Libertarian Party (United States)
[10] The founding of the party was prompted in part due to concerns about the Nixon administration's wage and price controls, the Vietnam War, conscription, and the introduction of fiat money.[13] Its fiscal policy positions include lowering taxes and abolishing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), decreasing the national debt, allowing people to opt out of Social Security, and eliminating the welfare state, in part by utilizing private charities.In 2022, the Mises Caucus (LPMC) became the dominant faction on the Libertarian National Committee, leading to internal conflicts and significant policy changes, such as regarding immigration and abortion.[29] In July 2016 and June 2017, the Libertarians tied their 1992 peak of four legislators when four state legislators from four different states left the Republican Party to join the Libertarian Party: Nevada Assemblyman John Moore in January,[30][31] Nebraska Senator Laura Ebke (although the Nebraska Legislature is officially non-partisan) and New Hampshire Representative Max Abramson in May[32][33] and Utah Senator Mark B. Madsen in July.[34] In the 2016 election cycle, Madsen[35] and Abramson did not run for re-election to their respective offices while Moore lost his race after the Libertarian Party officially censured him over his support of taxpayer stadium funding.[38] In April 2020, Representative Justin Amash of Michigan became the first Libertarian member of Congress after leaving the Republican Party and spending time as an independent.In June 2020, Amash, with Ayanna Pressley of the Democratic Party, introduced the Ending Qualified Immunity Act in response to the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.[39] The Dallas Accord is an implicit agreement that was made at the 1974 Libertarian National Convention as a compromise between the party's larger minarchist and smaller anarcho-capitalist factions by adopting a platform that explicitly did not say whether it was desirable for the state to exist.[40][41][42] The purpose of this agreement was to make the Libertarian Party a "big tent" that would welcome more ideologically diverse groups of people interested in reducing the size and scope of government.[49] The New Mexico state party also argued that according to LP bylaws, there can never be more than two executive positions overturned in a single convention, making the Mises sweep illegal.[55] Another mascot is the Libertarian porcupine, an icon that was originally designed by Kevin Breen in March 2006 and inspired by the logo of the Free State Project (FSP).Most rights to participate in the governance of the party are limited to "bylaws-sustaining members" who have either purchased a lifetime membership or donated at least $25 within the past year.It also includes an "Omissions" section which reads: "Our silence about any other particular government law, regulation, ordinance, directive, edict, control, regulatory agency, activity, or machination should not be construed to imply approval".[64] The party favors minimally regulated markets, a less powerful federal government, strong civil liberties (including LGBT rights, with the party supporting same-sex marriage), the liberalization of drug laws, separation of church and state, open immigration, non-interventionism and neutrality in diplomatic relations, free trade and free movement to all foreign countries and a more representative republic.[66] Before this, the party's stance was ambiguous, supporting the prerogative of individual politicians and voters to vote their conscience, but de facto pro-choice since it called for government to stay out of the matter.[111] State Representative Max Abramson of New Hampshire switched from Republican to Libertarian before running as the party's gubernatorial candidate in 2016 instead of seeking re-election.[127] On May 5, Mary Matalin, a longtime Republican political strategist, switched parties to become a registered Libertarian, expressing her dislike of Trump.In response, Libertarian 2016 nominee Gary Johnson noted that analysis of national polls shows more votes drawn from Hillary Clinton.[135] In December 2020, Maine House of Representatives member John Andrews changed his party registration to Libertarian after winning re-election as a Republican.That level of ballot access has only been achieved by a third-party candidate four other times (John Anderson in 1980, Lenora Fulani in 1988, and Ross Perot in 1992 and 1996.)[159] The Libertarian Party believes government regulations in the form of minimum wage laws drive up the cost of employing additional workers.[162] The party's official platform states that education is best provided by the free market, achieving greater quality, accountability and efficiency with more diversity of school choice.[64] The party has also expressed that "governments, unlike private businesses, are unaccountable for such damage done to the environment and have a terrible track record when it comes to environmental protection".While the party defends the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and other types of companies, it opposes government subsidies to business, labor, or any other special interest.[164] The Libertarian Party favors a free market health care system without government oversight, approval, regulation, or licensing.[167] The Libertarian Party supports the repeal of all laws which impede the ability of any person to find employment while opposing government-fostered/forced retirement and heavy interference in the bargaining process.[176] Denouncing Federal executions, they also describe how the party would increase and safeguard the rights of the accused in legal settings as well as limit the use of excessive force by police.The party opposes laws at any level of government requiring registration of or restricting the ownership, manufacture, or transfer or sale of firearms or ammunition.Confusion arose when prior to the 2006 convention there was a push to repeal or substantially rewrite the Platform, at the center of which were groups such as the Libertarian Reform Caucus.Some delegates voted for changes so the party could appeal to a wider audience, while others simply thought the entire document needed an overhaul.
ChairpersonAngela McArdleLibertarian National CommitteeChase OliverMike ter MaatDavid NolanAlexandria, VirginiaIdeologyLibertarianismDeontological libertarianismNeoclassical liberalismFiscal conservatismSocial liberalismFactionsAnarcho-capitalismPaleolibertarianismNozickianminarchismInternational Alliance of Libertarian PartiesSenateHouse of RepresentativesState upper chambersState lower chambersPolitics of the United StatesPolitical partiesElectionsLibertarianismin the United StatesAgorismAustroAutarchismChristianConsequentialistFeministFusionismMarket anarchismNatural-rightsPanarchismPaternalistPropertarianismTechnoVoluntaryismAnti-imperialismCivil libertarianismConstitutionalismCounter-economicsDecentralizationDeparturismEconomic freedomEvictionismFree bankingFree marketFree-market environmentalismFree migrationFree tradeFree willFreedom of associationFreedom of contractFreedom of speechHomestead principleIndividualityIndividualismLibertyLimited governmentLocalismMarriage privatizationNatural rights and legal rightsNon-aggression principleNon-interventionismNon-politicsNon-votingOpen borderPolycentric lawPrivate defense agencyPrivate propertyPublic choice theoryRestorative justiceRight to bear armsRight to privacyRugged IndividualismSelf-ownershipSingle taxSmall governmentSpontaneous orderStateless societyTax resistanceTitle-transfer theory of contractVoluntary associationVoluntary societyAge of EnlightenmentAbolitionism in the United StatesClassical liberalismAnti-FederalismTranscendentalismIndividualist anarchism in the United StatesOld RightNew LeftFreedom SchoolAustrian SchoolEconomic liberalismGeorgismLaissez-faireNeoliberalismSupply-side economicsAndrewsBarnettBoudreauxBrennanCaplanCarsonChartierChodorovEbelingEpsteinFranklinD. FriedmanM. FriedmanP. FriedmanR. FriedmanGalambosGarrettGeorgeGriffinGordonHarperHazlittHeinlein