College Libertarians talk abortion, U.S. military

Members of the College Libertarians (from left, standing): Jordan Elizabeth Steele, Trey Stokes (president), Kyle Steele, Raistlin Holland, Andrei Botescu, (from left, sitting) Ricky Mackall and Joseph Feaster. By Andrew Robinson

A group of College Libertarians have agreed that the government’s power should be scaled down and U.S. military intervention in foreign countries may not serve Americans’ interest during a first-time meeting on Feb. 6. 

Emerging as a viable alternative to the College Republicans, College Democrats, and the Socialist Student Union, Club President Trey Stokes described the Libertarianism political ideology as being a “redistribution of power from the government to the individual within society.”  

During their first meeting, topics such as the government’s role in regulating abortion, the war on illegal drugs, and free market environmentalism were talked about at length. 

However, the topic that most members seemed most passionate about was American military intervention in foreign countries.  The later third of the College Libertarian’s first meeting was focused on U.S. military’s interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the potential conflicts in Iran.

Winthrop’s College Libertarians largely believe that the U.S. troop presence in other countries overseas does not always serve the best interest of the average American taxpayer.   They believe that if this is the case, the money taken out of the pocket of the average American that goes towards maintaining all of the United States armed forces across the world can be an infringement on that individual’s rights.

Other members have proposed that the founding fathers would support their opinions if they were around today on the basis of honest foreign policy and economic pragmatism.

Treasurer Andrei Botescu said: “It was originally an idea of George Washington to stay out of entangling alliances and intervening in foreign affairs.  It’s also more financially and economically pertinent to the country as a whole for the government to maintain a smaller military.  I think we should keep the boarders of the American Military within the borders of America.”

The Libertarians believe in limited or minimal government involvement within the affairs of the economy and personal lives of citizens. 

The cornerstone of Libertarianism is the belief that individuals are sovereign entities unto themselves and that they should not be forced by their government to sacrifice their own rights or values for any other group or individual.

Libertarians are also known for promoting an individual’s right to participate in any activity they wish to involve themselves, so long as it causes no harm to the rights or safety of any other individual within society.

Libertarians believe the government has important roles within society but that it should be limited.  According to the official Libertarian platform, “The only proper role of government in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is protected. All efforts by government to redistribute wealth, or to control or manage trade, are improper in a free society.”

Flaunting strong views, the Libertarians have finished with the preliminary measures needed to establish themselves as a legitimate political interest group on Winthrop’s campus.  Over the next few months they will be seeking to expand their influence further through various events in and around campus.