Big-L versus Little-l
From iGeek
One quick aside, libertarianism (with a little-l) is a philosophy or belief system, with many branches, while big-L Libertarian is a political party. Just like Republicans and Democrats, no two Libertarians can seem to agree on what the priorities should be, and how to implement every tenet of their philosophy. Since quirks of our language allow for mis-capitalization, a lot use big-L when talking about little-l, so it always helps to clarify whether someone who says libertarian means philosophy or party.
Libertarian |
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Libertarian is also known as Classical Liberalism, Randian/Randianism (after Ayn Rand), but is just the belief that liberty should be the core principle of their philosophy, seeking to maximize political freedom and autonomy, emphasizing freedom of choice, voluntary association and individual judgment (and responsibility/accountability). In Europe, this would be left wing, in the U.S. it is right wing. (Technically, Libertarian can mean the party, or a form of Classical Liberalism). |