libertarian
n. · adj.-
1 political supporter (n.) C1 Advanced Academic Formal Lawsomeone who believes that the government should not interfere in people's lives or the economy.
an advocate of a political philosophy that emphasises individual autonomy, free markets, and the reduction of state power.
ExampleAs a libertarian, he believes that people should be allowed to make their own choices without government rules.
ExampleThe candidate identified as a libertarian, arguing that the federal government should drastically reduce its involvement in both social issues and market regulations.
UsageOften used to describe a specific political identity in the United States and Europe.
- individualist
- authoritarian
- statist
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2 philosophy of free will (n.) C2 Proficiency Academic Technical Religiona person who believes that humans have free will and can choose their own future.
a person who adheres to the doctrine of free will, maintaining that human choices are not predetermined by prior causes.
ExampleIn the debate about fate, the libertarian argued that we are responsible for every choice we make.
ExampleThe philosophical libertarian rejects the notion of causal determinism, insisting instead that moral responsibility requires the existence of genuine alternative possibilities for action.
Teacher's tipThis sense is specific to metaphysics and philosophy; in everyday conversation, the word almost always refers to politics.
- determinist
- fatalist
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3 describing freedom-based views (adj.) C1 Advanced Academic Formal Lawdescribing ideas or laws that support personal freedom and less government control.
relating to or advocating for the principles of libertarianism, particularly regarding civil liberties and economic non-intervention.
ExampleThe group proposed a libertarian solution to the problem of high taxes.
ExampleThe think tank published a series of libertarian proposals aimed at deregulating the energy sector and promoting private competition.
- pro freedom
The noun is derived from liber(ty) + -arian (suffix denoting an advocate of or believer in something). The adjective is derived from the noun. sense development The word was first attested in English in 1789 in William Belsham’s Essays: see the quotation. This was contrasted with necessitarian, in the context of free will, and was not used in the more frequently encountered modern sense. Compare French libertaire (“person with extreme left-wing beliefs, anarchist”), from liberté (“freedom”) + -aire (suffix forming nouns). Libertaire is derived from Latin libertas. The French word was first attested in a May 1857 letter by the French anarcho-communist Joseph Déjacque (1821–1865) to the anarchist philosopher Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809–1865), reading: “Anarchiste juste-milieu, libéral et non LIBERTAIRE [A centrist anarchist, liberal and not LIBERTARIAN] […]”. It was popularized as a euphemism for anarchiste in the 1890s, following the French lois scélérates (literally “villainous laws”) under which anarchist publications were banned. Sense 3.2 (“believer in right-libertarianism”) developed in the United States in the 1940s and was popularized in the 1950s. In the 1940s, Leonard Read (1898–1983), the founder of the Foundation for Economic Education, a free-market think tank, began calling himself “libertarian” in contrast with a “classical liberal”. In 1955, Dean Russell also promoted the use of the word, writing: “Let those of us who love liberty trade-mark and reserve for our own use the good and honorable word ‘libertarian’.”