msolga wrote: Thank you for your response, Thomas. So then would I wrong in understanding that Libertarians believe individuals sink or swim as a result of your own efforts, or good or bad fortune ...? That intervention is appropriate in only very extreme cases of need?
That depends on the libertarian you ask. I cannot summarize the positions of all of them here, so I'll single out the position of Milton Friedman, who is arguably the most influential libertarian of the last 50 years. In his
Capitalism and Freedom -- which I recommend both for its clarity and for its short, 200 page length -- he supports socially funded insurance for catastrophic health and finance problems. Moreover, he argues for replacing welfare with a greatly expanded version of what we now call the Earned Income Tax Credit. He also wants schools to be funded -- but not run -- by the government. Practically all other social programs he wants to leave to the private sector.
Hope that clarifies it
