This draft is a result of using new (and potentially more controversial) language to improve
the baseline 99%-recycled Greatest Hits draft.
PlatCom members who publicly support this draft include: [[User:BrianHoltz|Brian Holtz]]
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the
1972 platform.
Text like this is from
(and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the
2004 platform.
Text like this is
from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from
the 2006 platform.
Text like this is new.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
We favor the freedom and responsibility of adults to decide what sensations and substances they knowingly and voluntarily consume. We favor the freedom of association among private parties to negotiate how they use information voluntarily disclosed to each other.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
We favor the freedom of all adults to engage in any consensual amorous or reproductive behavior or relationship that does not violate the rights of others.
Sexuality or gender should have no
discriminatory
impact on the
treatment of individuals by government, such as in marriage, adoption, immigration, or military service.
While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
We oppose government actions that compel,
subsidize,
or prohibit abortion, sterilization or any other form of birth control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
Government exists
to protect the rights of every individual including life, liberty and
property. Criminal laws should be limited to
violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves. We oppose
reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of existing governments
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights.
Governments are usually the worst polluters, both directly and by subsidizing or protecting polluting industries and practices. We favor including in market prices the measurable costs that products and actions demonstrably impose on non-consenting third parties. Environmental awareness and the voluntary responses to such green pricing are the only fair and effective ways to stimulate the technological innovations and social changes required for protecting our environment and threatened ecosystems.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
It is unjust to tax people in order to finance benefits for other people.
We oppose any such tax, as distinct from taxes that serve as fees for pollution,
consumption of unowned resources, or government services not yet privatized.
We favor continuously reducing taxes as the functions of government are
privatized or made voluntary.
Government should not incur debt,
which burdens future generations without their consent.
We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types.
Individuals engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
Regulation of financial and capital markets should be limited to prohibition of force and fraud.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for education spending to parents.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for health care spending to patients.
We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
We advocate transitioning to a privatized retirement savings industry, with
victims of the Social Security tax having a claim against government property.
Income transfers to the poor from central governments should be phased out in favor of aid from local communities.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.3. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.4. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny, abridge or enhance any individual's rights at the expense of
other people's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
However, children always have the right to establish their maturity by assuming administration and protection of their own rights, ending dependency upon their parents or other guardians, and assuming all responsibilities of adulthood.
3.5. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections. We
support the right to secede where: (1)
secession is supported by a majority within the political unit,
(2) the majority does not attempt suppression of the dissenting
minority, and (3) the government of the new entity is at least as
compatible with human freedom as that from which it seceded.
3.6. Decentralized Government
Problems should always be addressed by the most local level of power that can possibly address them, which ideally is the level of the peaceful honest individual. We support a strict interpretation of the Constitution and enforcement of the Tenth Amendment rule that the federal government has no powers beyond those delegated to it by the Constitution. We support the repeal or overturning of all Acts of Congress outside the narrow powers delegated to it in the Constitution, which are primarily national defense and providing an impartial judicial system. We oppose the President initiating military hostilities in the absence of a declaration of war by Congress.
*************************** 260. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the
1972 platform.
Text like this is from
(and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the
2004 platform.
Text like this is
from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from
the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights or damage the property of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children. We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
Government exists
to protect the rights of every individual including life, liberty and
property. Criminal laws should be limited to
violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves. We oppose
reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of existing governments
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights,
including riparian rights, as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets. What should be punished is
the theft of information or breach of contract to hold information in
confidence, not trading on the basis of valuable knowledge.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State. As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government. The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.3. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.4. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
3.5. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 261. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the
1972 platform.
Text like this is from
(and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is
from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from
the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights or damage the property of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children. We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
Government exists
to protect the rights of every individual including life, liberty and
property. Criminal laws should be limited to
violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves. We oppose
reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of existing governments
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights,
including riparian rights, as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets. What should be punished is
the theft of information or breach of contract to hold information in
confidence, not trading on the basis of valuable knowledge.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State. As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government. The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.3. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.4. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
3.5. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 262. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the
1972 platform.
