"Why are you libertarians?" a newspaper reporter asked me at a state Libertarian Party convention.
"I'm not sure that I can answer your question the way it's phrased," I said. "Are you asking: 'What's the reason that we are libertarians?'"
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm asking," he said.
"Let me respond to your question by analogy," I said. "Then I'll come back to your exact question.
"Suppose you went to a vegetarian restaurant. And suppose you asked, 'What's the reason that these people are vegetarians?' As a diligent reporter, you asked several diners, 'Why are you a vegetarian?'
"But their answers surprised you. You didn't get only one answer or only one reason. Some were vegetarian for ethical reasons. They did not want to cause animals suffering. Some were there because they liked the taste of vegetarian dishes. Others were eating vegetarian to lose weight. Fewer calories and less fat. Others to reduce their risks of heart attack and other diseases. A few came because their friends did. But there were many reasons for being vegetarian or dining vegetarian.
"Does this make sense?" I asked the reporter.
"Okay, I get it," the reporter responded. "Different people have different reasons for being vegetarian. Same thing with libertarians. Right?"
"Yes," I said. "Would you like to hear some of the many reasons that individuals here are libertarians?"
"Sure," he said.
What are the reasons we are libertarians? Here are a few of the many different reasons I shared with the reporter.
1. Moral: because we believe no person or group has the right to initiate force against another.
2. Pragmatic: Freedom works.
3. Utilitarian: Freedom produces the greatest good for the greatest number.
4. Self-Interest: Freedom benefits you. It's in your self-interest.
5. Altruistic: Freedom benefits others.
6. Big Government Doesn't Work. Freedom does.
7. Personal Responsibility: Freedom rewards personal responsibility and punishes irresponsibility.
8. Choice: freedom maximizes choice. In fact, freedom is choice.
9. Prosperity: Economic freedom creates prosperity.
10. Tolerance: the free, competitive marketplace makes bigotry and prejudice very expensive. And very widely known.
There's a persuasion lesson here.
When you talk with family, friends, and co-workers, how many different kinds of reasons for being libertarian are you offering them? How many different approaches to libertarianism do you put in front of them?
* Why Government Doesn't Work by Harry Browne is one approach.
* Libertarianism in One Lesson by David Bergland is quite different.
* Healing Our World by Mary Ruwart is another way to present liberty.
* The Libertarian Idea by Jan Narveson is yet another.
Buy them. Read them. They will stimulate your thinking. Trigger ideas. And provide you with new ways to present libertarianism. Different paths to winning the hearts and minds of those you care for.
Different individuals want different things.
Different approaches to liberty reach different people.
Different reasons for liberty convince different individuals.
There are many paths to libertarianism. Many reasons for becoming a libertarian.
Don't be trapped by the fallacy that there's only one reason, one case, or one justification for liberty.
Will you learn a few of the many different cases for liberty? And will you try them out in your political conversations?
Michael Cloud is author of the acclaimed book "Secrets of Libertarian Persuasion" available exclusively from the Advocates.
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