Define Liberty: Natural Rights and Consequentialism

Welcome to Define Libertarianism, a comprehensive look at what it means to be a libertarian in today's American society.
 
According to the Libertarian Party of the United States, a libertarian is:

a person who upholds the principles of individual liberty especially of thought and action

There are generally two versions of a libertarian, according to the late University of Chicago economist Dr. Milton Friedman: Natural Rights and Consequentialist.

• A Natural Rights Libertarian, otherwise known as an Ayn Rand Libertarian, is one who believes it is immoral to initiate force onto anyone else. In this case, the ends (some desired state of the world) never justify the means if the means requires government action. 

• A Consequentialist Libertarian, on the other hand, believes liberty leads to favorable consequences in the world, and therefore government force is justified only when it seeks to maximize liberty.

Is a libertarian a liberal or conservative? Again, according to the Libertarian Party, it is improper to define a libertarian in terms of a liberal or conservative perspective.

Libertarians are neither [liberal nor conservative]. Unlike liberals or conservatives, Libertarians advocate a high degree of both personal and economic liberty. 

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