The College Fix

Within conservative circles, it’s becoming hard to deny: Libertarianism, a political philosophy espousing maximum social and economic freedom, may be having a moment.

In the wake of two political conferences in Washington, D.C. in the last few weeks, libertarians emerged as the faction generating the most excitement on the right, particularly among young people. At the 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference, an event that featured conservative groups of all stripes as well as national conservative leaders, young libertarians attended in droves. Their presence helped propel libertarian icon Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) to first place in CPAC’s straw poll–an informal poll that asks conference attendees to select their preferred Republican presidential candidate–for the second year in a row.

Bonnie Kristian, Communications Director for Young Americans for Liberty, sees this outcome as part of a trend. Kristian cited the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy and concerns about the national debt as libertarian issues that have become mainstream among conservatives.

“The ideas of liberty are better known and more popular with the American public right now than they have been in recent memory,” said Kristian. “My hope is this is more than a moment for the ideas of liberty—perhaps the start of a sustained trend of real, substantial change in American policy.”

Robert Lockwood, Communications Director for the College Republicans National Convention, was more reserved about the growth of libertarianism, and downplayed Ron Paul’s CPAC win.

“Even with all that excitement, Ron Paul only received 30% of the vote, so it wasn’t as if the result was a mandate for libertarians,” Lockwood said. “With that said, there was serious energy on display from libertarian attendees at CPAC.”

But CPAC wasn’t the only place where libertarian students kept a high profile. They held their own event, the International Students for Liberty Conference, last weekend. Several hundred libertarian students attended the conference, which featured a special taping of the John Stossel show and a speech by former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, a libertarian political leader who placed third in CPAC’s straw poll.

Blayne Bennett, Communications Manager for Students for Liberty, sees libertarianism as the ideology of the future, particularly for college students, because it is both new and idealistic.

“Statism and collectivism have had their chance,” she said. “Now it is up to us as liberty advocates to capitalize on this interest in libertarianism and turn it into a cultural shift rather than just a fad.”

As for the future of the conservative-libertarian coalition, Kristian believes that conservatives–who generally agree with libertarians on the economy but not on social issues or foreign policy–should concede the areas of disagreement.

“The conservative movement, like any movement, needs a continual influx of young people to thrive,” she said. “If the conservative movement wishes to stay relevant, it will have to recognize its youth are moving toward liberty in all aspects of life, and not simply recognize that, but also join us.”

Lockwood agreed that libertarians have some momentum on their side. “I think young, self-identified libertarians are an energized and well-organized part of the center-right movement and of the Republican Party.”

However, he did take issue with the idea that libertarianism was the only way forward. “Labeling which way the party is heading is a contentious issue,” he noted.

Since CPAC’s conclusion, many conservative pundits have pushed back against the notion that libertarianism is on the rise. Still, the fact that Ron Paul and Gary Johnson captured two of the top three spots in CPAC’s straw poll–not to mention the tremendous growth of this year’s SFL conference–suggests student libertarians are a force to be reckoned with.

Conor Skelding is a day editor for the Bwog, and a member of the Student Free Press Association.

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