Libertarians Are Going Nowhere, But Their Ideas Are

In many ways, libertarians can rest happily knowing that their ideas are winning, even if their candidates are not.

When it was suggested I do a piece about the future of the Libertarian Party, I had to laugh. Though I’ve been voting Libertarian since before Gary Johnson could find Aleppo on a map, I’ve never really had an interest in Libertarian Party politics.

Sure, the idea is appealing on a lot of levels. Being of the libertarian persuasion often leaves you feeling frustrated with politics, especially politicians. It’s tempting to watch the approval ratings of Democrats and Republicans trend downward and convince yourself the revolution is nigh.

But if I had to guess, the party will remain on the periphery of American political life, despite a relatively strong showing in the 2016 Presidential election. A large part of this – no fault of the Libertarian party – is due to anti-competitive behavior and regulation in the industry of politics. But a substantial amount of blame can be attributed to the simple and sobering fact that the type of government and society envisioned by hardcore Libertarians – the type that join the party – is truly unappealing to most of America.

Unless public opinion radically shifts, it feels like the Libertarian Party will mainly continue to offer voters a symbolic choice. Don’t get me wrong: I’m happy to have that choice, and it really would be nice to see people who genuinely value individual freedom elected to public office. But political realities being what they are, I’m going to hold off on exchanging my dollars for gold, and I’ll continue paying my income taxes.