Objectivism

No. Our children bring us joy, and according to objectivism taking care of them is entirely a selfish act. Those who do not take joy in having children need not have children, and they will not sacrifice themselves. Those who do can have children with no sacrifice involved. The human race would proceed normally.

Here we go again.

Loving your children is not living for them, since it's of your own free will. (Why must discussions of objectivism always start off with the flame wars?)

People don't understand Objectivism, and so they fear it. They see it as threatening because of its opposition to altruism, which they see as an opposition to kindness, which is an incorrect assumption.

Would it be accurate to say that the Libertarians are the "political arm" of objectivism

No, it wouldn't. Libertarianism is a set of conclusions about how society ought to be structured. Objectivism is one set of ideas from which you can reach these conclusions. There are other sets of ideas from which you can reach them too, the most prominent being some versions of natural law jurisprudence and neoclassical economics.

Milton Friedman is a libertarian, but he is not an objectivist.

Everyone is an objectivist, it's impossible not to be. We all just use different words and rationalizations.

Objectivism, in the context of this thread, is a philosophy based on the work of Ayn Rand:

http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer

Some objectivists might tend to be libertarian, but not all. One of the things that Objectivism teaches is the importance of utilizing one's own mind to draw conclusions, and not slavishly assuming the mantle of a group or ideology wholesale.

I know what it means. What I'm saying is that it doesn't change anything that you do, just why you say you do it.

it would be more prudent if society took care of its children, rather than leaving that task to the biological parents; there are fortunate families where the parents do turn out to be prudent care givers, but they are too frequently the exception.

objectively deciding on the best approach does not mean choosing a devastating path; it demands extensive rational thought, and a comprehensive system of proper decision making.