Residents of North Carolina do have a third choice. It's called the Libertarian Party. Libertarians are back on the ballots in North Carolina, fielding 36 candidates in federal, state, and local races on Nov. 4.

The party has a presidential candidate, former Georgia congressman Bob Barr, who left the GOP to become a Libertarian. It has a candidate for governor, Duke University political science professor Mike Munger. And it has candidates for lieutenant governor, insurance commissioner, U.S. Senate, three candidates for U.S. House, 21 candidates for the state House or Senate, and six for local offices.

The party is small. Only 843 people are registered as Libertarians in the state, but the number doesn't adequately show the party's popularity. Because of ballot access laws, Libertarians are dropped from registration rolls every four years if they don't get at least 2 percent of the vote in the governor's race.

As a party, Libertarians can be hard to define. Some stances sound liberal -- legalize drugs and end the death penalty. Others sound conservative -- eliminate taxes and end welfare programs.

Munger, the party's top state candidate, sat down recently with Q editor Van Denton and talked about what the party stands for and his own candidacy for governor.

You might be a Libertarian if ...

Q: What does it mean to be a Libertarian?

A: Libertarians believe in self-ownership and personal responsibility. So I must be allowed to realize my full human potential, unshackling my own sense of unlimited human possibility. At the same time, though, I am responsible for any harm that I do to myself or others.

Q: What distinguishes the Libertarian Party from the state's two major political parties?

A: Humility. A recognition that there are limits on what government can promise and even greater limits on what it can deliver.

Q: How would you describe the Libertarian Party's political philosophy: Conservative? Liberal? Right of center? Left of center?

A: The simple answer is Libertarians are conservative on economic issues and liberal on social issues. But I think it is more accurate to say that the Libertarians are consistent: We doubt claims that the judgment of government is better than the judgment of people. So letting individuals make their own judgments, on economics and on social policy, is the consistent principle that the Libertarians pursue.

The problem with people on the left, and generally Democrats, is they trust people on social matters but want to regulate their economic lives. The Republicans generally trust people on economic matters but want to moralize. They want to regulate their moral principles. We want to leave it up to people on both sides.

Q: Tell me how you would know if you had Libertarian leanings? How would I feel about taxes?

A: I would propose the following test: Taxes are being taken from people against their will. The taxpayer has something she wants to spend the money on. Maybe it's food or clothes for her children. Maybe it's a new Lexus.

Either way, you have to be sure, really sure, that the "public" purpose you have in mind is better than leaving it under the control of the taxpayer who earned it. Now most of us believe that there are some things like that. The Libertarians don't propose cutting taxes to zero. But if you think that taxes are too high, and that some things we spend "government" money on are not justified ... well, then you might be a Libertarian.

... About illegal immigration?

A: Illegal immigration is a problem in the United States because we don't allow people to immigrate legally. The simple way to put it is this: Libertarians are in favor of a high wall, and a wide gate. Let's police the borders, and stop illegal immigration. But then we should also allow people who want to work here, to share the American dream instead of the American welfare state, to enter legally.

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