Question and Answer Quotes taken from http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/libertarianism.html

A4. How do libertarians differ from “liberals”?

Once upon a time (in the 1800s), “liberal” and “libertarian” meant the same thing; “liberals” were individualist, distrustful of state power, pro-free-market, and opposed to the entrenched privilege of the feudal and mercantilist system. After 1870, the “liberals” were gradually seduced (primarily by the Fabian socialists) into believing that the state could and should be used to guarantee “social justice”. They largely forgot about individual freedom, especially economic freedom, and nowadays spend most of their time justifying higher taxes, bigger government, and more regulation. Libertarians call this socialism without the brand label and want no part of it.

A5. How do libertarians differ from “conservatives”?

For starters, by not being conservative. Most libertarians have no interest in returning to an idealized past. More generally, libertarians hold no brief for the right wing’s rather overt militarist, racist, sexist, and authoritarian tendencies and reject conservative attempts to “legislate morality” with censorship, drug laws, and obnoxious Bible-thumping. Though libertarians believe in free-enterprise capitalism, we also refuse to stooge for the military-industrial complex as conservatives are wont to do.

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It seems to me they really have a point on the latter paragraph, some of the exact same stuff Hendryx himself has said about Christians’ “legislating morality” (particularly in his debate with a self-proclaimed postmodern secularist). All it does is restrain people’s hearts, it doesn’t change them (Keller). The law doesn’t fix dead hearts, the Gospel and preaching God’s grace alone does and can go where the law can’t. Libertarians also reject all of the big-business tendencies of conservatives where monopolies like Exxon can make their billions and hoard it. I’ve always had a huge problem with that, while at the same time having a problem with the redistribution of wealth proposed by liberals (two extremes in my opinion). This seems to be an answer to that by not mingling business with politics and privatizing most services (which I’ve always been for), though I also know that is easier said than done.

Basically it seems their conclusion is that within the context of where we are socially in this day in age, traditional conservative approaches to things just won’t work anymore (which I don’t really disagree with), but they also reject the communist tendencies of modern liberalism which I definitely like. And though on the site they talk about most libertarians supporting abortion rights (which is obviously a big concern for me) there apparently is also a growing trend of libertarians who can’t stand it and find it detestable (infanticide). I think this is definitely worth looking into … I mean though it has flaws (which what fallen human institution doesn’t), it rejects the legalistic hypocrisy of conservatives (legislating morality) and the legalistic social communism of liberals.