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Libertarian Party Vs. Liberal Politics

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In a political atmosphere where it is easy to be labeled as either conservative or liberal, this simple label is becoming more difficult. Non-traditional ideologies are now emerging into the political arena that in prior elections would have been scoffed at. This 2016 election has shown a clear rise in support for Libertarianism, Democratic Socialism, and Authoritarianism. That is why it is important to understand what these ideologies mean through definition, policy preferences and the true impact these three ideologies have.
Hardly ever do third party candidates poll more than 10 percent, but Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson, is doing just that (Russonello). The Libertarian party as a whole has seen a surprising rise in recent elections with Gary Johnson being the first third party candidate to be on the ballot in all 50 states in 20 years (Tau). Despite the general public confusion about them, their ideology is quite simple. The general idea is that Libertarians are fiscally conservative and socially liberal. Britannica defines Libertarians as, “classical liberals who strongly emphasize the individual right to liberty.” (Encyclopedia Britannica). It is ultimately about giving people the liberty to do what they want without hurting other people.
The policy preferences of Libertarians is generally easy to follow. If the policy limits the freedom of anyone then or makes government bigger then it is wrong. As stated earlier, Libertarians are fiscally conservative but

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