70 Libertarian Quotes About The Party of Principle
These Libertarian quotes will help you better understand the political party.
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Considering the political climate that has been brewing between the Republicans and Democrats and how it highlights the flaws of a two-party system, there has been renewed attention on third-party candidates.
One of those parties that comes up most often is the Libertarian Party.
So, what is the Libertarian Party?
Are Libertarians considered Left or Right?
What is their party slogan?
What does a Libertarian believe?
These Libertarian quotes about taxes, economics, and socialism might shed some light.
However, keep in mind that conflicting opinions get shared when just looking at quotes.
To answer these questions, let’s start with the biggest one, “What is the Libertarian Party?”
They have been billed as the “Party of Principle,” but what exactly are those principles?
According to their official website, “As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty: a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and are not forced to sacrifice their values for the benefit of others.
We believe that respect for individual rights is the essential precondition for a free and prosperous world, that force and fraud must be banished from human relationships, and that only through freedom can peace and prosperity be realized.
Consequently, we defend each person’s right to engage in any activity that is peaceful and honest, and welcome the diversity that freedom brings.
The world we seek to build is one where individuals are free to follow their own dreams in their own ways, without interference from government or any authoritarian power.”
They have been billed as the “Party of Principle,” but what exactly are those principles?
Well, one of the biggest is the NAP (Non-Aggression Principle), which basically means that your freedoms are only limited when it infringes on someone else’s freedoms.
Keep reading through these Libertarian quotes to learn more!
Don’t forget to also check out these political quotes that show all perspectives.
If you enjoy this article, check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily motivation.
Browse our entire collection of inspirational quotes for more motivating ideas and concepts.
Best Libertarian quotes on taxes and economics
1. “My parents both defected from communist Hungary and were what most people would today call libertarian. I grew up with a general distaste for taxation and any policy that intruded on our lives.” ― David Harsanyi
2. “It has been said that I am not a ‘real’ Libertarian. A certain faction of the Party has come to believe that the writings of Ayn Rand and Milton Friedman are the holy texts of Libertarianism, and I disagree. I believe that the Libertarian movement is and should be more encompassing than the narrow-minded advocacy of economic anarchy.” ― Augustus Sol Invictus
3. “The Libertarian position on immigration is to have, not open borders with no restrictions, but to have controlled borders that allow hard-working people to come into America to help raise their standard of living and improve the American economy.” ― Michael Badnarik
4. “I believe in taxation and health care that is outside the usual libertarian mandate because I don’t want people to have to suffer. It’s as simple as that.” ― Neil Peart
5. “A libertarian presidential candidate isn’t going to win anyway, so he can afford to say that all taxation is theft, and it isn’t the job of a libertarian presidential candidate to cook up new ways to commit theft.” ― L. Neil Smith
6. “Economics is sometimes associated with the study and defense of selfishness and material inequality, but it has an egalitarian and civil libertarian core that should be celebrated.” ― Tyler Cowen
7. “I took the obligatory economics classes in school, but I’ve long been a fan of the Milton Friedman philosophy and its libertarian bent: One must be free to do what one wants to do, as long as you don’t harm another. This is the seminal treatise on free-market economics.” ― Charlie Trotter
8. “But let me offer you my definition of social justice: I keep what I earn and you keep what you earn. Do you disagree? Well then, tell me how much of what I earn belongs to you – and why?” ― Walter E. Williams
9. “Countries adopting free-market capitalism have increased output 70-fold, halved work days and doubled lifespans.” ― Stefan Molyneux
Libertarian quotes from or about the Founding Fathers and comparing it to Socialism
10. “Libertarian socialism is properly to be regarded as the inheritor of the liberal ideals of the Enlightenment.” ― Noam Chomsky
11. “Libertarians are essentially what the Republicans were 30 years ago. Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan. They’d all fit more under the Libertarian label than the modern-day Republican label.” ― Drew Carey
12. “Everyone’s goals are the same with very small differences. I mean, the goal of a socialist and the goal of a libertarian are exactly the same. The goals are happiness and security and freedom, and you balance those.” ― Penn Jillette
13. “Lots of us have been plugging away, building a platform to talk about libertarian communism and post-scarcity economics.” ― Ash Sarkar
14. “Every single figure on Mount Rushmore was a third party at one time or another, so third parties become major parties, and I think that the Libertarian Party may become my major party.” ― Gary Johnson
15. “The Jacksonians were libertarians, plain and simple. Their program and ideology were libertarian; they strongly favored free enterprise and free markets, but they just as strongly opposed special subsidies and monopoly privileges conveyed by government to business or to any other group.” ― Murray Rothbard
16. “What a man has honestly acquired is absolutely his own, which he may freely give, but cannot be taken from him without his consent.” ― Samuel Adams
17. “Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and nature.” ― Benjamin Franklin
18. “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” ― Patrick Henry
19. “The policy of American government is to leave its citizens free, neither restraining them nor aiding them in their pursuits.” ― Thomas Jefferson
20. “If the freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” ― George Washington
Funny and informative Libertarian quotes for that perfect T-shirt
21. “I’m a libertarian. It’s a terrible word.” ― John Stossel
22. “I love my country, not my government.” ― Jesse Ventura
23. “I’m willing to zap conservatives when they do things that are not libertarian.” ― William Safire
24. “A conservative is a liberal who’s been mugged, and a libertarian is a conservative who’s been indicted.” ― Jack Abramoff
25. “I wish the Libertarian Party would get more play in the media but they don’t.” ― Glenn Danzig
26. “Libertarian principles are very simple, but you can’t violate any of them and still call yourself Libertarian.” ― John McAfee
27. “Libertarians are constantly arguing with each other who is the most pure libertarian and who is most ideologically pure.” ― John Mackey
28. “That government is best which governs least.” ― Henry David Thoreau
29. “A Libertarian is someone who says you can be as liberal or conservative as you want to be, just don’t force others to be like you.” ― Larry Sharpe
Libertarian quotes from politicians, political commentators, and philosophers
30. “No good libertarian I know wants us to completely isolate ourselves from the rest of the world. It’s not even possible. I mean there are economic ties – there are trade routes that need to be secured. You know international trade can’t happen if you don’t have open oceans.” ― Dan Bongino
31. “A Libertarian society of unfettered individualism spreads its benefits to virtually everyone – not just those who have the resources to seize political power.” ― Harry Browne
32. “That’s the first sign you know you’re a Libertarian. You see the red light. You stop. You realize that there’s not a car in sight. And you put your foot on the gas.” ― Gary Johnson
33. “Whether you’re a libertarian liberal or a more egalitarian liberal, the idea is that justice means being non-judgmental with respect to the preferences people bring to public life.” ― Michael Sandel
34. “Freedom is living without government coercion. So when a politician talks about freedom for this group or that, ask yourself whether he is advocating more government action or less.” ― Ron Paul
35. “Maybe it’s my libertarian philosophy but being in government is hard.” ― John Bolton
36. “In my view, as a country, we need to rediscover some of that skepticism about government and revisit that libertarian agenda.” ― Charles Kennedy
37. “There’s no way that a third party wins without being in the presidential debates. I think the vast majority of Americans are Libertarian; they just don’t know it.” ― Gary Johnson
38. “Libertarianism is “cultish,” say the sophisticates. Of course, there’s nothing cultish at all about allegiance to the state, with its flags, its songs, its mass murders, its little children saluting and paying homage to pictures of their dear leaders on the wall, etc.” ― Thomas E. Woods Jr.
39. “Libertarians recognize the inevitable pluralism of the modern world and for that reason assert that individual liberty is at least part of the common good.” ― Tom G. Palmer
40. “For libertarians, freedom entails the right of people to live their lives any way they choose, so long as their conduct is peaceful. For conservatives, freedom entails the right of government to do just about anything it wants, even if its conduct is violent.” ― Jacob Hornberger
‘I’m a Libertarian’ quotes from famous people
41. “I mean, I’ve always been a libertarian. Leave everybody alone. Let everybody else do what they want. Just stay out of everybody else’s hair.” ― Clint Eastwood
42. “I’m an extreme libertarian, but I realize we’re in a democracy, and in a democracy, people can have views of all stripes, and there’s no reason to argue about it.” ― Eugene Fama
43. “I am more of a constitutionalist libertarian.” ― Dan Bilzerian
44. “Well, I’m a libertarian conservative, so I believe in limited government/maximum individual freedom.” ― John Bolton
45. “Now, I call myself a bleeding heart libertarian. Because I do believe in the principles of Libertarianism as an ideal – because I’m an idealist.” ― Neil Peart
46. “I stated that I’m a libertarian Republican, which means I believe in a series of issues, such as smaller government, constraint on budget deficits, free markets, globalization, and a whole series of other things, including welfare reform.” ― Alan Greenspan
47. “I’m a Libertarian. I’m liberty, justice for all, liberty for all.” ― Big Boi
48. “I’m a hardcore libertarian – I want everything legal – but I also believe that you have the right to free association.” ― Penn Jillette
49. “I’m not a complete libertarian. There is a proper role in some areas of the government to have rules and regulations – I’m not an anarchist.” ― Jack Abramoff
50. “I think I’m turning into a libertarian. I’m not part of the gaggle of Hollywood liberals. I gaggle for no one, and I’m not a liberal. I’m libo-conservo-rado-middle-of-the-roado.” ― Richard Dreyfuss
More Libertarian quotes to ruminate on
51. “The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else.” ― Frederic Bastiat
52. “We cannot have a world where everyone is a victim. “I’m this way because my father made me this way. I’m this way because my husband made me this way.” Yes, we are indeed formed by traumas that happen to us. But then you must take charge, you must take over, you are responsible.” ― Camille Paglia
53. “Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free.” ― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
54. “It’s not an endlessly expanding list of rights — the ‘right’ to education, the ‘right’ to health care, the ‘right’ to food and housing. That’s not freedom, that’s dependency. Those aren’t rights, those are the rations of slavery — hay and a barn for human cattle.” ― Alexis de Tocqueville
55. “I am truly free only when all human beings, men and women, are equally free. The freedom of other men, far from negating or limiting my freedom, is, on the contrary, its necessary premise and confirmation.” ― Mikhail Bakunin
56. “The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants, and it provides the further advantage of giving the servants of tyranny a good conscience.” ― Albert Camus
57. “The real division is not between conservatives and revolutionaries but between authoritarians and libertarians.” ― George Orwell
58. “People are naturally born as Libertarians till governments and oppressive societies force them to adopt their ideologies and their ways.” ― Hany Ghoraba
59. “It’s very attractive to the libertarian viewpoint if we can explain it properly. I’m better with code than with words though.” ― Satoshi Nakamoto
60. “Your self is your mind; renounce it and you become a chunk of meat ready for any cannibal to swallow.” ― Ayn Rand
Libertarian Quotes About Their Character
61. “I certainly have some very strong libertarian leanings, yes.” ― Clarence Thomas
62. “Libertarians typically argue that particular obligations, at least under normal circumstances, must be created by consent; they cannot be unilaterally imposed by others.” ― Tom G. Palmer
63. “A libertarian is someone who graduated from thinking that there are problems with the state to realizing that the state is the problem.” ― Jakub Bożydar Wiśniewski
64. “Im a registered independent with a lot of libertarian leanings.” ― Tom Selleck
65. “Beloved friends and comrades… the national Libertarian Party is dead.” ― L. Neil Smith
66. “I’m a bit of a Libertarian.” ― Vince Flynn
67. “Global libertarianism would be a borderless world society.” ― Bryant McGill
68. “Because the state necessarily commits aggression, the consistent libertarian, in opposing aggression, is also an anarchist.” ― Stephan Kinsella
69. “That’s libertarians for you — anarchists who want police protection from their slaves.” ― Kim Stanley Robinson
70. “When libertarian sentiments take a populist form, it looks like this: a mix of anger, fear, anti-intellectualism, and fierce government hostility. Welcome to the Tea Party movement.” ― David Niose
What did you learn from these Libertarian quotes?
So, is being a Libertarian the same as being socialist (which has been brought up in some of these quotes) or a leftist progressive; or are they more right-winged conservatives?
Even the quote from Richard Dreyfuss uses a made-up word to describe Libertarians cause he doesn’t seem to know the answer, so it’s not surprising that it confuses the rest of us!
The slogan of the libertarian party, “Minimum government, maximum freedom,” sounds more right-winged than left, more conservative than socialist, which is why when you google Libertarian quotes for T-shirts, you come across some very right-winged stuff.
A quick look at the party’s official website, though, explains their principles in much more detail.
Libertarians believe that “Individuals are inherently free to make choices for themselves.”
This makes the right side happy (no government forcing you to wear a mask), and the left side can get on board too because it means Libertarians “favor the freedom to engage in or abstain from any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
We oppose government actions that either aid or attack any religion.”
With abortion, the party is clear that “that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration.”
Taxes and economy are other areas where the principles of this party can appeal to and enrage one side or the other.
This principle definitely doesn’t sound socialist, “only proper role of government in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is protected.
All efforts by government to redistribute wealth, or to control or manage trade, are improper in a free society.”
They support a free market which is the opposite of socialism.
However, coal and gas would also no longer be government subsidized, “While energy is needed to fuel a modern society, government should not be subsidizing any particular form of energy.
We oppose all government control of energy pricing, allocation, and production.”
This means the $198 billion subsidies for gasoline, the $149 billion for coal, and the $126 billion for natural gas would go away.
They would also decriminalize sex workers because those are two consenting adults engaging in free-market economics.
It seems like the party ends up falling in the middle of the road because they remove the issues of religion, government control, and government dependence, which can appeal to people on both sides of the aisle.
If you would like to read more quotes from an avid Libertarian, check out these Lysander Spooner quotes.
What’s your biggest takeaway from these Libertarian quotes and sayings?
Do you have any other favorite quotes to add?
Let us know in the comment section below.
