What Does It Mean To Be a Libertarian?

-Source- We libertarians have always preferred to use esoteric arguments specialized language and other secret handshakes usually invoking the furthest reaches of Austrian praxeology. Like exclusive membership in any tribe this can all be great fun. But it can also be politically debilitating in an era where one tweet from the president is capable of changing the course of international relations. With all due respect to Adam Smith and Ayn Rand and Ludwig von Mises why not make it simple? Dont hurt people and dont take their stuffthats libertarianism in a nutshell. Its even short enough to work on old 140-character Twitter before founder Jack Dorsey ruined it. If this sounds like what your mom taught you when she caught you whaling on your little brother thats because I stole it from her. But she stole it from her mom as have many generations of moms before. Everyone seems to agree on these rules save homicidal psychos and politicians. Its particularly important that we make this commonsense case for libertarianism today because so much of our public debate has devolved into tribal identitarianismconservative vs. liberal red vs. blue us vs. them. But these tribes mostly motivated by what they dont like about the other sides personal choices are getting smaller and smaller. The rest of the population is left feeling alienated by the fighting. Cant we all just get along? Most folks want to be left alone to live their lives raise their families make a living maybe take a few risks or practice their faith and simply pursue happiness as they see fit. They are good peoplemeaning that theyll do good by you as long as you dont hurt them or take their stuff.