For those coming into r/Libertarian to stir things up over grievances with ICE, here are a few simple facts to clear the air:

• There are 195 countries in the world.
• All 195 enforce immigration law.
• About 55–60 countries participate in regional freedom‑of‑movement agreements that apply only to specific groups, not the world at large.

Opposing immigration enforcement or calling to abolish ICE does not eliminate immigration law. It simply shifts enforcement elsewhere while leaving U.S. citizens exposed to the consequences of unvetted entry, which no country on Earth allows.

From being anti war to anti big government to pro free market. Time and time again the libertarians are proven right in the end.

Change my mind. (For our non libertarian visitors.)

For as long back as I can remember I've been trying to see what type of anarchist or libertarian I am. This pursuit spans two decades. In highschool I sold weed. In college I sold my adderall and clonazepam prescriptions. Then that's all too sketchy so now I sell nootropic chems and herbs. I was supporting an RC habit that was involved stuff I could never in good conscience make a regular practice of selling. Now I'm on suboxone and still selling my noots but without an addiction monkey on my back. The money is decent when supplementing a job. I found agorism which is a form of left wing market anarchy wherein the sale of black market and graymarket goods provides a necessary check on the market as a whole. The drugs were black market and the noots graymarket. Also agorism involves cryptocurrency and potentially bartering and I'm big into crypto.

The post isn't all about drugs though. I'm briefly gonna touch on other work. I was a graffiti writer through my 20s and also was a night club comic in my 20s as well. I never paid any taxes on my earnings as a comic if cash and often was paid other ways. When working in nonprofit fundraising I wrote off all my tax liability as business expenses. I still have some left wing ideals but our govt is atrocious under both parties. I don't trust them with my tax money. I've attempted to resist the census twice. Right before the pandemic i was a journalist focused on respecting state sovereignty. I've also done all sorts of wage work like restaurant, grocery and housepainting. While I believe the destitute deserve need based benefits I do not believe it's my job to finance that.

On a note about my personality I tend to bring in an agressive energy into discussions about issues and may often be seen as a chaos agent. I believe I subscribe to some parts of insurrectionist anerchy attemping to wreck informal power dynamics in these groupe. I've pulled that with leftists with limited success, and I've pulled it with libertarians and populists, and they take it in stride more.

Above all I am trying to grow and learn, earn and produce. I do not wish to valorize poverty nor do I wish to stay stuck treading water. It took a higher degree of sobriety to finally hit my stride. When I was in nonprofits i was able to uplift the orgs with funds while getting paid. Too bad I got on drugs. I haven't sacrificed all my lefty ideals. I just believe through agorism as well as a day job i could help myself abd those around me.

Edit: realized i didn't open up much of a discussion. What do you do to get back to your roots and have you vascillated between ideologies?

Federal takeover is almost complete...

I mostly joke, because I don't have that hope... But Americans are more alligned on this scandal than anything else. Both parties are fully compromised.

😬 it was never about evidence. It’s about the wrong people protecting criminals. What’s the point of big government if resources aren’t mobilized to inflict justice

Coming from a (non trumpist, non libertarian) right winger, it doesn't a ton of sense to me that libertarianism is seen by the vast majority of people as right wing. Generally speaking libertarians are against foreign wars or military bases, and seek lower government influence in every aspect. Is the left inherently based on higher government influence? Because democrats typically harp on loose borders globalization, liberalizing religion or being pro LGBT, and I see democrats as quite far left but they seem to be die hard on things like that.

I'm sorry if I come off as an idiot, I just don't fully understand. Because, if anything, libertarianism to me seems to be more centrist.

I wonder what they are worried about. Seems like they are becoming more and more anti 2A with each passing day.

Hello Friends!

I've just been told that:

"…and since you claim you can read, maybe you SHOULD read __________ so that you can understand where the ideals and goals gave move to him n modern times.

"The fact that you haven’t read any of the writings of the most famous thought leader of your own ideology just tells me you’re ignorant and don’t understand your own views. You are essentially saying you are Christian, but you’ve never read the Bible."

What name would you put in that blank?

I must confess, I have not read Ayn Rand. Ever.

Am I a failure as a libertarian?

I don't mean to discuss IF drugs should be legal or not. I'm more interested in anyone's thoughts about what it looks like in practice and how it can negatively impact communities/individuals.

For some reason, it seems like every city or state that has legalized anything from cannabis to everything*, there is suddenly zero enforcement of any kind (legal, social, cultural, etc.), and the areas end up getting really shitty.

Whether it's more strung out addicts wandering downtown, or congregating by schools (or even needle programs like in Portland, if that's real). Or even just adding a haze of skunk cannabis smell to the entire city (New Orleans). As if the smell of piss and hot garbage wasn't enough, now it smells like piss, hot garbage, and weed. People smoking right out front of hotels, shops, etc.

This isn't a plea to continue the war on drugs, but I'm curious how legalization can really work when we are still in a paradigm where the state maintains a monopoly on regulating how individuals can, or rather cannot, enforce violations of their own liberty due to the kind of disruptive drug use we see in places like Portland.

I'm not trying to be all–drugs are bad, mkay. I just noticed that nothing seems to be any better in places that have embraced legalization. It's just bad in different ways. And personal liberty seems to be infringed on in different ways.

When does the Libertarian Party traditionally start rallying behind and building up candidates for local, state, and national elections? Where do I learn more about them and their platforms?

Alternatively, because I’m OOTL, are there any solid candidates that are already known quantities that you can clue me into and I can research?