As the American political scene becomes ever more polarized, citizens of all political views are tired of both the liberal and conservative perspectives. The two “mainstream” perspectives strike many as inconsistent and hypocritical and are far more similar than different. Both advocate large and intrusive government, albeit in different arenas, despite rhetoric that claims otherwise.

What these disillusioned Americans really want is libertarianism, which advocates small government across the board. Misleading or one-sided characterizations notwithstanding, libertarianism is precisely the “third way” that many Americans desire. Libertarianism is not the claim that individuals are always rational, or that markets are always efficient, or that the distribution of income under laissez-faire capitalism is always “fair.” Rather, it is the claim that, despite the imperfections of private arrangements, government interventions usually make things worse. Thus, non-intervention is the better policy.

Libertarians, for example, oppose drug prohibition because it generates more harm — violent black markets — than drug use itself. Libertarians oppose many economic regulations because they entrench the large existing firms that can more easily absorb the added costs, thereby reducing competition and harming consumers. Libertarians oppose foreign interventions because they cost far more than initially acknowledged while failing to help either America or the target countries. Libertarians also oppose numerous interventions, such as trade restrictions or agricultural subsidies, because they distort market efficiency while arbitrarily enriching some Americans at the expense of others.

Libertarianism differs radically from both liberalism and conservatism. It opposes crony capitalism for energy companies, whether green or fossil. Libertarians oppose federal policies in favor of state control, whether regarding guns, schools, marriage, abortion or drugs. Libertarians oppose government infringements of personal liberties in all areas, save cases where one person’s freedom harms another’s (e.g., murder).

This consistency does not, by itself, make libertarianism “right,” but it shows libertarianism’s unique perspective on government. Libertarianism holds that government causes many current problems, so more government is unlikely to reduce these problems. The best approach is to remove the existing government that causes or exacerbates the problem in the first place.

The time is ripe for a libertarian awakening.