libertaire

French

Pronunciation

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Adjective

libertaire (plural libertaires)

1. opposed to authoritative or illegitimate powers (political, economical, religious, military or otherwise) ; anarchist, anarchistic ; (left-wing) libertarian
   • Le Monde libertaire (journal of the french anarchist federation)

Usage notes

French libertaire, as well as corresponding terms in other Romance languages, may correspond to the rare english word libertary. It would certainly be erroneous to understand libertaire as libertarian. French recently adopted libertarien to translate english libertarian. In usage, libertaire is mostly a synonym of anarchist or anarchistic: anarchists constantly use it, people calling themselves "libertaries" talk of anarchy or even belong to anarchist movements.
It would even be a kind of paradox in that most libertarians support some sort of capitalism or market society. French-speaking (or continental in general) movements of "libertary" brands, even of the more individualistic flavor, are opposed to power systems in general, and fiercely anti-capitalist in particular. (Moreover, they originally and still are close to socialism and communism : see eg communisme libertaire or anarcho-communisme.) Right-wing, capitalistic libertarianism, "market libertarianism" and/or "anarcho-capitalism", as common in english-speaking countries, are often considered with perplexity or as a genuine contradiction in terms. Even supposed "left-libertarian" approaches do not correspond to libertaire, except possibly for the libertarian socialist school.

Further reading

• “libertaire”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.