Being a Libertarian in D.C.

• Author: Gillespie, Nick
• Position: Soundbite - Matt Kibbe - Interview

What does it mean to be a libertarian? That's the question Matt Kibbe attempted to answer with the title of his bestselling new book, Don't Hurt People and Don't Take Their Stuff: A Libertarian Manifesto (William Morrow). Kibbe, a former Capitol Hill staffer, is the president of FreedomWorks, an influential activist group that works to elect liberty-loving candidates and promote their issues. In April, Kibbe sat down with Reason TV to discuss his new book, the right's growing dovish streak, and why it's easier than ever to learn about libertarian ideas.

Q: The title is Don't Hurt People and Don't Take Their Stuff. Why do you need a whole book after that? What needs to be expanded on?

A: I wanted to translate basic libertarianism into plain English. People would always ask me, "What should I read if I want to understand what libertarians stand for?" And you'd say something like, "Go read Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments."

Q: Which is an other way of giving them the finger, right?

A: It's another way of saying: "Don't even think about considering libertarianism." So I just wanted to translate it into basic values, and get them to understand that what we talk about, when we talk about freedom, is really just common sense.

Q: You also talk about taking personal responsibility--that liberty demands that you are responsible. You also talk about the non-aggression principle.

It's very basic to your worldview. Explain that a little bit.

A: The whole basis of peaceful cooperation is not hurting people, is not violating their rights, their most basic right to life. And libertarians are a little bit different, because they don't want to start a fight with anybody. They want to be left alone. When you apply that to foreign policy, I'm kind of a Washingtonian. It's practical.

Q: By that you mean a George Washingtonian-- not Beltway Washingtonian.

A: Yeah, George Washington. He basically said, "Let's avoid entangling alliances." It was a pragmatic position for him. He was like, "Do we have money to nation-build? Can we actually get involved in all this stuff?"

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