Reply #7: There are vast differences

[spindoctor]

I call myself a libertarian at some occasions and I know that for instance Bill Maher does too. Neither of us can be accused of being particularly right-wing.

Personally I think that the role of the federal government should be limited to guarding over my safety.
That includes:
- Fire fighting
- Police services
- An army to defend our _national_ borders (on edit: or rather our system. What's the purpose of a guarded border with Canada?)
- Health care
- Environmental issues

For practical reasons (and this makes me a bad libertarian), I think the federal government should also be tasked with things like:
- Education
- Infrastructure

What the government should definitely stay out of:
- With who or how I practice sex
- What I build on my own property
- When I decide to end my life
- If I choose to wear a seatbelt or helmet
- Which countries I visit
- In general things I do that do not cause harm to other people

Libertarians believe that the role of the government should be limited to essentials and people should otherwise not be restricted in their pursuit of happiness.

Anarchists believe that any form of government is evil (and they have a point there).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism