This time 52 percent of Americans agreed. The millions of Americans who today share libertarian beliefs stand firmly in a long American tradition of individual liberty and opposition to coercive government. Libertarianism is the view that each person has the right to live his life in any way he chooses so long as he respects the equal rights of others.
Most people believe in and try to live by that code of ethics.
Libertarians believe it should be applied to actions by governments as well as by individuals. Governments should exist only to protect rights, to protect us from others who might use force against us. When governments use force against people who have not violated the rights of others, governments themselves become rights violators. Thus libertarians condemn such government actions as censorship, the draft, confiscation of property, and regulation of our personal and economic lives. Perhaps surprisingly, the answer is no.