute for the word anarchist, which the government had rendered an illegal expression for identifying one's views. The propertarians, in effect—acolytes of Ayn Rand, the earth mother of greed, egotism, and the virtues of property—have appropriated expressions and traditions that should have been expressed by radicals but were willfully neglected because of the lure of European and Asian traditions of socialism, socialisms that are now entering into decline in the very countries in which they originated".[Fernandez, Frank (2001)]
''Cuban Anarchism. The History of a Movement''
Sharp Press. p. 9. "Thus, in the United States, the once exceedingly useful term "libertarian" has been hijacked by egotists who are in fact enemies of liberty in the full sense of the word."["The Week Online Interviews Chomsky"](_blank)
Z Magazine. 23 February 2002. "The term libertarian as used in the US means something quite different from what it meant historically and still means in the rest of the world. Historically, the libertarian movement has been the anti-statist wing of the socialist movement. In the US, which is a society much more dominated by business, the term has a different meaning. It means eliminating or reducing state controls, mainly controls over private tyrannies. Libertarians in the US don't say let's get rid of corporations. It is a sort of ultra-rightism."[Ward, Colin (2004)]
''Anarchism: A Very Short Introduction''
. Oxford University Press. p. 62. "For a century, anarchists have used the word 'libertarian' as a synonym for 'anarchist', both as a noun and an adjective. The celebrated anarchist journal ''Le Libertaire'' was founded in 1896. However, much more recently the word has been appropriated by various American free-market philosophers." it continues to be widely used to refer to
anti-state forms of
socialism
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
such as
anarchism[Marshall, Peter (2009). '' Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism''. p. 641. "The word 'libertarian' has long been associated with anarchism and has been used repeatedly throughout this work. The term originally denoted a person who upheld the doctrine of the freedom of the will; in this sense, Godwin was not a 'libertarian', but a 'necessitarian'. It came however to be applied to anyone who approved of liberty in general. In anarchist circles, it was first used by Joseph Déjacque as the title of his anarchist journal ''Le Libertaire, Journal du Mouvement Social'' published in New York in 1858. At the end of the last century, the anarchist Sebastien Faure took up the word, to stress the difference between anarchists and authoritarian socialists".][The Anarchist FAQ Editorial Collective (11 December 2008)]
"150 years of Libertarian"
. ''Anarchist Writers''. The Anarchist Library. Retrieved 31 January 2020.[The Anarchist FAQ Editorial Collective (17 May 2017)]
"160 years of Libertarian"
. ''Anarchist Writers''. Anarchist FAQ. Retrieved 31 January 2020. and more generally
libertarian communism/
libertarian Marxism and
libertarian socialism.
Around the time of
Murray Rothbard, who popularized the term ''libertarian'' in the United States during the 1960s, anarcho-capitalist movements started calling themselves ''libertarian'', leading to the rise of the term ''libertarian capitalist'' (mainly used by proponents) and ''right-libertarian'' (mainly used by opponents) to distinguish them. Rothbard himself acknowledged the co-opting of the term "libertarian" and boasted of its "capture
..from the enemy" after statists had captured the term "liberal" from the champions of liberty.
Definition

People described as being ''left-libertarian'' or ''right-libertarian'' generally tend to call themselves simply ''libertarians'' and refer to their philosophy as ''libertarianism''. In light of this, some authors and political scientists classify the forms of
libertarianism
Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according t ...
into two groups, namely
left-libertarianism and right-libertarianism,
to distinguish libertarian views on the nature of
property
Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, re ...
and
capital.
The term ''libertarian'' was first used by late Enlightenment freethinkers, referring to those who believed in
free will
Free will is generally understood as the capacity or ability of people to (a) choice, choose between different possible courses of Action (philosophy), action, (b) exercise control over their actions in a way that is necessary for moral respon ...
, as opposed to necessity, a now-disused philosophy that posited a kind of determinism.
The word ''libertarian'' is first recorded in 1789 coined by the British historian
William Belsham, in a discussion against free will from the author's deterministic point of view. This debate between
libertarianism in a philosophical-metaphysical sense and
determinism
Determinism is the Metaphysics, metaphysical view that all events within the universe (or multiverse) can occur only in one possible way. Deterministic theories throughout the history of philosophy have developed from diverse and sometimes ov ...
would continue into the early nineteenth century, especially in the field of
Protestant theology.
[Jared Sparks, ]
''Collection of Essays and Tracts in Theology, from Various Authors, with Biographical and Critical Notices''
publicado por Oliver Everett, 13 Cornhill, 1824 (ver, Writings of Dr. Cogan, 205). The
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
''Webster's Dictionary'' is any of the US English language dictionaries edited in the early 19th century by Noah Webster (1758–1843), a US lexicographer, as well as numerous related or unrelated dictionaries that have adopted the Webster's n ...
, in English, attests to this ancient use of the word libertarian by describing its meaning as "an advocate of the doctrine of free will "and, taking a broad definition, also says that he is" a person who holds the principles of individual freedom especially in thought and action ".
Many decades later, ''libertarian'' was a term used by the French
libertarian communist Joseph Déjacque[Déjacque, Joseph (1857)]
"De l'être-humain mâle et femelle – Lettre à P.J. Proudhon"
(in French).[Woodcock, George (1962). ''Anarchism: A History of Libertarian Ideas and Movements''. Meridian Books. p. 280. "He called himself a "social poet," and published two volumes of heavily didactic verse—Lazaréennes and Les Pyrénées Nivelées. In New York, from 1858 to 1861, he edited an anarchist paper entitled ''Le Libertaire, Journal du Mouvement Social'', in whose pages he printed as a serial his vision of the anarchist Utopia, entitled L'Humanisphére."] to mean a form of
left-wing politics
Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
that has been frequently used to refer to
anarchism and
libertarian socialism since the mid- to late 19th century.
With the modern development of right-libertarian ideologies such as
anarcho-capitalism and
minarchism co-opting
the term ''libertarian'' in the mid-20th century to instead advocate ''
laissez-faire''
capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
and strong
private property rights such as in land, infrastructure and natural resources, the terms ''left-libertarianism'' and ''right-libertarianism'' have been used more often as to differentiate between the two.
Socialist libertarianism has been included within a broad left-libertarianism while right-libertarianism mainly refers to ''laissez-faire'' capitalism such as
Murray Rothbard's anarcho-capitalism and
Robert Nozick's minarchism.
Right-libertarianism has been described as combining individual freedom and opposition to the state, with strong support for
free markets and
private property. Property rights have been the issue that has divided libertarian philosophies. According to Jennifer Carlson, right-libertarianism is the dominant form of
libertarianism in the United States. Right-libertarians "see strong private property rights as the basis for freedom and thus are—to quote the title of
Brian Doherty's text on libertarianism in the United States—"
Radicals for Capitalism".
