44% of Americans agree when asked if they consider themselves "fiscally conservative and socially liberal, also known as libertarian".
The LP should unite all the voters who seek both more personal liberty and more economic liberty behind the choices available to them (or their representatives) that will most move public policy in a libertarian direction.
LP Adopts Pure Principles Platform
On May 24, 2008, the Libertarian Party adopted a rewritten Platform.
A Pure Principles Platform
As of its Feb 15-16 meeting in Las Vegas, the LP Platform Committee is currently recommending a "Pure Principles" platform that recyles the best proclamations of Libertarian principle from previous LP platforms to eloquently and elegantly describe what the Bylaws mean by "a libertarian direction" in public policy, stating for each issue a timeless principle that is consistent with both incremental reform and radical ultimate goals.
- Pure Principles Platform — how the LP Platform would look if all and only the PlatCom's currently-recommended changes were applied to it
- Pure Principles Platform Pending Amendments: possible proposals for changes using novel language
- The Directional Principles Subcommittee drafted the Pure Principles proposal
- Directional Principles Subcommittee Report
- Pure Principles Platform Amendments - a record of votes taken by the DP subcommittee
- Pure Principles FAQ - unofficial FAQ by Brian Holtz
- Praise for the Pure Principles draft
Platform Resources
- Platform Rules
- 2008 Platform Committee members
- Platform Criteria ranked by support among PlatCom members
- 2008 Platform Committee schedule
- Archive of LP Platforms
- 2008 PlatCom Chair Surveys
- Feedback on Vegas recommendations
- Public results
- Detailed survey Results (private to PlatCom)
- Platform Retention Votes 2002-2006
- Minutes of the Platform floor proceedings of the 1993 - 2006 LP Conventions
- Uses Of The LP Platform To Attack The LP
- Libertarian Outreach Literature
- State LP Platforms
- Other Parties' Platforms
- Socialist Party of America 1928 Platform
- Platforms of parties receiving electoral votes 1840 - 2004
- Constitution Party
- Green Party (GP-US ran Ralph Nader for POTUS twice)
- Green Party USA (more radical party eclipsed by GP-US)
- Democratic Freedom Caucus
- Republican Liberty Caucus Statement of Principles and summary
- "Third Parties 96" Common Ground Declaration
- Bills of Rights Archive - from the Codex Hammurabi (1760 BCE) to the EU Charter (2006)
- Libertarian Polling
- Top N Voter Issues
Platform Forums
- LPplatform-discuss - Y! Group w/ half of the 2008 PlatCom, several LNC members, some prominent radicals, and 100+ LP members. 3500 messages since early 2004, including 1600 from the 2008 cycle.
- 2008 Platform Committee - official site
- Pure Principles draft c. 2008-01-10
- PlatCom blog - created 2008-01-10
- PlatformFeedback@lp.org - feedback address announced 2007-09
- 10 messages as of 2008-01-30
- PlatCommLP08 - private 2008 PlatCom forum
Platform Proposals
- Pure Principles Platform: Draft, Insider's Tour, FAQ
- Restoration Caucus for restoring the 2004 Platform
- Rob Power's Destination Liberty proposal
- available in two pages and with less history info here
- World's Smallest Political Platform by Tom Knapp
- Daniel Grow's Libertarian Principles Platform
- Daniel Grow's Reformatted 2004 Platform
- John Howell's Libertarian Political Platform
- Brian Holtz's EcoLibertarian Platform
- Brian Holtz's Great Hits Platform
- Fred Foldvary's Geolibertarian Constitution and Bill of Rights (based on his Universal Ethic)
- Jon Roland's Constitutionalist Platform and Summary of Constitutional Rights, Powers and Duties
- Roderick Long's Constitution of Liberty
- Democratic Freedom Caucus Redacted Platform
Bylaws Proposals
- Statement of Principles Proposals
- LP Purpose Proposals
- Pledge Proposals
- Slogan Proposals
- Bylaws Committee Forum
Libertarian Policy Reference
- Cato Institute
- Cato Policy Handbook - 700 pages
- Cato Research - 11 broad areas
- Library of Economics and Liberty
- Ten Key Ideas
- Concise Encyclopedia of Economics - ~150 articles in 19 areas
- Classic Texts - free and searchable
- Reason Foundation
- Research Topics - environmental and state/local issues
- Annual Privatization Report - 112pp
- Property and Environment Research Center
- Federal and State Policy Guides
- Free Market Environmentalism - comprehensive book
- Heartland Institute - specializing in education, environment, and health care
- Pacific Research Institute - education, environment, health care, and technology
- Institute For Justice - property rights, school choice, & more
- The Independent Institute - radical libertarian scholarship
- Ludwig von Mises Institute - searchable library of Austrian economics
- Adam Smith Institute - UK-based free-market think tank
- Progress & Freedom Foundation - energy and the digital revolution
- John Locke Foundation - state-level issues (focus: NC)
- Mackinac Center - state-level issues (focus: MI)
LP Archives
LP Advocacy
Material in this section represents the views of the contributing authors, which so far is just me. If you want to contribute opposing views, let me know.
- Major Schools Of Libertarianism
- Free Variables in Libertarian Theory
- Public and Private Goods
- Criticisms of Libertarianism on Wikipedia
- Criticisms of Anarcho-Capitalism on Wikipedia
- Why Anarcho-Capitalism Is A Non-Starter - Sampson 1980
- Platform-Related Debates
- Does The Pledge Mandate Zero-Aggression Absolutism?
- Does the SoP Mandate Zero-Agression Absolutism?
- Does Zero-Aggression Absolutism Imply Anarchism?
- Does Zero-Aggression Absolutism Define Libertarianism?
- More Libertarian Than Thou
- Is Taxation Theft?
- Are All Taxes Equally Bad?
- Does Abstaining From Aggression Minimize It?
- Are Aggression Trade-Offs Incalculable?
- Does Archism Require Foretelling The Future?
- Is Archism Just The Whim Of Archists?
- Go Tax Yourself
- What Empirical Evidence Supports Anarchism?
- What Empirical Evidence Supports Minarchism?
- Is Minarchism On A Slippery Slope?
- Is Non-Anarchism Just Republican Lite?
- Is Market Failure Impossible?
- Do Markets Under-Produce Public Goods?
- Can Torts Police All Negative Externalities?
- Where Does The State's Authority Come From?
- Dueling Bumper Stickers
About This Site
This site is operated by me, Brian Holtz, Secretary of the 2008 Platform Committee. It's a successor to the MediaWiki-based PlatComWiki site that I was unofficially maintaining for the 2008 Platform Committee. Anyone who shares the goal for the LP described at the top of this page, or who offers constructive criticism of it, is welcome to join this wiki and contribute to it.