Table of Contents
|
Current LP Statement of Principles
[Adopted in 1974]
We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the cult of the omnipotent state and defend the rights of the individual.
We hold that all individuals have the right to exercise sole dominion over their own lives, and have the right to live in whatever manner they choose, so long as they do not forcibly interfere with the equal right of others to live in whatever manner they choose.
Governments throughout history have regularly operated on the opposite principle, that the State has the right to dispose of the lives of individuals and the fruits of their labor. Even within the United States, all political parties other than our own grant to government the right to regulate the lives of individuals and seize the fruits of their labor without their consent.
We, on the contrary, deny the right of any government to do these things, and hold that where governments exist, they must not violate the rights of any individual: namely, (1) the right to life — accordingly we support the prohibition of the initiation of physical force against others; (2) the right to liberty of speech and action — accordingly we oppose all attempts by government to abridge the freedom of speech and press, as well as government censorship in any form; and (3) the right to property — accordingly we oppose all government interference with private property, such as confiscation, nationalization, and eminent domain, and support the prohibition of robbery, trespass, fraud, and misrepresentation.
Since governments, when instituted, must not violate individual rights, we oppose all interference by government in the areas of voluntary and contractual relations among individuals. People should not be forced to sacrifice their lives and property for the benefit of others. They should be left free by government to deal with one another as free traders; and the resultant economic system, the only one compatible with the protection of individual rights, is the free market.
Original 1972 LP Statement of Principles
[Differences from the current SoP are in italics.]
We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the cult of the omnipotent state, and defend the rights of the individual.
We hold that each individual has the right to exercise sole dominion over his own life, and has the right to live his life in whatever manner he chooses, so long as he does not forcibly interfere with the equal right of others to live their lives in whatever manner they choose.
Governments throughout history have regularly operated on the opposite principle, that the State has the right to dispose of the lives of individuals and the fruits of their labor. Even within the United States, all political parties other than our own grant to government the right to regulate the life of the individual and seize the fruits of his labor without his consent.
We, on the contrary, deny the right of any government to do these things, and hold that the sole function of government is the protection of the rights of each individual: namely (1) the right to life — and accordingly we support laws prohibiting the initiation of physical force against others; (2) the right to liberty of speech and action — and accordingly we oppose all attempts by government to abridge the freedom of speech and press, as well as government censorship in any form; and (3) the right to property — and accordingly we oppose all government interference with private property, such as confiscation, nationalization, and eminent domain, and support laws which prohibit robbery, trespass, fraud and misrepresentation.
Since government has only one legitimate function, the protection of individual rights, we oppose all interference by government in the areas of voluntary and contractual relations among individuals. Men should not be forced to sacrifice their lives and property for the benefit of others. They should be left free by government to deal with one another as free traders on a free market; and the resultant economic system, the only one compatible with the protection of man's rights, is laissez-faire capitalism.
Proposal by 2008 Platform Committee
We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the cult of the omnipotent state and defend the rights of the individual. We hold that all individuals have the right to exercise sole dominion over their own lives, and have the right to live in whatever manner they choose, so long as they do not forcibly interfere with the equal right of others to live in whatever manner they choose. […]
We, on the contrary, deny the right of any government to do these things, and hold that where governments exist, they must not violate the rights of any individual: namely, […]
Joint Proposal by 2006 Bylaws and Platform Committees
We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the idea of unlimited government cult of the omnipotent state and defend the rights of the individual.
Change Cult to "Challenge All Aggression"
[Draft Proposal of the 2008 Bylaws Committee]
We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the cult of the omnipotent state and defend all aggression against the rights of the individual.
[…] hold that where governments exist, they must not violate the rights of any individual […] Since governments, when instituted, must not violate individual rights, […]
Change Cult to "Seek A World Free…"
["Seek" wording proposed Oct 2007 by Starchild]
We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the cult of the omnipotent state seek a world free from aggression and defend the rights of the individual.
[…] hold that where governments exist, they must not violate the rights of any individual […] Since governments, when instituted, must not violate individual rights, […]
Change Cult to "Support the Rights…"
[proposed Jan 2008 by Alicia Mattson]
We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the cult of the omnipotent state and defend the rights of the individual support the rights of individuals to direct their own lives and deny that government is capable of making better decisions for individuals.
[…] hold that where governments exist, they must not violate the rights of any individual […] Since governments, when instituted, must not violate individual rights, […]
Delete Entire Cult Phrase
[proposed Jan 2008 by Alicia Mattson]
We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the cult of the omnipotent state and defend the rights of the individual. We hold that all individuals have the right to exercise sole dominion over their own lives, and have the right to live in whatever manner they choose, so long as they do not forcibly interfere with the equal right of others to live in whatever manner they choose.
[…] hold that where governments exist, they must not violate the rights of any individual […] Since governments, when instituted, must not violate individual rights, […]
Delete "…Right of Any Government…"
[proposed Jan 2008 by Jon Roland]
We, on the contrary, deny the right of any government to do these things, and hold that where governments exist, they must not violate the rights of any individual.
Greatest Hits SoP
[drafted Oct 2007 by Brian Holtz]
We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge all aggression against the rights of the individual. We advocate maximizing individual rights by continually minimizing the role and incidence of aggression in human society.
We hold that all peaceful honest adults have the right and responsibility to control their own bodies, actions, speech, and property, so long as they use neither force nor fraud to interfere with the same rights of others. Individuals should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make.
The only crimes should be the violation of the rights of others by force or by fraud or by deliberately or negligently imposing significant and unwelcome risk of harm. Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to themselves. Harming others or their property through pollution is a violation of individual rights, and polluters should be required to pay for the material harm they cause.
The only legitimate use of force is in defense of individual rights — life, liberty, and justly acquired property — against aggression, whether by force or fraud. The only legitimate purpose of government is the protection of individual rights within that government's jurisdiction. We seek to divest government of all functions that can be provided by private individuals or voluntary organizations. It is unjust and unwise to force people to do something for their own good or to provide benefits for others. People should be left free to deal with one another as free traders; and the resultant economic system, the only one compatible with the protection of individual rights, is the free market.
Original 1973 SoP of the Free Libertarian Party of New York
The Free Libertarian Party is a political organization which has as its primary objective the extension of human freedom to its furthest limits. To that end the Party affirms the following principles:
- That each individual possesses the inalienable right to life and liberty and to justly acquired property.
- That no person or institution, public or private, has the right to initiate the use of physical force against another.
- That all individuals are entitled to choose their own life styles as long as they do not forcibly impose their values on others.
- That the only moral basis of politics is the preservation and protection of human rights.
- That the voluntary exchange of goods and services is fundamental to any socio-economic system which provides for the harmonious integration of divergent value systems.
In recognition of the fact that the initiation of force by government has been the chief instrument for the expropriation of individual rights and freedom, the Free Libertarian Party enters the political arena for the avowed purpose of eliminating the intervention of government in moral, social and economic affairs.