Herbert Kitschelt and Anthony J. McGann contrast right-libertarianism—"a strategy that combines pro-market positions with opposition to hierarchical authority, support of unconventional political participation, and endorsement of feminism and of environmentalism"—with
right-authoritarianism.
[Kitschelt, Herbert; McGann, Anthony J. (1997) 995 '' The Radical Right in Western Europe: A Comparative Analysis''. University of Michigan Press]
p. 27
. .[Mudde, Cas (2016)]
''The Populist Radical Right: A Reader''
(1st ed.). Routledge. .
Mark Bevir holds that there are three types of libertarianism, namely left, right and
consequentialist libertarianism as promoted by
Friedrich Hayek.

According to contemporary American libertarian
Walter Block, left-libertarians and right-libertarians agree with certain libertarian premises, but "where
heydiffer is in terms of the logical implications of these founding axioms".
[Block, Walter (2010)]
"Libertarianism Is Unique and Belongs Neither to the Right Nor the Left: A Critique of the Views of Long, Holcombe, and Baden on the Left, Hoppe, Feser, and Paul on the Right"
. '' Journal of Libertarian Studies''. 22. pp. 127–170. Although some libertarians may reject the
political spectrum, especially the
left–right political spectrum
The left–right political spectrum is a system of classifying political positions, ideologies and political parties, parties, with emphasis placed upon issues of social equality and social hierarchy. In addition to positions on the left and on ...
,
right-libertarianism and several right-oriented strands of libertarianism in the United States have been described as being right-wing,
New Right,
[Robinson, Emily; ''et al.'' (2017)]
"Telling stories about post-war Britain: popular individualism and the 'crisis' of the 1970s"
. ''Twentieth Century British History''. 28 (2): 268–304. radical right and
reactionary
In politics, a reactionary is a person who favors a return to a previous state of society which they believe possessed positive characteristics absent from contemporary.''The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought'' Third Edition, (1999) p. 729. ...
.
American libertarian activist and politician
David Nolan, the principal founder of the
Libertarian Party, developed what is now known as the
Nolan Chart to replace the traditional left-right political spectrum. The Nolan Chart has been used by several modern American libertarians and right-libertarians who reject the traditional political spectrum for its lack of inclusivity and see themselves as north-of-center. It is used in an effort to quantify typical libertarian views that support both free markets and social liberties and reject what they see as restrictions on economic and personal freedom imposed by the left and the right, respectively, although this latter point has been criticized. Other libertarians reject the separation of personal and economic liberty or argue that the Nolan Chart gives no weight to foreign policy.
Since the resurgence of
neoliberalism in the 1970s, right-libertarianism has spread beyond North America via think tanks and political parties.
[Gregory, Anthony (24 April 2007)]
"Real World Politics and Radical Libertarianism"
LewRockwell.com. . Retrieved 25 January 2020.[Teles, Steven; Kenney, Daniel A. "Spreading the Word: The Diffusion of American Conservatism in Europe and Beyond". In Kopsten, Jeffrey; Steinmo, Sven, eds. (2007)]
''Growing Apart?: America and Europe in the Twenty-First Century''
. Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...
. pp. 136–169. In the United States, libertarianism is increasingly viewed as this capitalist free-market position.
Terminology
As a term, ''right-libertarianism'' is used by some political analysts, academics and media sources, especially in the United States, to describe the libertarian philosophy which is supportive of
free-market capitalism and strong
right to property, in addition to supporting
limited government and
self-ownership, being contrasted with left-wing views which do not support the former. In most of the world, this particular political position is mostly known as
classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics and civil liberties under the rule of law, with special emphasis on individual autonomy, limited governmen ...
,
economic liberalism and
neoliberalism. It is mainly associated with
right-wing politics
Right-wing politics is the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position b ...
, support for
free markets and
private ownership of capital goods. Furthermore, it is usually contrasted with similar ideologies such as
social democracy
Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
and
social liberalism which generally favor alternative forms of capitalism such as
mixed economies,
state capitalism and
welfare capitalism.
Peter Vallentyne writes that libertarianism, defined as being about
self-ownership, is not a right-wing doctrine in the context of the typical
left–right political spectrum
The left–right political spectrum is a system of classifying political positions, ideologies and political parties, parties, with emphasis placed upon issues of social equality and social hierarchy. In addition to positions on the left and on ...
because on social issues it tends to be left-wing, opposing laws restricting consensual sexual relationships between or drug use by adults as well as laws imposing religious views or practices and compulsory military service. He defines right-libertarianism as holding that unowned natural resources "may be appropriated by the first person who discovers them, mixes her labor with them, or merely claims them—without the consent of others, and with little or no payment to them". He contrasts this with
left-libertarianism, where such "unappropriated natural resources belong to everyone in some egalitarian manner".
[ Vallentyne, Peter (20 July 2010)]
"Libertarianism"
. ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (''SEP'') is a freely available online philosophy resource published and maintained by Stanford University, encompassing both an online encyclopedia of philosophy and peer-reviewed original publication ...
''. Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
. Retrieved 26 December 2012. Similarly, Charlotte and Lawrence Becker maintain that right-libertarianism most often refers to the political position that because natural resources are originally unowned, they may be appropriated at will by private parties without the consent of, or owing to, others.
Samuel Edward Konkin III, who characterized
agorism as a form of left-libertarianism and strategic branch of
left-wing market anarchism, defined right-libertarianism as an "activist, organization, publication or tendency which supports
parliamentarianism exclusively as a strategy for reducing or abolishing the
state, typically opposes
Counter-Economics, either opposes the
Libertarian Party or works to drag it right and prefers coalitions with supposedly '
free-market'
conservatives".
Anthony Gregory maintains that libertarianism "can refer to any number of varying and at times mutually exclusive political orientations". While holding that the important distinction for libertarians is not left or right, but whether they are "government apologists who use libertarian rhetoric to defend state aggression", he describes right-libertarianism as having and maintaining interest in
economic freedom, preferring a
conservative lifestyle, viewing
private business as a "great victim of the state" and favoring a
non-interventionist foreign policy, sharing the
Old Right's "opposition to empire".
Old Right
Murray Rothbard, whose writings and personal influence helped create some strands of right-libertarianism, wrote about the Old Right in the United States, a loose coalition of individuals formed in the 1930s to oppose the
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...
at home and
military interventionism abroad, that they "did not describe or think of themselves as conservatives: they wanted to repeal and overthrow, not conserve".
[ Rothbard, Murray (2007)]
''Betrayal of the American Right''
. Auburn, Alabama: Mises Institute. p. xi. . Bill Kauffman has also written about such "old right libertarians".
[ Kauffman, Bill (18 May 2009)]
"Found Cause"
. '' The American Conservative''. Retrieved 15 March 2020. Peter Marshall dates right-libertarianism and
anarcho-capitalism in particular back to the Old Right and as being popularized again by the
New Right.
