Reddit reviews Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement

Brian Doherty wrote a fairly comprehensive history of the LP and the broader libertarian movement called Radicals for Capitalism in 2007 as well as Ron Paul's rEVOLution in 20012. For a state/local level view of this same world, Pat Dixon has a short tome called Primary Screenout centering around his time as chair of the LP of Texas and his campaigns and stint in office on the Lago Vista City Council.

I hypothesized that many of them are just new to libertarianism. Still, maybe my post will help.

By the way, if anyone is interested in a fairly complete (if somewhat controversial) history of the American libertarian movement, check out Brian Doherty's book Radicals for Capitalism. People have criticized if for having some minor inaccuracies, as is to be expected of a history of people still living, but I think it's a remarkable achievement. My only problem is the title, since I don't like using the word "capitalism".

I'm going to answer your questions in reverse, because I think the last one is so important.

Q4: Libertarian philosophy IS property rights. It is an inviolable core tenet of libertarian thought that we own ourselves and that we have the right to rightfully acquire and utilize property through trade.

Q3: The government, being a political entity, will never respond to a natural disaster with the rational and level-headed approach necessary. Policies and actions will partly be dictated by the situation, and partly be dictated by how a certain response makes politicians appear to the electorate.
The government was partly responsible for the Gulf spill through policies that pushed oil wells further and further into deep water. Many well-meaning government policies have such unintended consequences. Another example is endangered wildlife, where farmers--faced with the threat of being unable to farm their land if an endangered species was found there--were incentivized to kill any endangered animal on their property and dispose of it secretly. There would be less human-caused disasters to clean up if the government was not politically involved in so many land use decisions.

Q2: Depending on the type of libertarian thought you adhere to, the government might only be required to enforce law (punish violent crime, enforce property rights) and protect the people against aggressors. Libertarians generally agree that the government has no place in the economy, except maybe to enforce private contracts. (And some would argue that private courts could, would and should do this better.) Government's role in culture or religion should be absolutely zero.

Q1: Capitalism is about risk and reward, not reward and reward. It's an economic system that allows for massive gains for the successful, but also for losses for the foolish and the incorrect. These loses are necessary to correct wrong ideas in the marketplace and steer resources to their most valuable uses, indicated by profitability. When you bail out banks or other businesses for their poor decision-making, you disrupt the capital allocation mechanisms and create perverse economic incentives. No one should ever be rewarded for screwing up.

If you want to learn a lot about libertarians and their thoughts throughout the philosophy's history, try [Radicals for Capitalism])http://www.amazon.com/Radicals-Capitalism-Freewheeling-American-Libertarian/dp/1586483501). I'm also very fond of the works of Frederic Bastiat, a 19th century French economics popularizer. Especially noteworthy is his short book The Law, where he elaborates on the proper role of government and why anything else is a moral wrong.

Radicals for Capitalism. It's a big book, but it reads well and has some salient arguments.