Ask Lemmy

I think we seem to have different understandings of what “libertarian” means.

From my experience, it certainly feels common that people tend to have different definitions and/or misunderstandings of libertarianism.

I think that libertarian is simply the opposite of authoritarian

I take issue with the usage of the word "simply" — I advise against such types of reductionism. That being said, the comparison gets kind of tricky when one considers the different variants/offshoots of libertarianism, or other freedom/liberty oriented political philosophies. It's tempting to try and reduce political philosophies to a point on a 2D plane, like the political compass, or, worse, a 1D line, like the left/right dichotomy, but it's often quite a bit more complex — thinking in terms of absolute "opposites" can lead one down the wrong path. That being said, without being overly pedantic, libertarianism can be thought of as in opposition to authoritarianism.

little to do with taxes or other economic stuff.

While it may be possible that a definition of libertarianism doesn't directly reference economic topics, they still arise as a dependency or result. Economics and politics are often tightly intertwined.