Text like this is from
(and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is
from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from
the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children. We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
Government exists
to protect the rights of every individual including life, liberty and
property. Criminal laws should be limited to
violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves. We oppose
reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of existing governments
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights,
including riparian rights, as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets. What should be punished is
the theft of information or breach of contract to hold information in
confidence, not trading on the basis of valuable knowledge.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State. As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government. The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.3. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.4. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
3.5. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 263. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the
1972 platform.
Text like this is from
(and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is
from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from
the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
Government exists
to protect the rights of every individual including life, liberty and
property. Criminal laws should be limited to
violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves. We oppose
reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of existing governments
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights,
including riparian rights, as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets. What should be punished is
the theft of information or breach of contract to hold information in
confidence, not trading on the basis of valuable knowledge.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State. As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government. The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.3. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.4. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.5. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 264. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the
1972 platform.
Text like this is from
(and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is
from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from
the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
Government exists
to protect the rights of every individual including life, liberty and
property. Criminal laws should be limited to
violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves. We oppose
reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of existing governments
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights,
including riparian rights, as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets. What should be punished is
the theft of information or breach of contract to hold information in
confidence, not trading on the basis of valuable knowledge.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State. As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government. The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.3. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.4. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.5. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 265. row ***************************
old_text: '''NOTE: This is a personal archive of reference materials created and administered by [[User:BrianHoltz|Brian Holtz]]. It is not an official publication of the 2008 LP Platform Committee, though some members of the committee do use and contribute to some content here.'''
The user accounts of PlatCom members are FirstnameLastname, e.g. AliciaMattson. The default password is given in [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PlatCommLP08/message/74 message 74] of PlatComLP08.
* [[Convention Rules governing the Platform]]
* The members of the [[2008 Platform Committee]]
* Perspectives on Platform Purpose
** [[Platform Criteria]]
** [[Legislative Program]]
* [[Platform Retention Votes]]
* [[LP Purpose Proposals]]
* [[Pledge Proposals]]
* [[Statement of Principles Proposals]]
* [[Proposed Platform Outlines]]
* Proposed Platform Rewrites and Campaign Programs
** [[Greatest Hits Draft Platform]]
** [[Greatest Hits Remix Platform]]
** [[Greatest Hits Short Platform]]
** [[Plankless Platform]]
** [[MarketLiberal Campaign Program]]
* Proposed Planks
** [[Taxation Plank]]
** [[Representative Government Plank]]
** [[Healthcare Plank]]
** [[Retirement Security]]
** [[Immigration Plank]]
** [[Foreign Policy Plank]]
** [[Abortion Plank]]
** [[Environment and Resources Plank]]
* Report Proposals
** [[Greatest Hits Draft Report|Brian's Greatest Hits Report Proposal]]
* [http://marketliberal.org/LP/Platforms/ Archive] of the 1972 and 1990 - 2006 LP Platforms
* [http://marketliberal.org/LP/Conventions/ Minutes] of the Platform floor proceedings of the 1993 - 2006 LP Conventions
* Controversies
** [[Uses Of The LP Platform To Attack The LP]]
** [[Does The Pledge Mandate Zero-Aggression Absolutism?]]
** [[Does the SoP Mandate Zero-Agression Absolutism?]]
** [[Does Zero-Aggression Absolutism Imply Anarchism?]]
** [[Is Taxation Theft?]]
* State LP Platforms
* Platforms of other parties
* Libertarian public policy resources
*************************** 266. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the
1972 platform.
Text like this is from
(and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is
from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from
the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of existing governments
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights,
including riparian rights, as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets. What should be punished is
the theft of information or breach of contract to hold information in
confidence, not trading on the basis of valuable knowledge.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State. As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government. The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.3. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.4. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.5. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 267. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the
1972 platform.
Text like this is from
(and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is
from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from
the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights,
including riparian rights, as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets. What should be punished is
the theft of information or breach of contract to hold information in
confidence, not trading on the basis of valuable knowledge.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State. As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government. The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.3. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.4. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.5. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 268. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the
1972 platform.
Text like this is from
(and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is
from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from
the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets. What should be punished is
the theft of information or breach of contract to hold information in
confidence, not trading on the basis of valuable knowledge.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State. As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government. The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.3. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.4. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.5. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 269. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the
1972 platform.
