You Don't Know What "Libertarian" Means

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If you want to know what libertarianism is all about, don't ask a libertarian, because most of them don't know.

A new poll from Pew Research found that only 11 percent of those surveyed who identified themselves as libertarian were correctly able to identify the very basic meaning of libertarianism as "someone whose political views emphasize individual freedom by limiting the role of government."

Even though that's often an oxymoron, that's what libertarians say, and their followers apparently don't know it.

Weirdly, that same poll found that 41 percent of libertarians believe that the government should regulate business, 46 percent of libertarians believe that corporations make too much profit, and 38 percent of libertarians believe that government aid to the poor is a good thing.

Similarly, of the so-called libertarians polled, 42 percent believe that police should be able to stop and search people who "look like criminals," and 26 percent think "homosexuality should be discouraged."

What happened to limited government and more individual freedoms?

Basically, people in America who call themselves libertarians have absolutely no idea what libertarianism is really about.

So, let's go over it for a second.

Back in 1980, David Koch, one half of the Kochtopus, ran as the Libertarian Party's vice presidential candidate.

And the platform that he ran on back in 1980 provides a great summary of what libertarianism is really about.

First, libertarians want to "urge the repeal of federal campaign finance laws, and the immediate abolition of the despotic Federal Election Commission."

In other words, they want to make it as easy as possible for corporations and wealthy billionaires to flood our democracy with corruptive cash and buy even more politicians.

They want Citizen's United on steroids -- and then some.

Next up, libertarians "favor the abolition of Medicare and Medicaid programs."

Instead, they want to privatize healthcare in America, so that their billionaire friends in the healthcare industry can get even richer, while working-class Americans are getting sicker and sicker.