What's the difference between a Conservative and Libertarian?

[Quan]

Usually...social issues.

Real Conservatives and Libertarians are usually on the same page economically.

[Sean]

Not much, Libertarians took the place of the nonexistent democrats.

[BOBO]

They are similar. Libertarians are basically the idealists of conservatives. Republicans are what endless years of politics has done to conservatives.

[niHil]

The main 2 issues they differ on are abortions and the war on terrorism.
The main issue they agree on is a country by the people, for the people, of the people as set forth in the constitution with no govenment totalitarianism.
No "special" rights and no entitlements.

[Poohcat1]

A conservative and a libertarian have several things in common, the most important is the need for people to take care of themselves for the most part. The primary difference is that Libertarians are pretty much against any laws that the government wants to have or to put in place that are not specifically to prevent the harm of another person. They are against government telling people how they should live their lives...period.

Another difference is their stand on abortion. Although the Libertarians do not want a law that states that abortion is illegal (as do the Republicans), they also don't want a law that says it is allowable. They believe that each individual has the right and the responsiblity to make personal decisions for themselves and that the government should stay out of it.

Drugs: Conservatives prefer that illegal drugs remain illegal. Libertarians believe that no drug should be illegal and that if people want to use them, that is their choice. However, they are VERY strict on the consequences of drug use. Should someone cause harm to another (crime) as a result of drug use, the penalties are VERY severe.

Social Security and Welfare are two concepts that the Libertarians want to remove from our society also. They believe that people should plan for their own lives and do what they have to do to succeed. They do however suggest that local organizations (charities and churches) use their efforts to help those that can not help themselves.

For more information on Libertarians, you can go to http://www.LP.org. You will find their core principles there.

I consider myself a conservative/Libertarian/ Independent

[Charlie]

They are the same economically. They both are for a free market.

Socially, Libertarians are liberal. Some of the big things being that Libertarians are generally for gay marriage and legalization of drugs, while Conservatives are not. Also, Libertarians generally believe in less military as a part of smaller government when Conservatives will usually believe in strong national defenses.

To sum it up, Libertarians want you to be able to do whatever you want, while Conservatives think some social issues should be regulated.

[me]

Libertarians want to legalize drugs, end the war on drugs, end taxation, end social security, medicare, close foreign military bases, legalize gay marriage, etc.