Text like this is from
(and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is
from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from
the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets. What should be punished is
the theft of information or breach of contract to hold information in
confidence, not trading on the basis of valuable knowledge.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State. As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government. The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.3. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.4. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.5. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 270. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the
1972 platform.
Text like this is from
(and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is
from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from
the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets. What should be punished is
the theft of information or breach of contract to hold information in
confidence, not trading on the basis of valuable knowledge.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State. As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government. The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.3. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.4. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.5. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 271. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets. What should be punished is
the theft of information or breach of contract to hold information in
confidence, not trading on the basis of valuable knowledge.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State. As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government. The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.3. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.4. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.5. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 272. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets. What should be punished is
the theft of information or breach of contract to hold information in
confidence, not trading on the basis of valuable knowledge.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State. As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government. The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 273. row ***************************
old_text: == Current Bylaws Article 3 (adopted in 1998) ==
The Party is organized to implement and give voice to the principles embodied in the Statement of Principles by: functioning as a libertarian political entity separate and distinct from all other political parties or movements; moving public policy in a libertarian direction by building a political party that elects Libertarians to public office; chartering affiliate parties throughout the United States and promoting their growth and activities; nominating candidates for President and Vice-President of the United States, and supporting Party and affiliate party candidates for political office; and, entering into public information activities.
== Previous Bylaws Purpose (adopted no later than 1989) ==
In 1998 the purpose was changed by adding the mission statement adopted by the LNC in 1992: "moving public policy in a libertarian direction by building a political party that elects Libertarians to public office". This has been the only change since at least 1989.
== Original Purpose from 1972 LP Constitution ==
The purpose for which the Party is organized is to implement and give voice to the principles embodied in the Statement of Principles by:
a. Nominating candidates for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States and supporting candidates for political office.
b. Promoting, chartering and coordinating affiliate parties throughout the United States.
c. Entering into political information activities.
(
Thus sometime between 1972 and 1989 the LP adopted rules against supporting candidates from other parties.)
*************************** 274. row ***************************
old_text: == Current Bylaws Article 3 (adopted in 1998) ==
The Party is organized to implement and give voice to the principles embodied in the Statement of Principles by: functioning as a libertarian political entity separate and distinct from all other political parties or movements; moving public policy in a libertarian direction by building a political party that elects Libertarians to public office; chartering affiliate parties throughout the United States and promoting their growth and activities; nominating candidates for President and Vice-President of the United States, and supporting Party and affiliate party candidates for political office; and, entering into public information activities.
== Previous Bylaws Purpose (adopted no later than 1989) ==
In 1998 the purpose was changed by adding the mission statement adopted by the LNC in 1992: "moving public policy in a libertarian direction by building a political party that elects Libertarians to public office". This has been the only change since at least 1989.
== Original Purpose from 1972 LP Constitution ==
The purpose for which the Party is organized is to implement and give voice to the principles embodied in the Statement of Principles by:
a. Nominating candidates for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States and supporting candidates for political office.
b. Promoting, chartering and coordinating affiliate parties throughout the United States.
c. Entering into political information activities.
(
Thus sometime between 1972 and 1989 the LP adopted rules against supporting candidates from other parties.)
== 2008 Bylaws Committee Proposal ==
The Party’s purpose is to expand individual liberty by increasing the number of Libertarians holding elected public office in the United States.
== Proposal by Brian Holtz ==
The Party's purpose is to implement and give voice to the Statement of Principles by uniting voters who want more liberty behind the electoral choices that will most move public policy in a libertarian direction.
*************************** 275. row ***************************
old_text: == Current LP Pledge ==
I oppose the initiation of force to achieve political or social goals.
(
No Pledge is mentioned in the original 1972 LP Constitution, Bylaws, and Convention Rules, but it was reportedly being required of new members as early as 1973.)
== 2008 Bylaws Committee Proposal ==
Require the pledge only of voting members; i.e. delegates and officers.
== Proposal by Brian Holtz ==
The Libertarian Party will always advocate increasing liberty and decreasing government on every issue. As a member of the Libertarian Party, I will not attempt to change this.
== Proposal by Stewart Flood: The LPSC Pledge ==
I support the Libertarian Party’s principle of limiting government to the protection of each person’s right to life, liberty, and property.
