Okay, so strict libertarians are against ALL government interference in the private sector. That means no welfare, no government healthcare, no regulations, none of that. You don't work, you don't eat. Can't find a job? Sorry, maybe a private charity will help you.
But also, that means corporations don't get any special breaks either. Oil companies don't get incentives to drill for oil. Banking is not restricted to government chartered and insured institutions. Banks and auto companies don't get bailouts. They go bust and millions lose their jobs? Sorry, maybe you can check with that private charity again.
So its not hypocrisy, it's perfect consistent. Libertarians believe if it weren't for government interference, we wouldn't get huge nasty corporations mistreating the little people. After all, if you had a choice between a nice, well run bank and a mean, disorganized bank, who would you bank with? So the good banks will make money and the bad banks will go bankrupt. At least that's the theory. So you can support Occupy Wall Street as a libertarian because you want those big nasty banks to go bankrupt and leave only the good banks, the ones that didn't mistreat their borrowers or make bad investments. Makes a certain sense too.
How can a truly libertarian society exist? Well libertarians assume that each person, rationally making their own selfish decisions, will inevitably create the best possible outcome. It does have a certain logic to it. After all, you know more and care more about yourself than any government bureaucrat ever could. So who best to make decisions for you? If you've ever taken an intro economics course, you learned about "homo economicus" the perfectly rational person who always makes the rational decisions. Economists recognize that's just an abstraction, but libertarians think it's real.
In the real world, people are irrational. They do dumb things like not wearing seat belts, so now we have laws requiring seat belts. It's irrational that a possible $50 fine changes behavior more than possible death.
In the real world, there is the tragedy of the commons. It's rational to use up resources you don't have to pay for. That's why libertarians don't believe in global warming. It's the ultimate tragedy of the commons. Nobody can own the air, so we all get to pollute it for free. Admitting global warming is a problem means admitting there is something that individual rational decision making can't solve.
Why is Rand Paul a Republican? Easy. He wants to get elected! Libertarians on the libertarian ticket go no where. But on the Republican ticket? He gets major party help and they are happy with him as long he isn't too much of a pain in the ass about trying to stop corporate welfare.
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