Individuals who are seen in this Old Right libertarian tradition
include
Frank Chodorov,
John T. Flynn,
Garet Garrett,
Rose Wilder Lane,
H. L. Mencken,
Albert Jay Nock and
Isabel Paterson. What those thinkers had in common was opposition to the rise of the managerial state during the
Progressive Era and its expansion in connection with the New Deal and the
Fair Deal whilst challenging
imperialism and military interventionism. However, ''Old Right'' was a label about which many or most of these figures might have been skeptical as most thought of themselves effectively as classical liberals rather than the
national defense and
social conservatism
Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on Tradition#In political and religious discourse, traditional social structures over Cultural pluralism, social pluralism. Social conservatives ...
of thinkers associated with the later
movement conservatism, with Chodorov famously writing: "As for me, I will punch anyone who calls me a conservative in the nose. I am a radical". Their opposition and resistance to the state approached
philosophical anarchism with Nock and amounted to
statelessness
In international law, a stateless person is someone who is "not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law". Some stateless people are also refugees. However, not all refugees are stateless, and many people who are s ...
in Chodorov's case.
On the other hand,
Lew Rockwell and
Jeffrey Tucker identifies the Old Right as being
culturally conservative, arguing that "
gorous social authority—as embodied in the family, church, and other mediating institutions—is a bedrock of the virtuous society" and that "
e egalitarian ethic is morally reprehensible and destructive of private property and social authority".
[ Rockwell, Lew; Tucker, Jeffrey (28 May 1990)]
"Ayn Rand Is Dead"
. ''National Review''. pp. 35–36. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
While ''libertarian'' was popularized by the libertarian socialist
Benjamin Tucker around the late 1870s and early 1880s, H. L. Mencken and Albert Jay Nock were the first prominent figures in the United States to describe themselves as ''libertarian'' as a synonym for ''
liberal''. They believed that
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
had co-opted the word ''liberal'' for his New Deal policies which they opposed and used ''libertarian'' to signify their allegiance to
classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics and civil liberties under the rule of law, with special emphasis on individual autonomy, limited governmen ...
,
individualism and
limited government.
In the 1960s, Rothbard started publishing ''
Left and Right: A Journal of Libertarian Thought'', believing that the left–right political spectrum had gone "entirely askew" since
conservatives were sometimes more
statist than
liberals and tried to reach out to leftists and go beyond left and right. In 1971, Rothbard wrote about right-libertarianism which he described as supporting
free trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...
,
property rights
The right to property, or the right to own property (cf. ownership), is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their Possession (law), possessions. A general recognition of a right to private property is found more rarely ...
and
self-ownership.
Rothbard would later describe it as
anarcho-capitalism and
paleolibertarianism.
Philosophy
Right-libertarianism developed in the United States in the mid-20th century from the works of European liberal writers such as
John Locke
John Locke (; 29 August 1632 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 28 October 1704 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thi ...
,
Friedrich Hayek and
Ludwig von Mises and is the most popular conception of
libertarianism in the United States today.
[Lester, J. C. (22 October 2017)]
"New-Paradigm Libertarianism: a Very Brief Explanation"
. PhilPapers. Retrieved 26 June 2019. It is commonly referred to as a continuation or radicalization of
classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics and civil liberties under the rule of law, with special emphasis on individual autonomy, limited governmen ...
.
[Boaz, David (1998). ''Libertarianism: A Primer''. Free Press. pp. 22–26.] The most important of these early right-libertarian philosophers were modern American libertarians such as
Robert Nozick and
Murray Rothbard.
Although often sharing the
left-libertarian advocacy for
social freedom, right-libertarians also value
capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
while rejecting institutions that intervene the
free market on the grounds that such interventions represent unnecessary coercion of individuals and therefore a violation of their
economic freedom.
Anarcho-capitalists seek complete elimination of the state in favor of
private defense agencies while minarchists defend
night-watchman states which maintain only those functions of government necessary to safeguard natural rights, understood in terms of self-ownership or autonomy.
Right-libertarians are
economic liberals of either the
Austrian School
The Austrian school is a Heterodox economics, heterodox Schools of economic thought, school of economic thought that advocates strict adherence to methodological individualism, the concept that social phenomena result primarily from the motivat ...
(majority) or the
Chicago school of economics
The Chicago school of economics is a Neoclassical economics, neoclassical Schools of economic thought, school of economic thought associated with the work of the faculty at the University of Chicago, some of whom have constructed and populari ...
(minority) and support ''
laissez-faire'' capitalism which they define as the
free market in opposition to
state capitalism and
interventionism. Right-libertarianism and its
individualism have been discussed as part of the
New Right in relation to
neoliberalism and
Thatcherism.
In the 20th century, New Right
liberal conservatism influenced by right-libertarianism marginalized other forms of conservatism.
The ''
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (''SEP'') is a freely available online philosophy resource published and maintained by Stanford University, encompassing both an online encyclopedia of philosophy and peer-reviewed original publication ...
'' describes right-libertarian philosophy as follows:
Libertarianism is often thought of as 'right-wing' doctrine. This, however, is mistaken for at least two reasons. First, on social—rather than economic—issues, libertarianism tends to be 'left-wing'. It opposes laws that restrict consensual and private sexual relationships between adults (e.g., gay-sex, non-marital sex, and deviant sex), laws that restrict drug use, laws that impose religious views or practices on individuals, and compulsory military service. Second, in addition to the better-known version of libertarianism—right-libertarianism—, there is also a version known as 'left-libertarianism. Both endorse full self-ownership, but they differ with respect to the powers agents have to appropriate unappropriated natural resources (land, air, water, etc.).
Right-libertarians are distinguished from
left-libertarians by their relation to
property
Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, re ...
and
capital. While both left-libertarianism and right-libertarianism share general antipathy towards power by a government authority, the latter exempts power wielded through
free-market capitalism. Historically, libertarians such as
Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer (27 April 1820 – 8 December 1903) was an English polymath active as a philosopher, psychologist, biologist, sociologist, and anthropologist. Spencer originated the expression "survival of the fittest", which he coined in '' ...
and
Max Stirner supported the protection of an individual's freedom from powers of government and
private ownership. While condemning governmental encroachment on
personal liberties, right-libertarians support freedoms on the basis of their agreement with private property rights and the abolishment of public amenities is a common theme in right-libertarian writings.
While associated with free-market capitalism, right-libertarianism is not opposed in principle to voluntary
egalitarianism
Egalitarianism (; also equalitarianism) is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds on the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hum ...
and
socialism
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
. However, right-libertarians believe that their advocated economic system would prove superior and that people would prefer it to socialism. For Nozick, it does not imply support of capitalism, but merely that capitalism is compatible with libertarianism, something which is rejected by
anti-capitalist libertarians.
