Mother calls 911 to save suicidal daughter. Cop arrives, shoots daughter dead., page 6

Originally posted by birchtree

they are generally focused on limited government and individual freedom

In a nutshell: anti-authoritarian, pro-personal liberty.

and are repulsed by the idea of socialism and communism.

The thing you're doing is demonizing the terms 'socialism' and 'communism' as sinister byproducts of the soviet union and china. As is all too common. And all to... ignorant. Just as there are different flavors of capitalism i.e commericalism, etc, there are different flavors of socialism, communism. Actually, for all political philosophies.

Denying Ignorance is a healthy cure for that cold.

Making your title Libertarian Socialist somewhat of a contradiction in terms.

Here is a snip from wiki. Of course it doesn't encapsulate my political beliefs in their entirety, and some doesn't reflect it at all, but it gives you a better idea, and shows you have misconceptions about Libertarianism and Socialism and Anarchism:

Wiki @ Libertarian Socialism

Libertarian socialism is a group of political philosophies that aim to create a society without political, economic or social hierarchies – a society in which all violent or coercive institutions would be dissolved, and in their place every person would have free, equal access to tools of information and production, or a society in which such coercive institutions and hierarchies were drastically reduced in scope.

This equality and freedom would be achieved through the abolition of authoritarian institutions and private property[2], in order that direct control of the means of production and resources will be gained by the working class and society as a whole. Libertarian socialism also constitutes a tendency of thought that informs the identification, criticism and practical dismantling of illegitimate authority in all aspects of social life. Accordingly libertarian socialists believe that “the exercise of power in any institutionalized form – whether economic, political, religious, or sexual – brutalizes both the wielder of power and the one over whom it is exercised.”[3]

While many varieties of socialism emphasize the role of the state or political party in promoting liberty and social justice, libertarian socialists place their hopes in trade unions, workers' councils, municipalities, citizens' assemblies, and other non-bureaucratic, decentralized means of action.[4] Most libertarian socialists advocate doing away with the state altogether, seeing it as a bulwark of capitalist class rule.[5]

Political philosophies commonly described as libertarian socialist include: many varieties of anarchism (including anarchist communism, anarchist collectivism, anarcho-syndicalism[6] and some forms of individualist anarchism[7]), mutualism, social ecology,[8] and council communism[9] (or even communism itself, as it is described by Karl Marx or Lenin in a further stage of development of socialism). The terms anarchist communism and libertarian communism should not be considered synonyms for libertarian socialism. Some scholars use libertarian socialism synonymously with anarchism.

And..

Libertarian socialists assert that when power is exercised, as exemplified by the economic, social, or physical dominance of one individual over another, the burden of proof is always on the authoritarian to justify their action as legitimate when taken against its effect of narrowing the scope of human freedom.[19] Typical examples of legitimate exercise of power would include the use of physical force to rescue someone from being injured by an oncoming vehicle, or self-defence. Libertarian socialists typically oppose rigid and stratified structures of authority, be they political, economic, or social.[20]

Additional reading, the first crap I googled up:

world.std.com...
flag.blackened.net...

Although overseas Libertarianism has a almost seperate viewpoint from that in America and subscribes to leftist anarchism, when speaking of Libertarianism here in America it ususally causes libertarian alarm when mentioning socialism and anarchy. So before you start accusing someone about what they don't know maybe you should take a closer look at yourself.

Then be alarmed because I was refering to the "leftist" side of libertarianism. My political/social beliefs do closely resemble anarchism. I am sorry if that alarms you. I believe in personal liberty for you and your family as well, something to consider.

I have researched these political philosophies for many years. Don't tell me to take a closer look when you don't know me, and you havn't even done so yourself (at least on the "leftist" side of Libertarianism). I am not telling you to go back to the police academy...

[edit on 033131p://24u05 by Lucid Lunacy]