No, libertarians aren’t just Republicans who like weed

Libertarianism isn’t Republican-lite with a bong. Libertarians own a consistent, anti-authoritarian worldview that rejects control from both Left and Right.

Ah yes, the classic drive-by dismissal: libertarians are just Republicans who like weed. How many of you have heard that one?

This line gets tossed around by ill-informed people who haven’t read a single sentence of libertarian philosophy but feel smug calling it out. It’s lazy, it’s wrong, and it reveals more about the accuser’s ignorance than anything else.

Let’s clear this up once and for all.

Libertarianism isn’t Right or Left—it’s consistent

Republicans want to control what you do in your bedroom. Democrats want to control what you do with your paycheck. Libertarians want to control neither.

We oppose state violence in all forms:

• We don’t want your money stolen through taxation.

• We don’t want your thoughts censored.

• We don’t want your kids drafted.

• We don’t want your medicine banned.

• We don’t want your lifestyle regulated.

We’re not “Republican-lite,” nor are we “Democrat on weekends.” Nope, we’re anti-authoritarian across the board. On economics, speech, war, drugs, surveillance, banking, and personal choice. That latter part means no godd*mn masks or med tyranny the next time there’s a pandemic.

But what about weed?

Libertarians support drug freedom not because we “get high,” but because you own your body. If you don’t have bodily autonomy, you don’t have freedom. That goes for cannabis, psilocybin, nicotine, vaccine mandates, or even raw milk. It’s not about lifestyle; it’s about self-ownership.

Do some libertarians smoke weed? Sure. So do people in both major parties. But our argument isn’t “drugs are fun.” Our argument is: What you put in your body is none of the government’s damn business.

Republicans and Democrats both get high on state power

Here’s the uncomfortable truth for statists on both sides:

• Republicans grow government through military budgets, mass surveillance, and morality laws.

• Democrats grow government through welfare, regulation, speech policing, and also mass surveillance.

• Libertarians want to shrink it all.

If anything, we’re the true opposition. Not controlled opposition like the GOP and DNC.

Libertarians aren’t Republicans who smoke joints

Calling libertarians “Republicans who like weed” is like calling abolitionists “Southerners who dislike plantations.” It misses the point entirely, and deliberately.

Libertarianism isn’t a lifestyle preference. It’s a philosophical stance against coercion, no matter who’s in charge or what the justification is.

We don’t want to control you. We want to be left alone and leave others alone in return. That’s not partisan. That’s principle.

This is exactly why I wrote Beyond the Lost

You want to see what happens when the worst of both parties get their way?

Read Beyond the Lost Horizon.

The trilogy don’t play favorites. It calls out the Right for its warmongering, blind nationalism, and obsession with obedience. And it calls out the Left for its technocratic control, forced unity, and fake compassion backed by surveillance and coercion.

Quinn Cozens and Yui Kikuchi don’t get to “vote harder” to fix the system. They have to survive it, and then break it. And that’s if they both survive it.

That’s the point: libertarianism ain’t no partisan flavor. It’s a rejection of all coercive power, whether it wears a flag pin or a rainbow sticker.

If you’re sick of fiction that sugarcoats power or pretends your enemies are just on “the other side,” this trilogy was written for you. Learn more about my Beyond the Lost trilogy.