This week, Judd Weiss released his annual Freedom Fest photo album on Facebook, taken at “The World’s Largest Gathering of Free Minds” in Las Vegas. It is truly one of the largest and “big tent” style events you can find in the US for liberty-oriented people. It’s certainly one of my favorite liberty events the past three years – every year is like a family reunion.
Their headliner list this year included John Stossel, John Mackey, Grover Norquist, Steve Forbes, Yeonmi Park, Donald Trump (no, nobody’s under the illusion he’s liberty oriented), and many others.
This 2000+ person conference reminds me every year about the various kinds of libertarians there are. Having spent almost 30 years in the scene, I sometimes like to guide newer folks in the nuances of the liberty movement and the kind of people they might encounter attending a conference like this.
As you read through these, understand that I’m describing 10 common types, not an exhaustive list. Also, not being collectivists ourselves, you should always judge people as individuals, and many individuals may embody more than one of these types or none at all, with their own strengths and weaknesses. This list is for fun. Keep your sense of humor.
Now, let me introduce you to the 10 common types of libertarian you might run into out there in the world, and some important points about them. Bonus points if you read this list and think to yourself “hey, they’re not really a libertarian!”
1. Libertarian Party Member
This is where I actually had the most experience in libertarianism for a long time: the big-L, petition-collecting folk that hate the political process so they started their own party to pretend they’re doing something about it. They’ll be sure to remind you that your vote is your own, that there’s no difference between Obama and Bush, and that a third party is the way to freedom. The party’s been around for quite a while, there is certainly much to be learned from the 40+ years of work the LP has done on the political climate of America. Prepare to be interrupted about thirty times with Robert’s Rules of Order if you’re hanging out with them. There is no faster way to kill your buzz for liberty than a party business meeting.
2. SFL or YAL Member/Donor/Supporter
People involved in organizations like Students For Liberty or Young Americans for Liberty are often the bright-eyed, bushy-tailed members of the liberty movement. These big tent organizations tend to include individuals who are fond of looking fairly mainstream, wearing appropriate clothing to events, and talking about libertarian solutions to real problems rather than esoteric ones. These are go-getters, and the single best type for outreach to the Muggle world. They probably got into liberty because of Ron Paul, so be careful what you say about him – but they’re generally the friendliest, youngest and best-looking bunch of the batch, so this is your best option in terms of dating pool.
3. Goldbug or Crypto-Currency Trader
Whether they have gold bars under their mattresses, or they like to list off all the businesses in their area now accepting various crypto-currencies, these people are their own special level of delightfully dollar-shy weird. The goldbugs will generally tell you that everything sucks since Nixon took us off the gold standard and how every single problem we’ve had since can be traced back to that. (Or for bonus points – the start of The Federal Reserve). The Bitcoin type are far more optimistic, and will explain how the future is now and everything will change now that we can trade for drugs on Tor. These two types are hilariously opposite in so many ways, but what they share is a burning hatred for the Federal Reserve. If they’re wearing a bowtie, ask if you can friend them on Liberty.me.
4. Republican Lite
Some of these are converts from the Ron Paul and Rand Paul campaigns. They tend to lean conservative, which can occasionally make them a bit uncomfortable with, you know, the classical liberal philosophy of liberty. Regardless, this group can make excellent allies, particularly on matters of economics. There’s something really sweet to see, when a former Republican starts to realize their party isn’t for small government at all, and they wake up to notions of liberty and make their way, Atlas Shrugged book in hand, to a liberty conference. They have a tendency to run back to the Republican party when they think things can be solved with traditional political solutions, which is one of their less stellar features, but their sincere belief that Republicans can be converted en masse is sweet. Just don’t hold your breath.
5. Left-Libertarian
This group is often what I think of when I remember that Ayn Rand called libertarians “hippies of the right”, even though this group is considered left for various reasons. Left-libertarians may be quick to remind you that the Libertarian Party was correct on gay rights and pot legalization back in 1972, but then explain how the liberty movement hasn’t done enough to reach out to women and minorities. Generally, they say our messaging is our biggest problem (and they’re probably right, though their solutions are certainly debatable). Some of this crowd reads a bit of Chomsky and Rawls, which changes their terminology and their faith in the invisible hand. This group includes such thoughtful writers as TLR’s own Micah Fleck and most everybody over at Bleeding Heart Libertarians. If you’re stuck talking to a Democrat at a dinner party and they’re accusing you of being a Koch-sucking capitalist who wants to drink the tears of child-laborers, I recommend you familiarize yourself with the arguments presented by left-libertarians. You can make friends and influence people!