According to
Stephen Metcalf, Nozick expressed serious misgivings about capitalism, going so far as to reject much of the foundations of the theory on the grounds that personal freedom can sometimes only be fully actualized via a collectivist politics and that wealth is at times justly redistributed via taxation to protect the freedom of the many from the potential tyranny of an overly selfish and powerful few. Nozick suggested that citizens who are opposed to wealth redistribution which fund programs they object to should be able to opt-out by supporting alternative government-approved charities with an added 5% surcharge. Nonetheless, Nozick did not stop from self-identifying as a libertarian in a broad sense and
Julian Sanchez has argued that his views simply became more nuanced.
Non-aggression principle
The non-aggression principle (NAP) is often described as the foundation of several present-day libertarian philosophies, including right-libertarianism. The NAP is a moral stance which forbids actions that are inconsistent with capitalist
private property and
property rights
The right to property, or the right to own property (cf. ownership), is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their Possession (law), possessions. A general recognition of a right to private property is found more rarely ...
. It defines
aggression and initiation of
force
In physics, a force is an influence that can cause an Physical object, object to change its velocity unless counterbalanced by other forces. In mechanics, force makes ideas like 'pushing' or 'pulling' mathematically precise. Because the Magnitu ...
as violation of these rights. The NAP and property rights are closely linked since what constitutes aggression depends on what it is considered to be one's property. The principle has been used rhetorically to oppose policies such as
military drafts, taxation and
victimless crime laws.
Property rights
While there is debate on whether right-libertarianism and
left-libertarianism or
socialist libertarianism "represent distinct ideologies as opposed to variations on a theme", right-libertarianism is most in favor of capitalist private property and property rights. Right-libertarians maintain that unowned
natural resources "may be appropriated by the first person who discovers them,
mixes his labor with them, or merely claims them—without the consent of others, and with little or no payment to them". This contrasts with left-libertarianism in which "unappropriated natural resources belong to everyone in some egalitarian manner". Right-libertarians believe that natural resources are originally unowned and therefore private parties may appropriate them at will without the consent of, or owing to, others (e.g. a
land value tax).
Right-libertarians are also referred to as
propertarians because they hold that societies in which private property rights are enforced are the only ones that are both ethical and lead to the best possible outcomes. They generally support
free-market capitalism and are not opposed to any concentrations of economic power, provided it occurs through non-coercive means.
State
There is a debate amongst right-libertarians as to whether or not the
state is legitimate. While anarcho-capitalists advocate its abolition, minarchists support minimal states, often referred to as night-watchman states. Minarchists maintain that the state is necessary for the protection of individuals from
aggression,
breach of contract, fraud and theft. They believe the only legitimate governmental institutions are courts, military and police, although some expand this list to include the executive and
legislative branches,
fire departments and prisons. These minarchists justify the state on the grounds that it is the
logical consequence
Logical consequence (also entailment or logical implication) is a fundamental concept in logic which describes the relationship between statement (logic), statements that hold true when one statement logically ''follows from'' one or more stat ...
of adhering to the non-aggression principle.
[Gregory, Anthony (10 May 2004)]
"The Minarchist's Dilemma"
. '' Strike The Root''. Retrieved 26 June 2019. Some minarchists argue that a state is inevitable, believing anarchy to be futile. Others argue that anarchy is immoral because it implies that the non-aggression principle is optional and not sufficient to enforce the non-aggression principle because the enforcement of laws under anarchy is open to competition. Another common justification is that
private defense agencies and court firms would tend to represent the interests of those who pay them enough.
Right-libertarians such as anarcho-capitalists argue that the state violates the non-aggression principle by its nature because governments use force against those who have not stolen or vandalized private property, assaulted anyone, or committed fraud. Others argue that monopolies tend to be corrupt and inefficient and that private defense and court agencies would have to have a good reputation to stay in business.
Linda and Morris Tannehill argue that no coercive monopoly of force can arise on a truly free market and that a government's citizenry can desert them in favor of a competent protection and defense agency.
Philosopher Moshe Kroy argues that the disagreement between anarcho-capitalists who adhere to
Murray Rothbard's view of
human consciousness and the nature of
values and minarchists who adhere to
Ayn Rand's view of human consciousness and the nature of values over whether or not the state is moral is not due to a disagreement over the correct interpretation of a mutually held ethical stance. He argues that the disagreement between these two groups is instead the result of their disagreement over the nature of human consciousness and that each group is making the correct interpretation of their differing premises. According to Kroy, these two groups are not making any errors with respect to deducing the correct interpretation of any ethical stance because they do not hold the same ethical stance.
Taxation as theft
The idea of taxation as theft is a viewpoint found in a number of political philosophies. Under this view, government transgresses
property rights
The right to property, or the right to own property (cf. ownership), is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their Possession (law), possessions. A general recognition of a right to private property is found more rarely ...
by enforcing compulsory tax collection. Right-libertarians see taxation as a violation of the
non-aggression principle.
Schools of thought
Anarcho-capitalism

Anarcho-capitalism advocates the elimination of
centralized states in favor of
capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
, contracts,
free markets,
individual sovereignty,
private property, the right-libertarian interpretation of
self-ownership and
voluntaryism. In the absence of
statute
A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...
, anarcho-capitalists hold that society tends to contractually self-regulate and civilize through participation in the free market which they describe as a
voluntary society. In an anarcho-capitalist society, courts,
law enforcement
Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...
and all other security services would be provided by privately funded competitors rather than through taxation and money would be privately and competitively provided in an
open market. Under anarcho-capitalism, personal and economic activities would be regulated by
private law
Private law is that part of a legal system that governs interactions between individual persons. It is distinguished from public law, which deals with relationships between both natural and artificial persons (i.e., organizations) and the st ...
rather than through politics.
["Review of Kosanke's Instead of Politics – Don Stacy"](_blank)
(2011). ''Libertarian Papers''. 3 (3). Anarcho-capitalists support
wage labour and believe that neither protection of person and property nor victim compensation requires a state.
[Marshall, Peter (2008). ''Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism'']
"The New Right and Anarcho-Capitalism"
. London: Harper Perennial. . Autarchism promotes the principles of
individualism, the moral ideology of individual liberty and self-reliance whilst rejecting compulsory government and supporting the elimination of government in favor of ruling oneself to the exclusion of rule by others.
