Many voters consider themselves fiscally conservative and socially liberal. They are against wasteful government spending and for individual freedom in their personal lives. These are fundamental beliefs of libertarian parties, so the parties wonder why they do not get more votes at election time.

One reason is that libertarians are elitist. They are generally well educated and benefit more than the average citizen in programs with choice, like medical insurance. Libertarians oppose income taxes, which bring more equality into society. While libertariansim grew up in opposition to the aristocracies of Europe, their non-progressive tax positions would lead to an economic arstocracy of wealthy business and professional families. The average voter senses this and rejects libertarian supported programs. President Bush's failure in 2005 to convince the nation to try private Social Security accounts is one example.

That and similar rejections are unfortunate, because often libertarian programs would benefit everybody. Many are aimed at reducing government waste and inefficiency, usually by giving citizens more choices. But to make those new choices wisely, a citizen needs a good education. The typical libertarian is not in favor of equal spending on education. They feel that giving people more choice in selecting a school for their children is enough. If wealthy families or towns want to spend more money for elite schools, that is fine with libertarians.

Similarly, libertarians want access to the best medical care. They oppose taxing the rich to pay for others' medial insurance or for hospitals in poor communities. Instead, they believe that private charity is better than government programs to support unmet medical needs of the poor. This attitude is quite different from the opinions of average voters.

The phrase "Libertarianism and Equality" suggests a revised approach that would appeal to many more citizens. Elections have shown that voters want to be assured that their medical and educational needs will be taken care of by the government, and not by charity. They like to feel that these services will be provided according to need, and not on the size of a person's pocketbook.

Cuba is poor, but all its citizens are assured of equal education and medical services, and that contributes greatly to their happiness and good feeling towards the government. Nations with large differences in wealth and in access to basic services are much less happy. If libertarians added a goal of reducing wealth inequality to their basic goal of freedom in markets and personal lifestyles, they likely would see a big upsurge in voter appeal.

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