Titled: What is Neolibertarianism?

What is Neolibertarianism? Frankly, it's a question we've been asking at the QandO weblog since we began popularizing it last year. Often, the idea of Libertarianism has reminded me of Justice Potter Stewart's thoughts about obscenity. "I can't define it, but I know it when I see it," he declared.

That was good enough for Justice Stewart perhaps, but he was only interpreting the Constitution. We, on the other hand, are beginning publication of a journal that we hope will begin defining the fundamental intellectual and philosophical underpinnings of Neolibertarianism. If you're going to do that, then you should probably have a clear understanding of what Neolibertarianism is.

Much of what follows will be a comparison between Neolibertarianism and the more traditional sort of libertarianism, which we call Paleolibertarianism. In the interest of brevity, I'll refer to adherents to the former as Neos and the latter as Paleos.

In a nutshell the philosophy of the Neos breaks down like this:

1. When given a public policy problem, the solution that maximizes personal liberty is the best choice.
2. The policy choice that offers the least amount of necessary government intervention or regulation is the best choice.
3. The policy choice that provides rational, market-based incentives is the best choice.

And Foreign Policy:

1. A policy of diplomacy that promotes consensual government and human rights and opposes dictatorship.
2. A policy of using US military force solely at the discretion of the US, but only in circumstances where American interests are directly affected.

The strategy is similar to that of the Republican Liberty Caucus, which is if you can't beat them, then join them and reform them. I like it. I also tend to agree with their take on the futility of the Libertarian Party's chances of success on the national stage. Read more about that here.