Newlibism (officially, however rarely used, New Liberalism) refers to the political ideology which essentially combined individualism (essentially individualist anarchism) and radical social liberalism. Thus, Newlibism can be broadly defined as an ideology which seeks to give all persons the right to do anything as long as them doing it does not infringe on the rights of others who have not consented to it. With that being said, there is still widespread controversy within Newlibism and among Newlibists in contemporary issues.
Definitions[]
There have been several definitions of Newlibism, however only the most popular are noted below:
| “ | Newlibism is an ideology which favors individual interests in the context of a greater society. - Politics for Beginners, 3rd edition | ” |
| “ | New Liberalism can be broadly defined as the single most radical social liberal ideology, in that it seeks to remove any and all taboos and give the individual the ultimate freedom in his or her doings. - Contemporary Ideologies, 1st edition | ” |
| “ | Newlibists can be basically be seen as a new type of anarchist, however, minus that there shouldn't be any government. They believe the government should resolve disputes only where one of them has infringed on another's freedom to do basically anything. - Michael P. Shackleton, PhD. Politics | ” |
Aspects[]
Free love[]
Newlibism has over the years adopted free love as one of its cornerstone social aspects. Newlibists reject contractual marriage and believes that the government or any other form of authority needs to be separate from matters such as birth control, adultery, polygamy, marriage and sexual intercourse. The embracement of free love has led to many Newlibists not getting married and freely moving among sexual partners while remaining in a strong relationship. In essence, Newlibists believe sexual relationships must be free, open and not binding on other aspects of their lives.
Freethought[]
Most Newlibists have adopted freethought in that they are either anti-religion or anti-church in the case of them adopting a religion. Essentially, Newlibist freethought can be seen as a movement against organized religion. Certain liberal Christians, who generally opposed organized Christianity, can be seen as Newlibist freethinkers.
Illegalism[]
Although illegalism in its original definition of "committing illegal acts simply to satisfy personal desires" is not seen as part of Newlibism, a newly developed form thereof can be. Illegalism is embraced in the sense that Newlibists feel that laws legislating morality can be broken, however, only when that law forbids an act which is not seen as infringing on the rights of others. Thus, for example, if a person consents to having himself tortured and killed, Newlibists believe that the person committing the act should have the freedom to do so as his illegal act's effect was allowed by the object of the act. Broadly, Newlibist illegalism can be defined as a movement to remove legal taboos.
Socialism[]
Newlibists believe that socialism is the best type of economic system. Newlibist socialism can be seen as a system where the government intervenes to ensure a comfortable lifestyle for all. Thus, this type of socialism believes that there should only be middle-class and upper-class persons in society, and that nobody should be poor. The government may only own the means to ensuring that all citizens have a comfortable lifestyle.