Who is a Libertarian?

By Best in Moderation

The United States is often discussed, politically, as a place comprised of mostly Republicans and Democrats, with a small subset of parties that make up the rest. According to our elections, that is only half the story (literally, as often less that half the USA votes, and only slightly more than half the eligible people vote when they can at maximum).

While there are many parties to discuss, as well as unaffiliated people, one of the most discussed and well known groups are Libertarians. Often placing themselves as the logical middle ground, they are in actuality on a different scale entirely, being generally opposed to the concept of government intervention in the lives of citizens, and being only a slight step up from anarchists in terms of individualism vs collectivism. Libertarians often describe themselves as socially liberal and fiscally conservative, but that isn’t quite accurate; they are socially anarchists and fiscally anti-regulation or central monetary policy, instead pushing for private ownership of almost all things including wealth value.

A lot of this ideology is dependent on the idea that life is a competition, and everyone should strive for their own success. Who is most attracted to such a survivalist attitude? Who is happy with the state of the nation enough to play in this sandbox?

Well it may not surprise many to learn that the majority of Libertarians are non-Hispanic White (94%) and a large majority are men (64%). It may also not be surprising that 70% are Christian. This is compared to a national statistic of 51.6% White, 49.9% Male, and 61% Christian. Being in the powerful majority makes someone less likely to want to change the status quo, as it may reduce the advantages enjoyed or remove obstacles others face, which does not benefit a survivalist or individualist.

However, it may very much surprise many to learn that unlike right wing conservatives or left wing liberals, Libertarians are more in line with the general population (62% under 50, compared to nationally 63% and among Republicans 52% / Democrats 55%). This can reflect the disillusion younger people have with the major parties, or there may just not be much attraction for the older population to a party that’s mostly against supporting non-working people.

Another interesting statistic is that Libertarians are disproportionately White Protestant or religiously unaffiliated (27% each). The latter is understandable, given their ideological resistance to centralized power, as is their low Catholic membership. The more than double representation rate of White Protestant (national rate = 12%) may have a lot to do with their major party affiliation. While half considers themselves non-affiliated or affiliated with other smaller parties, 45% of Libertarians identify as Republicans (5% as Democrats). As has been shown in other analyses, White Protestants make up the largest group of Republican voters, so with such a large lean that direction some of this may be explained.

Many people joke about Libertarians simply being Republicans who don’t want to be called Republicans, but while 57% of them hold a favorable view of the GOP, 40% of them do not. What gives this impression is usually partisanship on the left; Libertarians are notoriously anti-Democrat Party, with 87% holding unfavorable views. Self identification on ideology has them scoring 3% liberal, 57% conservative, and 33% moderate.

So, based on all that, what can we say about the profile of a Libertarian?

• Almost certainly Non-Hispanic White.
• Very likely to not like Democrats.
• Likely conservative, possibly moderate, unlikely to be liberal.
• Probably male, but not nearly exclusively.
• More likely to be Christian, especially Protestant.
• Skew younger than the major parties.
• Just as likely to Republican as to be Independent.

What do you think? Is this an accurate representation? Are you aware of other demographic movements or attractions? If this is an interesting topic I will dive into other profiles as well.
(If you’re curious about sources, I primarily used https://www.prri.org/research/2013-american-values-survey/#.V1sDW1fGUrx but also used many others found here: https://www.cato.org/blog/libertarians-are-more-racially-diverse-people-realize)