The most well-known version of anarcho-capitalism was formulated in the mid-20th century by Austrian School economist and
paleolibertarian Murray Rothbard. Widely regarded as its founder, Rothbard combined the free-market approach from the Austrian School with the human rights views and a rejection of the state from 19th-century
American individualist anarchists and
mutualists such as
Lysander Spooner and
Benjamin Tucker, although rejecting their
anti-capitalism
Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists seek to combat the worst effects of capitalism and to eventually replace capitalism with an alternati ...
and
socialist economics, along with the
labor theory of value and the normative implications they derived from it. In Rothbardian anarcho-capitalism, exemplified in ''
For a New Liberty'', there would first be the implementation of a mutually agreed-upon libertarian "legal code which would be generally accepted and which the courts would pledge themselves to follow". This legal code would recognize contracts, individual sovereignty, private property, self-ownership, and tort law as part of the
principle of non-aggression In the tradition following
David D. Friedman, exemplified in ''
The Machinery of Freedom'', anarcho-capitalists do not rely upon the idea of
natural law
Natural law (, ) is a Philosophy, philosophical and legal theory that posits the existence of a set of inherent laws derived from nature and universal moral principles, which are discoverable through reason. In ethics, natural law theory asserts ...
or
natural rights (
deontological libertarianism) and follow
consequentialist libertarianism, presenting economic justifications for a
free-market capitalist society.
While some authors consider anarcho-capitalism a form of
individualist anarchism, many others disagree with this as individualist anarchism is largely socialistic.
Rothbard argued that individualist anarchism is different from anarcho-capitalism and other capitalist theories due to the individualist anarchists retaining the labor theory of value and socialist economics.
[Rothbard, Murray (1950s)]
"Are Libertarians 'Anarchists'?"
Lew Rockwell.com. Retrieved 1 April 2020. Many anarchist activists and scholars deny that anarcho-capitalism is a form of anarchism, or that capitalism is compatible with anarchism,
[Davis, Laurence (2019). "Individual and Community". In Levy, Carl; Adams, Matthew S. (eds.). ''The Palgrave Handbook of Anarchism''. Cham: Springer. pp. 47–70. . .] regarding it instead as right-libertarian.
Anarcho-capitalists are distinguished from anarchists and
minarchists. The latter advocate a night-watchman state limited to protecting individuals from aggression and enforcing private property. On the other hand, anarchists support
personal property
Personal property is property that is movable. In common law systems, personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. In civil law (legal system), civil law systems, personal property is often called movable property or movables—a ...
(defined in terms of possession and use, i.e. mutualist
usufruct) and oppose
capital concentration, interest, monopoly, private ownership of productive property such as the
means of production (
capital,
land
Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land sur ...
and the
means of labor),
profit,
rent,
usury and
wage slavery which are viewed as inherent to capitalism. Anarchism's emphasis on anti-capitalism,
egalitarianism
Egalitarianism (; also equalitarianism) is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds on the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hum ...
and for the extension of community and individuality sets it apart from anarcho-capitalism and other types of right-libertarianism.
[Jennings, Jeremy (1993). "Anarchism". In Eatwell, Roger; Wright, Anthony (eds.). ''Contemporary Political Ideologies''. London: Pinter. pp. 127–146. . " ..anarchism does not stand for the untrammelled freedom of the individual (as the 'anarcho-capitalists' appear to believe) but, as we have already seen, for the extension of individuality ''and'' community" (p. 143).][Gay, Kathlyn; Gay, Martin (1999). ''Encyclopedia of Political Anarchy''. ABC-CLIO. p. 15. . "For many anarchists (of whatever persuasion), anarcho-capitalism is a contradictory term, since 'traditional' anarchists oppose capitalism".][Morriss, Andrew (2008). "Anarcho-capitalism". In Hamowy, Ronald (ed.). ''The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism''. Sage; Cato Institute. pp. 13–14. . . . "Social anarchists, those anarchists with communitarian leanings, are critical of anarcho-capitalism because it permits individuals to accumulate substantial power through markets and private property."][Franks, Benjamin (August 2013). Freeden, Michael; Stears, Marc (eds.). "Anarchism". ''The Oxford Handbook of Political Ideologies''. Oxford University Press: 385–404. . "Individualisms that defend or reinforce hierarchical forms such as the economic-power relations of anarcho-capitalism ..are incompatible with practices of social anarchism. ..Increasingly, academic analysis has followed activist currents in rejecting the view that anarcho-capitalism has anything to do with social anarchism" (pp. 393–394).]
Ruth Kinna writes that ''anarcho-capitalism'' is a term coined by Rothbard to describe "a commitment to unregulated private property and laissez-faire economics, prioritizing the liberty-rights of individuals, unfettered by government regulation, to accumulate, consume and determine the patterns of their lives as they see fit". According to Kinna, anarcho-capitalists "will sometimes label themselves market anarchists because they recognize the negative connotations of 'capitalism'. But the literatures of anarcho-capitalism draw on classical liberal theory, particularly the Austrian School—
Friedrich von Hayek and
Ludwig von Mises—rather than recognizable
anarchist traditions.
Ayn Rand's laissez-faire, anti-government, corporate philosophy—
Objectivism—is sometimes associated with anarcho-capitalism".
[Kinna, Ruth, ed. (2012). ''The Bloomsbury Companion to Anarchism''. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 330–331. .] Other scholars similarly associate anarcho-capitalism with anti-state liberal schools such as
neo-classical liberalism, radical
neoliberalism and right-libertarianism.
Anarcho-capitalism is usually seen as part of the
New Right.
Conservative libertarianism

Conservative libertarianism combines ''
laissez-faire'' economics and conservative values. It advocates the greatest possible
economic liberty and the least possible
government regulation of social life whilst harnessing this to
traditionalist conservatism
Traditionalist conservatism, often known as classical conservatism, is a political philosophy, political and social philosophy that emphasizes the importance of transcendent moral principles, manifested through certain posited natural laws t ...
, emphasizing authority and duty.
Conservative libertarianism prioritizes liberty as its main emphasis, promoting
free expression,
freedom of choice and ''laissez-faire'' capitalism to achieve
cultural
Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
and
social conservative ends whilst rejecting
liberal social engineering.
[Piper, J. Richard (1997). ''Ideologies and Institutions: American Conservative and Liberal Governance Prescriptions Since 1933''. ]Rowman & Littlefield
Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an American independent academic publishing company founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns ...
pp. 110–111
. This can also be understood as promoting
civil society
Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.[conservatism
Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, Convention (norm), customs, and Value (ethics and social science ...]
and
libertarianism
Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according t ...
, representing the conservative wing of libertarianism and vice versa. Fusionism combines
traditionalist and
social conservatism
Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on Tradition#In political and religious discourse, traditional social structures over Cultural pluralism, social pluralism. Social conservatives ...
with ''laissez-faire'' economics. This is most closely associated with
Frank Meyer.
Hans-Hermann Hoppe is a cultural conservative right-libertarian, whose belief in the rights of property owners to establish private covenant communities, from which homosexuals and political dissidents may be "physically removed", has proven particularly divisive.
Hoppe also garnered controversy due to his support for restrictive limits on immigration which critics argue is at odds with libertarianism.
