http://www.flickr.com/photos/peace
The Libertarian party has gained a new kind of notoriety when Ron Paul rose to fame in hopes of being the Republican presidential nominee. As some news agencies have claimed he has conceded there will not be enough votes for him and that defeat is in the near future, while his son, Rand Paul, is backing Mitt Romney, Libertarians in Thailand have had mixed feelings.
Though number of Libertarians in Thailand is comprised of a large expat community the Thailand Libertarian movement is indeed quite active. While the absolute number of Western Libertarians in Thailand is nowhere near what it is in the US there are still strong groups who come together to share similar ideas and educate those around them about their views.
One such group is Libertarians Abroad, a group that has expanded outside of the American expatriate community and now encompasses people from around the world.
“A lot of the people that come to our meetings, in fact, sometimes the majority are typically people from others countries,” said Gary Dale Cearley, the group’s founder.
The group consists of forums and an online community where, according to the site, it is “open to all free thinking people.”
The general Libertarian view is that each person should have their own freedom and that as long as the rights of others are respected the public should be able to make their own life choices. Another important aspect in the Libertarian belief system is the opinion of a limited government where there is skepticism of power and the primary political power is liberty.
Gary Dale Cearley, the founder of Libertarians Abroad has stated that he wants the Thailand group to encourage a “freer flow of communication” as well as “better cooperation within the international libertarian community.”
Libertarians Abroad was founded in 2003 and now the group meets once a month in Bangkok. There are also Libertarian blogs based out of Thailand and Libertarian meet-ups outside of Libertarians Abroad-a testimony to the growing number of men and women who still hold true to the Libertarian way of thinking as they continue their lives in Thailand.
We recently interviewed Mr. Cearley to talk about his views on the political system and what Libertarians Abroad is all about. Below is the video:
{ 0 comments… add one now }