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Libertarianism

How European Libertarians Differ From American Ones

As I saw at a recent conference, the two groups are similar in many ways. But there are a few notable differences.

Ilya Somin | 5.3.2026 12:00 AM

On April 24-26, I attended LibertyCon Europe 2026, the major annual gathering of European libertarian students and academics (held this year in Madrid). I was invited to give two talks, and therefore came to this event for the first time since 2014. I spoke to numerous students, academics, and activists who attended the conference and got a better sense of where European libertarians (or "classical liberals," as some prefer to call themselves) stand at this crucial moment in history. It was interesting to observe similarities and differences with their American counterparts.

Not surprisingly, there is a large overlap between the two groups' views and priorities. A high proportion of what I saw and heard at LibertyCon Europe differed little from what I would expect to see at a comparable US event. For example, libertarians on both sides of the Atlantic are deeply concerned about excessive government spending and regulation, growing efforts to impose restrictions on access to various websites (often under the pretext of protecting children), protectionist restrictions on international trade, and more. American libertarians have greatly influenced their European counterparts, and vice versa. As the great Austrian libertarian economist F.A. Hayek put it, "[t]he growth of ideas is an international process."

There are, however, several noteworthy differences. First and foremost, it is notable that European libertarians have an almost unanimously negative view of Donald Trump and his administration. Many, probably most, American libertarians are similarly negative. But there is a significant faction that is "anti-anti Trump" (holding that Trump is flawed, but still preferable to his opponents, or at least no worse than them), and a smaller but vocal group that is actively pro-Trump.

Among European libertarians these latter two camps are almost completely absent. At the conference, several European participants asked me whether I thought Trump was the worst-ever US president. I answered that he is working hard to achieve that "distinction," but has not so far surpassed Woodrow Wilson and Andrew Johnson,........

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