Minarchism
Within right-libertarian philosophy, minarchism is supportive of a
night-watchman state, a model of a state whose only functions are to provide its citizens with courts, military and police, protecting them from aggression, breach of contract, fraud and theft whilst enforcing
property law
Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land) and personal property. Property refers to legally protected claims to resources, such as land and personal property, including intellectual prope ...
s.
19th-century Britain has been described by historian
Charles Townshend
Charles Townshend (27 August 1725 – 4 September 1767) was a British politician who held various titles in the Parliament of Great Britain. His establishment of the controversial Townshend Acts is considered one of the key causes of the Amer ...
as standard-bearer of this form of government among European countries.
As a term, ''night-watchman state'' () was coined by German
socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
Ferdinand Lassalle, an advocate of
social-democratic state socialism, to criticize the
bourgeois state. Austrian School economist
Ludwig von Mises, a classical liberal who greatly influenced right-libertarianism, later opined that Lassalle tried to make limited government look ridiculous, but that it was no more ridiculous than governments that concerned themselves with "the preparation of sauerkraut, with the manufacture of trouser buttons, or with the publication of newspapers".
Robert Nozick, a right-libertarian advocate of minarchism, received a
National Book Award in
category Philosophy and Religion for his book ''
Anarchy, State, and Utopia'' (1974),
["National Book Awards – 1975"](_blank)
(1975). National Book Foundation. Retrieved 8 March 2012. . where he argued that only a minimal state limited to the narrow functions of protection against "force, fraud, theft, and administering courts of law" could be justified without violating people's rights.
Neo-classical liberalism

Traditionally, liberalism's primary emphasis was placed on securing the freedom of the individual by limiting the power of the government and maximizing the power of free market forces. As a political philosophy, it advocated
civil liberties under the
rule of law
The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...
, with an emphasis on
economic freedom. Closely related to
economic liberalism, it developed in the early 19th century, emerging as a response to urbanization and to the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
in Europe and the United States.
It advocated a
limited government and held a belief in ''laissez-faire'' economic policy.
Built on ideas that had already arisen by the end of the 18th century such as selected ideas of
John Locke
John Locke (; 29 August 1632 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 28 October 1704 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thi ...
,
[Steven M. Dworetz (1994). ''The Unvarnished Doctrine: Locke, Liberalism, and the American Revolution''.] Adam Smith,
Thomas Robert Malthus
Thomas Robert Malthus (; 13/14 February 1766 – 29 December 1834) was an English economist, cleric, and scholar influential in the fields of political economy and demography.
In his 1798 book ''An Essay on the Principle of Population'', Mal ...
,
Jean-Baptiste Say and
David Ricardo, it drew on
classical economics
Classical economics, also known as the classical school of economics, or classical political economy, is a school of thought in political economy that flourished, primarily in Britain, in the late 18th and early-to-mid 19th century. It includ ...
and economic ideas as espoused by Smith in ''
The Wealth of Nations'' and stressed the belief in
progress,
natural law
Natural law (, ) is a Philosophy, philosophical and legal theory that posits the existence of a set of inherent laws derived from nature and universal moral principles, which are discoverable through reason. In ethics, natural law theory asserts ...
and
utilitarianism
In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for the affected individuals. In other words, utilitarian ideas encourage actions that lead to the ...
. These liberals were more suspicious than conservatives of all but the most minimal government and adopted
Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5 April 1588 – 4 December 1679) was an English philosopher, best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan (Hobbes book), Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influential formulation of social contract theory. He is considered t ...
's theory of government, believing government had been created by individuals to protect themselves from one another.
[Quinton, A. (1995). "Conservativism". In Goodin, R. E.; Pettit, P. eds. ''A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy''. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. p. 246.] The term ''classical liberalism'' was applied in retrospect to distinguish earlier 19th-century liberalism from the newer ''
social liberalism''.
Neoliberalism emerged in the era following
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
during which social liberalism was the mainstream form of liberalism while
Keynesianism and
social democracy
Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
were the dominant ideologies in the Western world. It was led by
neoclassical economists such as
Friedrich Hayek and
Milton Friedman, who advocated the reduction of the state and a return to classical liberalism, hence the term ''neo-classical liberalism'', not to be confused with the more left-leaning
neoclassical liberalism,
an American
bleeding-heart libertarian school originating in Arizona.
However, it did accept some aspects of social liberalism such as some degree of welfare provision by the state, but on a greatly reduced scale. Hayek and Friedman used the term ''classical liberalism'' to refer to their ideas, but others use the term to refer to all liberalism before the 20th century, not to designate any particular set of political views and therefore see all modern developments as being by definition not classical.
In the late 19th century, classical liberalism developed into neo-classical liberalism which argued for government to be as small as possible to allow the exercise of
individual freedom. In its most extreme form, neo-classical liberalism advocated
social Darwinism.
[Mayne, Alan James (1999). ''From Politics Past to Politics Future: An Integrated Analysis of Current and Emergent Paradigmss''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 124. .] Right-libertarianism has been influenced by these schools of liberalism. It has been commonly referred to as a continuation or radicalization of classical liberalism
and referred to as neo-classical liberalism.
Neolibertarianism
The concept of neolibertarianism gained a small following in the mid-2000s
among right-leaning commentators who distinguished themselves from
neoconservatives by their support for
individual liberties and from libertarians by their support for
foreign interventionism.
Paleolibertarianism

Paleolibertarianism was developed by American libertarian theorists
Murray Rothbard and
Lew Rockwell. Combining conservative cultural values and social philosophy with a libertarian opposition to government intervention, it overlaps with
paleoconservatism.
[.]
In the United States, paleolibertarianism is a controversial current due its connections to the
alt-right
The alt-right (abbreviated from alternative right) is a Far-right politics, far-right, White nationalism, white nationalist movement. A largely Internet activism, online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late ...
and the
Tea Party movement. Besides their anti-
gun control stance in regard to
gun laws and
politics
Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
in support of the
right to keep and bear arms
The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a legal right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for Self-defense#Armed, self ...
, these movements, especially the
Old Right and paleoconservatism, are united by an anti-leftist stance.
In the essay "Right-Wing Populism: A Strategy for the Paleo Movement", Rothbard reflected on the ability of paleolibertarians to engage in an "outreach to
rednecks" founded on libertarianism and social conservatism. He cited former
Louisiana State Representative David Duke and former United States Senator
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death at age ...
as models for the new movement.
In Europe, paleolibertarianism has some significant overlap with
right-wing populism. Former European Union-parliamentarian
Janusz Korwin-Mikke from
KORWiN supports both ''laissez-faire'' economics and
anti-immigration and
anti-feminist positions.
Propertarianism
Propertarianism advocates the replacement of states with contractual relationships. Propertarian ideals are most commonly cited to advocate for a state or other governance body whose main or only job is to enforce contracts and
private property.
Propertarianism is generally considered right-libertarian
because it "reduce
all human rights to rights of property, beginning with the natural right of self-ownership".
As a term, ''propertarian'' appears to have been coined in 1963 by Edward Cain, who wrote:
Since their use of the word "liberty" refers almost exclusively to property, it would be helpful if we had some other word, such as "propertarian", to describe them. ..Novelist Ayn Rand is not a conservative at all but claims to be very relevant. She is a radical capitalist, and is the closest to what I mean by a propertarian.
Comparison to classical liberalism
Some forms of right-libertarianism are an outgrowth or as a variant of
classical liberal thought.
[Goodman, John C. (20 December 2005)]
"What Is Classical Liberalism?"
National Center for Policy Analysis. Retrieved 26 June 2019. . With other forms of right-libertarianism there are significant differences. Edwin van de Haar argues that "confusingly, in the United States the term libertarianism is sometimes also used for or by classical liberals. But this erroneously masks the differences between them". Classical liberalism refuses to give priority to liberty over order and therefore does not exhibit the hostility to the state which is the defining feature of libertarianism. As such, right-libertarians believe classical liberals favor too much state involvement, arguing that they do not have enough respect for individual property rights and lack sufficient trust in the workings of the
free market and its
spontaneous order leading to support of a much larger state. Right-libertarians also disagree with classical liberals as being too supportive of
central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, national bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the monetary policy of a country or monetary union. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the mo ...
s and
monetarist policies.
By country
Since the 1970s, right-libertarianism has spread beyond the United States.
With the foundation of the
Libertarian Party in 1971, many countries followed the example and led to the creation of
libertarian parties advocating this type of libertarianism, along with
classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics and civil liberties under the rule of law, with special emphasis on individual autonomy, limited governmen ...
,
economic liberalism and
neoliberalism, around the world, including the United Kingdom, Israel and South Africa. Internationally, the majority of those libertarian parties are grouped within the
International Alliance of Libertarian Parties. There also exists the European Party for Individual Liberty at the European level.
Murray Rothbard was the founder and co-founder of a number of right-libertarian and right-libertarian-leaning journals and organizations. Rothbard was the founder of the
Center for Libertarian Studies in 1976, the ''
Journal of Libertarian Studies'' and co-founder of the
Mises Institute in 1982, including the founding in 1987 of the Mises Institute's ''Review of Austrian Economics'', a
heterodox economics
Heterodox economics is a broad, relative term referring to schools of economic thought which are not commonly perceived as belonging to mainstream economics. There is no absolute definition of what constitutes heterodox economic thought, as it i ...
journal later renamed the ''
Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics''.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, right-libertarianism emerged and became more prominent in British politics after the 1980s
neoliberalism and the
economic liberalism of the
premiership of
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
, albeit not as prominent as in the United States during the 1970s and the
presidency
A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...
of
Republican Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
during the 1980s.
Prominent British right-libertarians include former director of the
Libertarian Alliance Sean Gabb and philosopher
Stephen R. L. Clark, who are seen as rightists. Gabb has called himself "a man of the right" and Clark self-identifies as an "anarcho-conservative". Gabb has also articulated a libertarian defense of the British Empire. At the same time, Gabb has given a generally appreciative commentary of left-libertarian
Kevin Carson's work on organization theory and Clark has supported
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...
, gender inclusiveness and non-judgmental attitude toward some unconventional sexual arrangements.
Apart from the
Libertarian Party, there is also a right-libertarian faction of the mainstream
Conservative Party that espouses
Thatcherism.
United States
Right-libertarianism is the dominant form and better known version of libertarianism in the United States,
especially when compared with
left-libertarianism.
Robert Nozick and
Murray Rothbard have been described as the most noted advocate of this type of libertarianism.
Unlike Rothbard, who argued for the abolition of the
state, Nozick argued for a
night-watchman state.
To this day, there remains a division between
anarcho-capitalists that advocate its abolition and minarchists who support a night-watchman state.
According to Nozick, only such a minimal state could be justified without violating people's rights. Nozick argued that a night-watchman state provides a framework that allows for any political system that respects fundamental individual rights and therefore morally justifies the existence of a state.
Already a radical
classical liberal and
anti-interventionist strongly influenced by the
Old Right, especially its opposition to the managerial state whilst being more unequivocally
anti-war and
anti-imperialist, Rothbard had become the doyen of right-libertarianism. Before his departure from the
New Left
The New Left was a broad political movement that emerged from the counterculture of the 1960s and continued through the 1970s. It consisted of activists in the Western world who, in reaction to the era's liberal establishment, campaigned for freer ...
, with which he helped build for a few years a relationship with other libertarians, Rothbard considered liberalism and
libertarianism
Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according t ...
to be left-wing,
radical and
revolutionary whereas conservatism to be right-wing,
reactionary
In politics, a reactionary is a person who favors a return to a previous state of society which they believe possessed positive characteristics absent from contemporary.''The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought'' Third Edition, (1999) p. 729. ...
and
counter-revolutionary. As for
socialism
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
, especially
state socialism, Rothbard argued that it was not the opposite of libertarianism, but rather that it pursued liberal ends through conservative means, putting it in the
political center. By the time of his death in 1995, Rothbard had involved the segment of the libertarian movement loyal to him in an alliance with the growing
paleoconservative movement, seen by many observers, libertarian and otherwise, as flirting with racism and social reaction.
Suggesting that libertarians needed a new cultural profile that would make them more acceptable to social and cultural conservatives, Rothbard criticized the tendency of proponents of libertarianism to appeal to "'free spirits,' to people who don't want to push other people around, and who don't want to be pushed around themselves" in contrast to "the bulk of Americans", who "might well be tight-assed conformists, who want to stamp out drugs in their vicinity, kick out people with strange dress habits." While emphasizing that it was relevant as a matter of strategy, Rothbard argued that the failure to pitch the libertarian message to Middle America might result in the loss of "the tight-assed majority".

At least partly reflective of some of the social and cultural concerns that lay beneath Rothbard's outreach to paleoconservatives is
paleolibertarianism. In an early statement of this position,
Lew Rockwell and
Jeffrey Tucker arguing for a specifically
Christian libertarianism.
Later, Rockwell would no longer consider himself a "paleolibertarian" and was "happy with the term libertarian." While distancing himself from the paleolibertarian alliance strategy, Rockwell affirmed paleoconservatives for their "work on the immigration issue" and maintained that "porous borders in Texas and California" could be seen as "reducing liberty, not increasing it, through a form of publicly subsidized right to trespass."
