Do you like the government telling you what to do, with whom to associate, how to spend your money, what to put in your body? Do you like the government treating you differently from others based on your race, religion or lack thereof, gender, sex, sexual orientation, personal decisions, job or income?
Neither do libertarians. Libertarians believe that the governments should leave their citizens free and treat them equally. Libertarians are neither right nor left. They are neither conservative nor liberal, or, maybe more accurately, in certain ways they're both. Libertarians are conservative in their views about how the government should spend your money and liberal in their views about what the government should allow you to do. Libertarians, while generally viewed as "extreme," are actually on neither side of American politics. They are much more consistent than either major political party. Libertarians are people who, in general, believe that people should be free from force and coercion (whether by the government or by private actors) in both their economic and their personal lives. They want open immigration and spending cuts; they oppose affirmative action and racial profiling; and they believe in free trade and drug legalization.
Libertarians hold these views for different reasons. Some, the deontologists, hold that it is unjust to punish innocent people by using force upon them: that someone who has never violated another's rights does not deserve to have her rights violated. Others, the consequentialists, hold that economics and social theory show us that a minimal government produces the best results; it best achieves individual happiness. Both types of libertarianism find a home at the Harvard Libertarian Forum (HLF).