Politics

According to my own personal morality, using force on innocent people is wrong.

It follows naturally that I call myself a libertarian — which means simply that I'm in favour of liberty. I define liberty as what you have when no-one is using force on you, or threatening to do so.

Although I'm no economist, I also favour economic liberty. I believe that a free market — although it doesn't work perfectly — works better than the allocation of resources by government.

There are people who value equality more than liberty. I think both are desirable: I feel most comfortable in a society of equals. But the two aren't completely compatible, and I give preference to liberty for two main reasons:

People differ in circumstances, abilities, and inclinations, and for all these reasons they're not naturally equal. If you use force on them to try to make them equal, you're imposing your morality on them, and you can't prove that you have any right to do so.
I think a society that gives priority to liberty will be happier than one that gives priority to equality. The experimental evidence we have from world history is imperfect and inconclusive; however, I think it gives me some support.

Like any other political category, libertarians are a mixed bunch and have many differences of opinion with each other. Some American libertarians are gun nuts who get excited about the right to bear arms. I suppose this is natural enough, given the combination of American culture and a belief in liberty. However, please bear in mind that I'm not an American. I've never owned a gun and never wanted to.