Hans-Hermann Hoppe argued that "libertarians must be conservatives." Hoppe acknowledged what he described as "the importance, under clearly stated circumstances, of discriminating against communists, democrats, and habitual advocates of alternative, non-family centered lifestyles, including homosexuals." He disagreed with
Walter Block and argued that libertarianism need not be seen as requiring
open borders. Hoppe attributed "open border enthusiasm" to "egalitarianism". While defending market anarchy in preference to both, Hoppe argued for the superiority of monarchy to democracy by maintaining that monarchs are likely to be better stewards of the territory they claim to own than are democratic politicians, whose time horizons may be shorter.
Defending the
fusion of
traditionalist conservatism
Traditionalist conservatism, often known as classical conservatism, is a political philosophy, political and social philosophy that emphasizes the importance of transcendent moral principles, manifested through certain posited natural laws t ...
with
libertarianism
Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according t ...
and rejecting the view that libertarianism means support for a
liberal culture,
Edward Feser implies that a central issue for those who share his viewpoint is "the preservation of traditional morality—particularly traditional sexual morality, with its idealization of marriage and its insistence that sexual activity be confined within the bounds of that institution, but also a general emphasis on dignity and temperance over self-indulgence and dissolute living."
California Governor
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
appealed to right-libertarians in a 1975 interview with ''
Reason
Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, scien ...
'' by stating to "believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism." However, President Reagan,
Reaganomics and policies of the
Reagan administration have been criticized by libertarians, including right-libertarians such as Rothbard, who argued that the
Reagan presidency has been "a disaster for libertarianism in the United States" and Reagan himself was "a dramatic failure".
Among other reasons, this was because Reagan turned the United States' big trade deficit into debt and the United States became a debtor nation for the first time since
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
under Reagan.
Ron Paul was one of the first elected officials in the nation to support Reagan's presidential campaign
and actively campaigned for Reagan in 1976 and 1980.
Paul quickly became disillusioned with the Reagan administration's policies after Reagan's election in 1980 and later recalled being the only
Republican to vote against the Reagan budget proposals in 1981,
aghast that "in 1977,
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
proposed a budget with a $38 billion deficit, and every Republican in the House voted against it. In 1981, Reagan proposed a budget with a $45 billion deficit—which turned out to be $113 billion—and Republicans were cheering his great victory. They were living in a storybook land."
Paul expressed his disgust with the political culture of both major parties in a speech delivered in 1984 upon resigning from the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
to prepare for a failed run for the Senate and eventually apologized to his libertarian friends for having supported Reagan.
By 1987, Paul was ready to sever all ties to the Republican Party as explained in a blistering resignation letter.
While affiliated with both
Libertarian and Republican parties at different times, Paul stated to have always been a libertarian at heart.

Walter Block identifies Feser, Hoppe, and Paul as "right-libertarians".
Rothbard's outreach to conservatives was partly triggered by his perception of negative reactions within the Libertarian Party to
Ron Paul 1988 presidential campaign because of Paul's conservative appearance and his discomfort with abortion. Nonetheless, Paul himself did not make cultural issues central to his public persona during his
2008 and
2012
2012 was designated as:
*International Year of Cooperatives
*International Year of Sustainable Energy for All
Events January
*January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins.
* January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
presidential campaigns for the
Republican presidential nomination and focused on a simple message of support for personal freedom and civil liberties, commitment to fiscal discipline and opposition to war, although he did continue to take what some regarded as a conservative position regarding immigration, arguing for some restrictions on cross-border freedom of movement.
Paul's fellow libertarian anti-militarist
Justin Raimondo, a co-founder of
Antiwar.com, described himself as a "conservative paleolibertarian". Unlike Feser and Rockwell, Raimondo's ''Reclaiming the American Right'' argued for a resurgence of Old Right political attitudes and did not focus on the social and cultural issues that are of central importance to Feser and Rockwell.
Free State Project
One of the most prominent groups dedicated to promulgating and instituting right-libertarian values is the
Free State Project. The Free State Project is an activist libertarian movement formed in 2001. It is working to bring libertarians to the state of New Hampshire to protect and advance liberty. , the project website showed that 19,988 people have pledged to move and 6,232 people identified as Free Staters in New Hampshire.
Free State Project participants interact with the political landscape in New Hampshire in various ways. In 2017, there were 17 Free Staters in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, and in 2021, the
New Hampshire Liberty Alliance, which ranks bills and elected representatives based on their adherence to what they see as libertarian principles, scored 150 (out of 380 rated) representatives as "A−" or above rated representatives. Participants also engage with other like-minded activist groups such as Rebuild New Hampshire,
Young Americans for Liberty
Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) is a Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian student activism organization headquartered in Austin, Texas. Formed in 2008 in the aftermath of the Ron Paul 2008 presidential campaign, YAL establishes ch ...
, and
Americans for Prosperity.
Criticism
Criticism of right-libertarianism includes ethical, economic, environmental, pragmatic and philosophical concerns,
[Friedman, Jeffrey (1993). "What's Wrong with Libertarianism". ''Critical Review''. 11 (3). p. 427.][Sterba, James P. (October 1994). "From Liberty to Welfare". ''Ethics''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Blackwell. 105 (1): 237–241.][Partridge, Ernest (2004)]
"With Liberty and Justice for Some"
. In Zimmerman, Michael; Callicott, Baird; Warren, Karen; Klaver, Irene; Clark, John. ''Environmental Philosophy: From Animal Rights to Radical Ecology'' (4th ed.). Pearson. . including the view that it has no explicit theory of liberty.
It has been argued that ''laissez-faire'' capitalism
does not necessarily produce the best or most efficient outcome,
nor does its philosophy of individualism and policies of
deregulation prevent the
abuse of natural resources.
Use of the NAP as a justification for right-libertarianism has been criticized as
circular reasoning and as a rhetorical obfuscation of the coercive nature of right-libertarian property law enforcement,
with critics arguing that the principle redefines aggression in their own terms.
Jeffrey H. Reiman criticized right-libertarians' support of private property, arguing that "the holders of large amounts of property have great power to dictate the terms upon which others work for them and thus in effect the power to 'force' others to be resources for them".
See also
*
Anarchism and capitalism
*
Conservative liberalism
Conservative liberalism, also referred to as right-liberalism, is a variant of liberalism combining liberal values and policies with conservative stances, or simply representing the right wing of the liberal movement. In the case of modern con ...
*
Constitutionalism
*
Criticism of democracy
*
Debates within libertarianism
*
Fiscal conservatism
*
Free banking
*
Freedom of association
*
Issues in anarchism
*
Labor mobility
*
Market fundamentalism
*
Objectivist movement
*
Outline of libertarianism
*
Patriot movement
*
Republican Liberty Caucus
The Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) is a political action organization dedicated to promoting the ideals of Individual freedom, individual liberty, limited government and free market economics within the Republican Party (United States), Republi ...
*
Sovereign citizen movement
References
Bibliography
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External links
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{{neoliberalism
Libertarianism
Libertarianism
Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according t ...
Libertarianism
Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according t ...
Libertarianism by form
Libertarianism in the United States