"Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end." - Lord Acton
"Finally, I would ask, who are the true juveniles in society: the libertarians, who look to their own resources and those they can contract voluntarily, or the folks who look to extortion by government to bail them out of their difficulties?" - Jef Allen
"Conservatives want to be your daddy, telling you what to do and what not to do. Liberals want to be your mommy, feeding you, tucking you in, and wiping your nose. Libertarians want to treat you as an adult." - David Boaz
"It's a bit confusing, especially in America, to use that term because it's now used by use to refer to political beliefs which are actually profoundly anti-liberal. "Liberalism" in the classic sense sought to liberate the individual from the tyranny of the state and other powers-that-be. But many people in the US who are referred to as "liberals" are actually interested in using the power of the state to bind people and restrict what they can do, because they are more concerned with group equality than with the fates of individuals. As such, they believe that it is morally right to force people to act in certain ways. I don't suppose it's necessary for me to say that I couldn't disagree with this point of view more strongly. And one of the ironic paradoxes of modern American politics is that those people whose views are closest to classic liberalism are generally categorized as "conservative", mixed in with Christian theocrats whose ideas are diametrically opposite to classic liberalism. We're badly in need of some new words, because all the alternatives which used to be used for this point of view have been adopted for other things." - Steven Den Beste
"Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." - Barry Goldwater (actually written by Karl Hess)
"Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others?" - Thomas Jefferson, 1801 inaugural address
"Together the left and the right conspire to dictate what you can eat, see, read, smoke, and talk about. Leftists contend that the state should regulate the economy (and technology), but not morality. Conservatives claim that the government should leave the economy alone, but should legislate what you're allowed to do online or in your bedroom. Only libertarians have a consistent philosophy: The state can't be trusted to screw around with the economy, to control your private life, or to police the Internet." - Declan McCullagh
"Libertarians don't expect miracles from individuals. We just expect individuals to be individuals, with the limited scope for evil that individuals enjoy." - P.J. O'Rourke
"The mystery of government is not how Washington works but how to make it stop." - P.J. O'Rourke
"There's only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." - P.J. O'Rourke
"Trusting people to be creative and constructive when given more freedom does not imply an overly optimistic belief in the perfectibility of human nature. It is, rather, belief that the inevitable errors and sins of the human condition are far better overcome by individuals working together in an environment of trust and freedom and mutual respect than by individuals working under a multitude of rules, regulations, and restraints imposed upon them by another group of imperfect individuals." - Peter Senge
"Government is a disease masquerading as its own cure." - L. Neil Smith
"Try thinking of the Libertarian Party as a rolled-up newspaper, useful in making the Republican puppy (I've given up on the Democratic bitch) go where he's supposed to -- not on that beautiful antique carpet we call the Constitution." - L. Neil Smith
"Government is not reason. Government is not eloquence. It is force. And, like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action" - George Washington
"Liberty has never come from government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of government. The history of liberty is the history of resistance." - Woodrow Wilson