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The term was invented by anarcho-communists and co-opted by the right: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianism#Etymology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lib

The term was invented by anarcho-communists and co-opted by the right: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianism#Etymology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianism#Etymology

confounded 9y ago
I imagine the downvotes are out of disbelief, but this is not really disputed (it's worth clicking the link).
- alphonsegaston 9y ago
  And also avoid things like entries in the Oxford English Dictionary to prevent becoming similarly enraged.
  - Nuzzerino 9y ago
    Perhaps for the better, as it's hardly a subject that does any good when driven by emotional impulses.
olalonde 9y ago
The question I was replying to was specifically about the US. From the same Wikipedia article: > The term libertarianism was first used in the U.S. as a synonym for classic liberalism in May 1955 by writer Dean Russell, a colleague of Leonard Read and a classic liberal himself. What precedes that paragraph is mainly about the French word "libertaire" which is not the French translation for "libertarian" but does shares a root with it (liberty). Interestingly, the French Wikipedia article[0] claims that the word "libertarian" was coined specifically to distinguish classical liberals from modern liberals in the US. In the US at least, libertarians very rarely identify with the "left" label. [0] https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianisme https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianisme
- alphonsegaston 9y ago
  You stated that left-libertarianism was an oxymoron, which is untrue and historically inaccurate, even within the US context. The sources in the the Wikipedia etymology section point this out if you need further reference: Colin Ward (2004), Anarchism: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 62. "For a century, anarchists have used the word 'libertarian' as a synonym for 'anarchist', both as a noun and an adjective. The celebrated anarchist journal Le Libertaire was founded in 1896. However, much more recently the word has been appropriated by various American free-market philosophers." No one’s denying that it’s modern connotations hem toward the right-wing cooption that that took place in the 1950s. Their project was to dress up reactionary ideology as radicalism and was undeniably successful.
  - em3rgent0rdr 9y ago
    Another great late 19th century American libertarianism was Benjamin Tucker who advocated for a form of anarchist socialism called mutualism in his periodical "Liberty". In the past decade there has been a bit of a revival of many left-libertarain anarchist schools of thought in America.
  - olalonde 9y ago
    The "oxymoron" bit was my own opinion, I just can't make sense of the term. I understand that some people use it. I lost you at the last sentence though, it's sounds a bit too much like a conspiracy theory. I'll stick with the more simple explanation given in the French Wikipedia article.

The term was invented by anarcho-communists and co-opted by the right: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianism#Etymology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianism#Etymology

confounded 9y ago

I imagine the downvotes are out of disbelief, but this is not really disputed (it's worth clicking the link).

alphonsegaston 9y ago
And also avoid things like entries in the Oxford English Dictionary to prevent becoming similarly enraged.
- Nuzzerino 9y ago
  Perhaps for the better, as it's hardly a subject that does any good when driven by emotional impulses.

olalonde 9y ago

The question I was replying to was specifically about the US. From the same Wikipedia article: > The term libertarianism was first used in the U.S. as a synonym for classic liberalism in May 1955 by writer Dean Russell, a colleague of Leonard Read and a classic liberal himself. What precedes that paragraph is mainly about the French word "libertaire" which is not the French translation for "libertarian" but does shares a root with it (liberty). Interestingly, the French Wikipedia article[0] claims that the word "libertarian" was coined specifically to distinguish classical liberals from modern liberals in the US. In the US at least, libertarians very rarely identify with the "left" label. [0] https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianisme https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianisme

alphonsegaston 9y ago
You stated that left-libertarianism was an oxymoron, which is untrue and historically inaccurate, even within the US context. The sources in the the Wikipedia etymology section point this out if you need further reference: Colin Ward (2004), Anarchism: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 62. "For a century, anarchists have used the word 'libertarian' as a synonym for 'anarchist', both as a noun and an adjective. The celebrated anarchist journal Le Libertaire was founded in 1896. However, much more recently the word has been appropriated by various American free-market philosophers." No one’s denying that it’s modern connotations hem toward the right-wing cooption that that took place in the 1950s. Their project was to dress up reactionary ideology as radicalism and was undeniably successful.
- em3rgent0rdr 9y ago
  Another great late 19th century American libertarianism was Benjamin Tucker who advocated for a form of anarchist socialism called mutualism in his periodical "Liberty". In the past decade there has been a bit of a revival of many left-libertarain anarchist schools of thought in America.
- olalonde 9y ago
  The "oxymoron" bit was my own opinion, I just can't make sense of the term. I understand that some people use it. I lost you at the last sentence though, it's sounds a bit too much like a conspiracy theory. I'll stick with the more simple explanation given in the French Wikipedia article.