Democracy is a form of government where the will of the people reigns supreme, as reflected in the famous American quote “government by the people, for the people”. In these systems, elections are held to ensure citizens choose their representatives and, in cases of direct democracy, can even directly vote on laws themselves. At its

Civil liberties refer to fundamental freedoms that cannot be curtailed (i.e. prevented or undermined) by governments or others in society. The concept of civil liberty comes from classical liberal philosophy of the Enlightenment period, and is most famously upheld by the US constitution, which was heavily influenced by Enlightenment liberalism. A civil liberty is a

Libertarianism is a political ideology that attempts to maximize individual liberty and personal autonomy by advocating for extremely limited government. It is an offshoot of liberalism, which also advocates for individual freedom. However, whereas liberalism tends to embrace democratic institutions for achieving enhanced freedoms, libertarianism tends to mistrust government as a vehicle for maximizing liberty.

Liberalism and libertarianism both embrace freedom and liberty as core concerns. However, liberalism tends to embrace the concepts of the social contract and mutual responsibility, while libertarians have a more radical embrace of the primacy of individual freedom over civic duty. Libertarians see personal liberty as freedom from governmental interference, while liberals view government as