6. Celebritarian
Numerous websites (like TLR!) now host the words of libertarian bloggers. To top that off – there are now also tons of channels with dynamic, generally young, liberty-minded individuals making videos on philosophy, practicality or hilarious stunts in the name of liberty. Some are really informative, some are really creepy, but production of easily sharable information is certainly beneficial to the movement. As they start going to liberty events, speaking at them, they start amassing fans, Facebook friend requests, and a certain level of celebrity within the sphere making them a bit of draw when they’re announced. Avoid being a weirdo fan when you meet them, but by all means, share their content and talk to them about it. There’s nothing like hearing “I loved that piece you wrote” from a stranger. Unless it’s followed by Creepertarian lip-licking. Avoid that.
7. Troll
This person might live in their parents’ basement, or better yet, they’ll proudly announce they don’t, like a substandard achievement of quasi-self-reliance is enough to qualify them to accuse everybody else of being statists. You’ll find this person on Facebook or YouTube threads, and they love to scream about “government thugs with guns!”. They generally have no patience in explaining *why* taxation is robbery, they simply assume if you don’t immediately agree, you’re definitely a statist, so prepare to be trolled. You likely won’t encounter this type out at conferences, which is helpful, but remember to try to ignore them online – someday they might possibly amount to something productive if they don’t get the attention they seek.
8. Militant Anarchist Activist
Ah, the anarchists. Before I elaborate – there are philosophical anarchists who aren’t in this category, but this is a special type of its own. The militants are heavyweights. They also hate me calling them “militant”, but I have my reasons. Some of the more prominent activists have indicated if you aren’t an anarchist, you aren’t really a libertarian (to be fair – they can make some decent points about consistent application of the NAP). There are numerous polarizing figures with YouTube channels you can rally behind if militant anarchism is your interest. There’s an interesting congregation of people who like to get as radical as possible and propose disaffiliation with anyone who isn’t hardcore enough for them. Their occasional intolerance for skeptical non-anarchists starts to make you wonder if they’d really enjoy a world of liberty where people might disagree with them about preferable behavior. Bring weed for the hangout session and you’ll generally find the softer side of militant anarchism. Or end up a guest on someone’s podcast.
9. Free Stater
I was raised in New Hampshire, so I wasn’t a member of the Free State Project, but I was there when they started showing up, leading Welcome Wagons with my mother. A lot of these people fulfill pretty much every “type” on this list, plus they can possess an extra level of contrarian confrontation. Free Staters move to one of the most miserable states in terms of weather and nightlife, and they do so in the name of freedom. Some have affected incredible change and others are waiting for the other 20,000 people to move so they can pull some crazy secessionist plot and rename themselves AnCapistan. They’re an incredible movement for “liberty in our lifetime”, and it’s encouraging to see a new generation of liberty kids being raised in a non-violent intentional community that some have come together to create. But don’t ask the movers how they feel about the cold, they might break at any moment.
10. Alex Jones Fan
I’m sorry, I have to include these people. We’ve talked about conspiracy theorists here before. These people are easily identifiable by the Infowars bumper sticker on their cars. Or their Infowars t-shirts. Or that they never stop talking about GMOs, chemtrails, flat earth or 9/11 Truth. Here’s the thing about Alex Jones though: Alex Jones and his fans are so off their rockers that there are other libertarians who are completely convinced he’s an FBI plant who has been created to discredit the movement. Some of us just think he’s here to make the rest of us look better. Either way, avoid too much direct contact unless you’re ready to dive deep into the world of extreme skepticism of everything that anybody tells you, unless it’s InfoWars, NaturalNews or Newsmax, then it’s the unquestionable word of God.
By popular demand, we’ve added a bonus type on the next page…
Bonus: Go Away & Leave Me Alone!
Since a number of people don’t believe the previous 10 types appropriately account for this one, I’m contending there’s another type. Let’s be clear though: all libertarians are generally “live and let live” folks. They just come in various other trappings. The “go away and leave me alone” crowd is pretty common. Frankly, they’re the origin of the idea that getting libertarians together for a common purpose is like herding cats. Don’t ask these people to volunteer for your cause or anything. They just want to live their lives, and not tell other people how to live theirs. This type can be great because they don’t share the paternalistic tendencies of the more conservative or liberal leaning libertarians, but unfortunately they often make outsiders think they don’t care about anything else but their own liberty and they’re selfish and the very reason a voluntary society wouldn’t “work”. But for all the “go away and leave me alone” they emphasize, they’re still pretty fond of voluntary trade and association, so really, their bark is worse than their bite.
In conclusion…
So there you have your ten most common types of libertarian. Let me note that I know people in each of these categories (and many who fit numerous ones) and I love them. I’m at least half of them, and that’s okay. We’re a wild bunch of individuals. We are a movement of intellectuals and activists, of content creators and debaters, a movement that in-fights more than it ought to, but it’s only because we’re the ones courageous enough to speak up when we see something we sincerely believe is wrong – that’s why we’re all here, speaking out against state power and monopolies of violence. We’re used to speaking out, let’s not forget who the enemy is.
Be courageous, be useful, be kind and be a little crazy — lastly, remember to have a sense of humor about it too.