Left libertarian
From Libertarian Wiki
Left libertarians start by objecting to state interference with private lives. For them the libertarian interest in individual freedom is important. Especially they believe that consensual sex should not be interfered with by the government. They are also interested in legalizing most drugs. They differ from the traditional left which often wants government to regulate such matters in the name of 'protecting' people. They may disagree or care less about some of the economic and property rights issues that libertarians coming from the right care about.
This is a very political subject with everyone having their own definitions but I think the part below is describing traditional leftists not libertarians who reached their libertarian beliefs by starting with a leftist slant.
"Leftist" libertarians have less individualistic ideas about property rights than right libertarians. They are often connected to the anarchist, or socialist-libertarian traditions. Even Marxist movements included a libertarian vision, though they reserved this vision for the distant future and believed that centralization of power in the hands of the state was inevitable, and that this power could be coopted and used for the common good...at least the sincere Marxists believed this.
Leftist libertarians view economics and politics as being intimately connected. Economic independence is necessary for political independence. Economic equality is necessary for political equality. Leftist libertarians promote free and egalitarian associations across all of society. Rather than trying to micromanage associations as the statist leftists do, left libertarians focus on producing the basic conditions that enable individuals to freely enter into egalitarian relationships. They emphasize cooperative and participatory economic structures.
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[edit] Issues
This tradition may be distinguished from other libertarians based upon their stances on several issues, such as:
- Opposition to copyright and patents
- Opposition to nationalism
- Opposition to debt
- Equal access to natural resources
[edit] Famous Persons
[edit] Liberals (minarchists)
- Thomas Paine
- Henry George
[edit] Anarchists
List at: http://flag.blackened.net/liberty/libertarians.html
[edit] Others
Politicalcompass.org placed the following persons in the "left-libertarian" section of their chart:
- The Dalai Lama
- Gandhi
- Nelson Mandela
