Are libertarians left-wing or right-wing?
Neither and both. Libertarians are sometimes described as ‘economically right-wing’ and ’socially left-wing’. While this isn’t a perfect explanation, it’s a helpful shortcut. Some people are confused by what appear to be contradictory positions in libertarianism. Free trade is considered to be right-wing, but drug legalisation is left-wing. Cutting tax is right-wing, but defending civil liberties and gay rights is left-wing. However, all of these libertarian positions share the common principle of decreasing the role of government. In contrast, “left-wing” people often want to have the government control the economy, but not to control our social lives, and “right-wing” people often want to have the government control our social lives, but not the economy.
Neither and both. Libertarians are sometimes described as ‘economically right-wing’ and ‘socially left-wing’. While this isn’t a perfect explanation, it’s a helpful shortcut. Some people are confused by what appear to be contradictory positions in libertarianism. Free trade is considered to be right-wing, but drug legalisation is left-wing. Cutting tax is right-wing, but defending civil liberties and gay rights is left-wing. However, all of these libertarian positions share the common principle of decreasing the role of government. In contrast, “left-wing” people often want to have the government control the economy, but not to control our social lives, and “right-wing” people often want to have the government control our social lives, but not the economy.
