The word libertarianism may have one of several distinct meanings in politics and philosophy: Politics is the process by which groups make decisions. ... Socrates (central bare-chested figure) about to drink hemlock as mandated by the court. ...
Before the 1950s, and in most of the non-English speaking world today, the term libertarianism (particularly in adjective form: libertarian) is used to define libertarian socialism, a group of related ideologies that share elements of anarchism and socialism. Libertarian socialism is an egalitarian and anti-authoritarian movement that emphasizes collective or cooperative property, anti-capitalism, individual rights and personal freedom.
Since both of the above versions of libertarianism have in common the fact that they support personal freedom, the term civil libertarian is often used for any person who advocates personal freedom, regardless of what other political views he or she may hold. The Political compass is notable for using the term libertarianism to refer strictly to support for personal freedom.
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A civil libertarian is one who is actively concerned with the protection of individual civil liberties and civil rights.
While a majority of civil libertarians are left-wing, there are also a number of them who are right-wing, and others who support ideologies that combine elements of left and right, such as libertarianism (without the adjective "civil").
On that note, it should be pointed out that the terms "libertarianism" and "libertarian" have been used with a number of different meanings; see libertarianism (disambiguation).
Libertarians, like other capitalists, support the ability of each individual to acquire or produce as much property as they wish, even if this is more than what is necessary for survival or comfort and even as others live in poverty.
Libertarian perspectives on abortion: Libertarians uphold right to life as well as ownership of one's own body, so the abortion debate centers around whether the fetus is a person (and thus has its own rights) or a part of the mother's body (in which case it is subject to her wishes).
Libertarians contend that an agreement between laborers and employers to perform work is simply a contractual agreement of exchanging the use of one form of property (one's labor) for another (wages), and there is no particular need to tie production to ownership.