Most Libertarian Presidents

[servo75 31]

Interesting!  Found this on the blog site http://xaviercromartie.blogspot.com/2009/12/libertarian-ranking-of-united-states.html

I took out the explanations from this post to save space, but you can visit the link for more detail. I disagree with some of these, but it may cause me to reconsider some of my placements. LOL on the first category.  Remember the Libertarian philosophy is that the best government is that which does as little as needed, so some of the less "activist" Presidents, those considered "ineffective" are often near the top.

The Greats
None.

The Near Greats
1. Martin Van Buren (1837-1841)
2. Grover Cleveland (1885-1889, 1893-1897)
3. John Tyler (1841-1845)
4. Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)
5. Zachary Taylor (1849-1850)
6. Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)
7. Warren G. Harding (1921-1923)

The Average
8. Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)
9. Millard Fillmore (1850-1853)
10. Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885)
11a. William Henry Harrison (1841-1841)
11b. James A. Garfield (1881-1881)
13. Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881)

The Below Average
14. John Quincy Adams (1825-1829)
15a. Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)
15b. Gerald Ford (1974-1977)
17. Franklin Pierce (1853-1857)

The Failures
18a. George Washington (1789-1797)
18b. James Monroe (1817-1825)
20. James Buchanan (1857-1861)
21. John Adams (1797-1801)
22. James K. Polk (1845-1849)
23. William Taft (1909-1913)
24. Andrew Jackson (1829-1837)
25. James Madison (1809-1817)
26. Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)
27. John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)
28. William McKinley (1897-1901)
29. Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)
30. George H. W. Bush (1989-1993)
31. Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)
32. Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)
33. William J. Clinton (1993-2001)
34. Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961)
35. Richard Nixon (1969-1974)
36. Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969)
37. Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
38. Harry S Truman (1945-1953)
39. Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)
40. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945)
41. Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)
42. Barack Obama (2009–2013)
43. George Walker Bush (2001-2009)

[Patine 514]

1 minute ago, servo75 said:

Interesting!  Found this on the blog site http://xaviercromartie.blogspot.com/2009/12/libertarian-ranking-of-united-states.html

I took out the explanations from this post to save space, but you can visit the link for more detail. I disagree with some of these, but it may cause me to reconsider some of my placements. LOL on the first category.  Remember the Libertarian philosophy is that the best government is that which does as little as needed, so some of the less "activist" Presidents, those considered "ineffective" are often near the top.

The Greats
None.

The Near Greats
1. Martin Van Buren (1837-1841)
2. Grover Cleveland (1885-1889, 1893-1897)
3. John Tyler (1841-1845)
4. Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)
5. Zachary Taylor (1849-1850)
6. Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)
7. Warren G. Harding (1921-1923)

The Average
8. Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)
9. Millard Fillmore (1850-1853)
10. Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885)
11a. William Henry Harrison (1841-1841)
11b. James A. Garfield (1881-1881)
13. Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881)

The Below Average
14. John Quincy Adams (1825-1829)
15a. Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)
15b. Gerald Ford (1974-1977)
17. Franklin Pierce (1853-1857)
 

 

The Failures
18a. George Washington (1789-1797)
18b. James Monroe (1817-1825)
20. James Buchanan (1857-1861)
21. John Adams (1797-1801)
22. James K. Polk (1845-1849)
23. William Taft (1909-1913)
24. Andrew Jackson (1829-1837)
25. James Madison (1809-1817)
26. Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)
27. John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)
28. William McKinley (1897-1901)
29. Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)
30. George H. W. Bush (1989-1993)
31. Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)
32. Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)
33. William J. Clinton (1993-2001)
34. Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961)
35. Richard Nixon (1969-1974)
36. Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969)
37. Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
38. Harry S Truman (1945-1953)
39. Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)
40. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945)
41. Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)
42. Barack Obama (2009–2013)
43. George Walker Bush (2001-2009)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Libertarianism, as praised a philosophy as it may be in much of the US, has a problem it's proponents refuse to acknowledge. An Achilles heel that is, ultimately, it's downfall. For a Libertarian society or nation to actually work AT ALL would require a polity where all, or at least a vast majority, of the population was mature, self-reliant, cognisant of consequences, capable of productive dispute resolution amongst themselves without constant government oversight, and relatively well-educated. Since, as we all know, there isn't a population like that in their own sovereign, autonomous, or self-governing polity anywhere on the globe, or one that even comes remotely close, Libertarianism is dead on arrival as a socio-political system in a practical sense (all theory and pretense aside).

[vcczar 1,228]

@servo75

I used to follow this Xavier Cromartie thread when he put this together. You might see some of my comments on the page. It's an interesting, but ultimately ridiculous ranking. It's even a bad rating as far as his own ideology is concerned, especially in placing Grant in the top, since he did a few things that would upset Puritan libertarians greatly. Honestly, he should probably have Cleveland at #1. Van Buren's signing of the first real labor law should hurt him in a Libertarian ranking. 

It seems they value unsuccessful, and nearly impotent presidents, especially if they have limited to no control of/influence on Congress. 

[servo75 31]

6 minutes ago, vcczar said:

@servo75

It seems they value unsuccessful, and nearly impotent presidents, especially if they have limited to no control of/influence on Congress. 

The President is not supposed to "control" Congress, and Libertarians separate "success" from "activism."

As for your other post,

 

11 minutes ago, Patine said:

For a Libertarian society or nation to actually work AT ALL would require a polity where all, or at least a vast majority, of the population was mature, self-reliant, cognisant of consequences, capable of productive dispute resolution amongst themselves without constant government oversight, and relatively well-educated.

I disagree because you seem to be implying that Libertarianism is anarchic in nature - we don't just assume people are good and leave them to their own devices.  We do believe that there should be no or little restriction on behavior that does not cause physical harm or loss of liberty to someone else, but we DO support laws to ensure that doesn't happen.  Even in a perfect Libertarian society, there is still need for laws and some regulation.

No offense, but I would really suggest reading into what we feel a little bit more closely, listen to some podcasts (Tom Woods and Brion McLanahan are good sources for this), and take a look at websites like reason.com to learn what we're all about.

Edited March 5, 2017 by servo75

[vcczar 1,228]

@servo75

I would argue that there needs to be some activism to create success. I think one the few things I like about Jefferson and Jackson is that they were all about a president as an activist for the people. You could argue that JQ Adams was as well, in his own quiet way. The only presidents that we've had that seem to not be activists for much of anything are John Adams, James Monroe and Calvin Coolidge. All other presidents have used their office for some sort of activism or as a muscle for the will of the people in what can be called extra-Constitutional, but not necessarily unconstitutional, behavior.