If you were not already aware, there is a bit of a rift between two different types of libertarians in the liberty movement (to put it very generally). The two somewhat-opposing viewpoints are minarchism (limited, minimal amounts of government) and anarcho-capitalism (volunteerism, purely free market, no state).
A quick look at some of the libertarian chat forums on the web, RonPaulForums.com for example, shows that these two camps do not necessarily get along too well even though they both purport to want a change from the totalitarian statist quo (to borrow Jeff Tucker's term). I've seen a lot of shouting and acrimony over this debate. I'll not spend a lot of time dissertating the two camps, but basically the minarchists accuse the anarcho-capitalists of taking the desire to destroy the state too far, while anarcho-capitalists believe minarchism is too nebulous and does not vanquish the root of the problem. Murray Rothbard, one of the greatest anarcho-capitalist thinkers, makes the point that anarcho-capitalists and minarchists would not be at odds with one another and would be able to work together against a common enemy better if it was not for minarchists' lack of a hatred for the state.
Personally, I am much more in line with the anarcho-capitalist school. The biggest problem for minarchism is the lack of an identifiable goal. What is a minimal amount of government anyway? Would that not be "zero" government? It's just too hard to pinpoint a fixed, identifiable level of government that is ideal. That is, unless you come to the conclusion that we should have no government at all. This is one of the reasons anarcho-capitalism is appealing (that along with the myriad of empirical examples of the state being miserable in EVERYTHING it touches).
Can we get beyond this libertarian dichotomy though? Both minarchism and anarcho-capitalism appear to be a long ways off anyway. My suggestion is this: Downward Momentumism. It's perfectly fine for everyone to have their preferred destination of either limited/no government, but let us at least agree that we need to strip away government fast and furiously for the time being. We should know by now that the state is not going to give up easily and it is very unlikely that minarchists will get exactly what they want or anarcho-capitalists what they want. It is up to the freedom fighters to keep the momentum downward no matter what happens! Eventually this would lead to zero if done effectively enough and long enough (which favors the anarcho-capitalists), but in the unlikely event that it gets that way, and, we realize it's a questionable state of affairs, we can then revise our plan and visit the possibility of instituting a benevolent state.
In the mean time, even if you are a minarchist, it's imperative that you avoid the beltway libertarianism that has become popular. Downward Momentumism cannot be accomplished with libertarians who are willing to compromise all the time. Bad ideas like school vouchers, anti-discrimination laws, and libertarian "status seeking" in Washington are the bane of the freedom movement. Whether you hate the state or are simply irritated by its present manifestation, please do what you can to help us reduce its size and scope. Compromises and the re-arranging of chairs will not accomplish anything and will likely advance statism further.
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