NationStates Jolt Archive

Finally. Doing somthing to support real change.

http://www.reformthelp.org/home/plan/
The Libertarian Reform Caucus is a coalition of freedom lovers who want to have an effective libertarian party, one which is designed to win elections now in order to turn the tide from ever increasing statism to more liberty. The current Libertarian Party does not meet this standard. It's platform is far too radical to allow significant electoral victory in the U.S.; there are organizational matters that need to be fixed; and strategy needs to be improved.

http://www.reformthelp.org/home/intro/

A Rational Plan for Restoring Liberty
Restoring liberty in the near future is feasible. Given the constraints of the U.S. political system, the logical course of action follows:

Observation 1: The Democratic and Republican parties are loath to nominate libertarians.

Corollary 1: The cause of liberty requires a libertarian party to get libertarians on the ballot.

Observation 2: The United States elects its legislators using district-based elections.

Corollary 2: Winning office requires actually winning elections. Garnering 5-10% of the vote at-large wins nothing.

Conclusion: Fringe politics does not work in the United States. A political party must appeal to a plurality of voters (effectively, at least 40%) in some districts in order to win elections. Since districts vary, such a party could get away with appealing to less nationwide, but it must at least appeal to 20-30%.

In other words, for the Libertarian Party to be effective, it must appeal to the top 20-30% of freedom-lovers. Appealing to the tiny minority of freedom-lovers who want no government at all, or something very close to that, is a recipe for failure.

The platform and message of the Libertarian Party is extreme, sacrificing practicality and political appeal in favor of philosophical consistency with a single axiom. As such, the party currently appeals only to a tiny fraction of the voting public.

The Libertarian Reform Caucus is working to reform the Libertarian Party, to turn it into an effective tool for increasing liberty.

As a first step, we are working on an improved Libertarian platform, one that LP candidates can proudly quote and still win elections. To broaden the appeal of the platform, we are improving it along three lines:

The platform should propose a realistic vision for the next few years, as opposed to an idealistic vision of a libertarian future. The public expects a party platform to show what a party's candidates intend to do during the next term of office. If the party wants a long term vision statement, it should be in a separate document labeled as such.

The platform should unite libertarians instead of dividing them. Where libertarians disagree, the platform should be silent. The party should be a tool for all libertarians.

The platform should be based on the realization that there are other important values in addition to the non-initiation of force. Freedom is extremely valuable, but it is not the only value.

The result of these platform reforms will be imperfect in the eyes of many libertarians. However, we feel it is better to take partial steps now towards a more libertarian society than to stand on the sidelines while the statists take us further down the road towards tyranny and bankruptcy. Also, we can always refine the platform in the future, after the people have experienced the benefits of increased liberty. A political platform is not a constitution.

Now if we can only keep the Bastards from passing any more Incumbent Protection laws. :headbang:

Yeah, but the REAL problem with the Libertarian Party is that they're Libertarians.


How the hell are they gonna fix THAT!



:p

I've been calling for the LP to make a more reasonable platform for years.

You need to change things gradually.

Legalize all drugs? That scares mainstream america. Instead, legalize just marijuana, tax it, use the money on education, rehabilitation for "hard" drugs. Worry about legalizing other stuff later.

Eliminate the income tax? Not going to work right away. Try going for a flat tax first. Then gradually lower the tax while the nation is weened off the taxpayer's pocketbook.

You know what the libs have to change. Nothing on the social issues, I think they are right on when it comes to Government way out of our personal lives. However you cant get rid of taxes or all regulation and services. Total capitalism with no minium wage or strict safety standards for workers!? Come on, lets bring back child labor while were at it. No environmental protection or regulation!? that will destory the planet. Things like foreign aid, welfare, and public education all need real reform and accountability, but certianly not gotten rid totally, unless or willing to let people die just because you dont care. If the libs pull those changes off, they may be a real party and just might get my vote.

Yeah, but the REAL problem with the Libertarian Party is that they're Libertarians.


How the hell are they gonna fix THAT!

Exactly. I was about to say the same thing. If communism is impossible due to human nature, I think a strong case could be made that the same is true for pure capitalism. Afterall, there is a quote that goes "Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of reasons will somehow work for the benefit of us all".

Exactly. I was about to say the same thing. If communism is impossible due to human nature, I think a strong case could be made that the same is true for pure capitalism. Afterall, there is a quote that goes "Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of reasons will somehow work for the benefit of us all".
Which is the point of the organization I linked to.

One of the central problems of Big L libertarians is that they are mired in anarcho-capitalisim and have no concept of realpolitik. They are just as idealistic, and wrong, as the pure communists/socialists.

No "pure" ideology can stand.

As a supporter of Libertarians I like the idea.

Yeah, but the REAL problem with the Libertarian Party is that they're Libertarians.


We have a winner.

To start, they should recognize that environmental neglect is a perfect example of the "tragedy of the commons," instead of pretending that regulation is a violation of free market principle.

If they did so, I would have a lot more respect for them.

I've been calling for the LP to make a more reasonable platform for years.

You need to change things gradually.

Legalize all drugs? That scares mainstream america. Instead, legalize just marijuana, tax it, use the money on education, rehabilitation for "hard" drugs. Worry about legalizing other stuff later.

Eliminate the income tax? Not going to work right away. Try going for a flat tax first. Then gradually lower the tax while the nation is weened off the taxpayer's pocketbook.

See: http://www.reformthelp.org/theory/intro/ That is exactly what they (we?) are talking about.

Natural Rights Theory
Natural Rights theory is core to the beliefs of most active libertarians. It gives us a philosophical framework to maintain unity; it allows us to stay principled.

It also gets us into trouble. Trying to derive a political program from one axiom can lead to overgeneralization, to unpleasant edge conditions, and even contradictions. It also makes it hard to develop incremental steps towards the ideal libertarian government.

The next few sections are devoted to essays dealing with these problems areas.

Warning, some of the ideas in this section will be disturbing to those long steeped in libertarian dogma. Some of the writers will question some cherished assumptions and expose some hidden contradictions.

On the up side, once the theory is mastered, effective libertarian communication becomes far easier, even without explicit study of communication skills. ...

Effective Politics is Realpolitik.