Servant of the People party of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared libertarianism as the basis of its ideology

Servant of the People party of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared libertarianism as the basis of its ideology.

“We have started to form our relations with him (Zelensky, - ed.) on this very ground – a liberal economic model, a liberal model of relations with relevant national characteristics," Ruslan Stefanchuk, Zelensky’s adviser and representative in the Verkhovna Rada, said in an interview.

What is libertarianism?

The main idea of ideology is the maximum freedom and autonomy of the individual. The cornerstones of ideology are freedom of choice, voluntary association, individual judgment, and ownership.

Libertarianism is not a monolithic ideology. It has different trends (including "right" and "left"). For instance, "right-wing" libertarians believe that property can exist for virtually everything. "Left" are convinced that the absolutization of property can violate the principle of autonomy of the individual.

Libertarians advocate

- free carrying of weapons;

- euthanasia;

- same-sex marriages;

- legalization of marijuana;

- legalization of prostitution.

Libertarians oppose

- state intervention in privacy;

- taxes;

- conscription.

Various trends of libertarianism are constantly debated over a number of important issues. For example, they have different opinions about immigration, abortion, and international politics.

Some libertarians believe that countries are not entitled to armed intervention and some are convinced that they have this right if human rights violations are recorded.

Are libertarianism and liberalism different? Yes and no. It depends on the particular ideological flow. Let's say that libertarianism and liberalism have many similar ideas.

However, as Medusa clarifies, libertarians insist that "spontaneous" liberals make various concessions under the influence of conjuncture and just as easily reject them when the situation changes. And the libertarians, in their opinion, evaluate any decision against the basic principles of individual autonomy.

Is Volodymyr Zelensky a libertarian?

Based on his election program - no. There were several libertarian ideas in it, but there were some that clearly contradicted this ideology.

For example, the libertarian ideas include the legalization of medical marijuana (although the ideology provides for its complete legalization) and the creation of a free land market. But the ban on the weapons legalization and distribution of income from natural resources among citizens - these ideas are contrary to libertarianism.

Read the original text at 112.ua.