== Proposal by Chuck Moulton ==
As a candidate or party officer of the Libertarian Party, I will work to move public policy in a libertarian direction.
*************************** 276. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets. What should be punished is
the theft of information or breach of contract to hold information in
confidence, not trading on the basis of valuable knowledge.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State. As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government. The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 277. row ***************************
old_text: == 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 ==
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.
*************************** 278. row ***************************
old_text: == 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 ==
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.
*************************** 279. row ***************************
old_text: == 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 ==
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.
== Change Proposed Jointly by 2006 Bylaws and Platform Committees ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the
idea of unlimited government and defend the rights of the individual.
*************************** 280. row ***************************
old_text: == 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 ==
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.
== Change Proposed Jointly by 2006 Bylaws and Platform Committees ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the
idea of unlimited government and defend the rights of the individual.
== Proposal 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 continuously 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, but pollution of the property of others is a violation of their individual rights.
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 for the benefit of 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.
*************************** 281. row ***************************
old_text: == 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 ==
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.
== Change Proposed Jointly by 2006 Bylaws and Platform Committees ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the
idea of unlimited government and defend the rights of the individual.
== Change Proposed by Starchild ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party,
seek a world free from aggression and defend the rights of the individual.
== Proposal 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 continuously 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, but pollution of the property of others is a violation of their individual rights.
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 for the benefit of 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.
*************************** 282. row ***************************
old_text: == 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 ==
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.
== Joint Proposal by 2006 Bylaws and Platform Committees ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the
idea of unlimited government and defend the rights of the individual.
== Possible Joint Proposal by the 2008 Bylaws and Platform Committees ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party,
challenge the cult of the omnipotent state and
seek to
defend the rights of the individual
by limiting the powers of government.
[...] hold that
where
governments
exist, they
must not violate the rights of any individual [...] Since
governments
, when instituted,
must not violate individual rights, [...]
== Change Proposed by Starchild ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party,
seek a world free from aggression and defend the rights of the individual.
== Proposal 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 continuously 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, but pollution of the property of others is a violation of their individual rights.
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 for the benefit of 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.
*************************** 283. row ***************************
old_text: == 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 ==
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.
== Joint Proposal by 2006 Bylaws and Platform Committees ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the
idea of unlimited government and defend the rights of the individual.
== Possible Joint Proposal by the 2008 Bylaws and Platform Committees ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party,
challenge the cult of the omnipotent state and
seek to
defend the rights of the individual
by limiting the powers of government.
[...] hold that
where
governments
exist, they
must not violate the rights of any individual [...] Since
governments
, when instituted,
must not violate individual rights, [...]
== Change Proposed by Starchild ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party,
seek a world free from aggression and defend the rights of the individual.
== Proposal 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, but pollution of the property of others is a violation of their individual rights.
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 for the benefit of 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.
*************************** 284. row ***************************
old_text: == 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 ==
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.
== Joint Proposal by 2006 Bylaws and Platform Committees ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the
idea of unlimited government and defend the rights of the individual.
== Possible Joint Proposal by the 2008 Bylaws and Platform Committees ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party,
challenge the cult of the omnipotent state and
seek to
defend the rights of the individual
by limiting the powers of government.
[...] hold that
where
governments
exist, they
must not violate the rights of any individual [...] Since
governments
, when instituted,
must not violate individual rights, [...]
or
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 Proposed by Starchild ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party,
seek a world free from aggression and defend the rights of the individual.
== Proposal 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, but pollution of the property of others is a violation of their individual rights.
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 for the benefit of 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.
*************************** 285. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
This draft is a result of using new (and potentially more controversial) language to improve
the baseline 99%-recycled Greatest Hits draft.
PlatCom members who publicly support this draft include: [[User:BrianHoltz|Brian Holtz]]
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the
1972 platform.
Text like this is from
(and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the
2004 platform.
Text like this is
from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from
the 2006 platform.
Text like this is new.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
We favor the freedom and responsibility of adults to decide what sensations and substances they knowingly and voluntarily consume. We favor the freedom of association among private parties to negotiate how they use information voluntarily disclosed to each other.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
We favor the freedom of all adults to engage in any consensual amorous or reproductive behavior or relationship that does not violate the rights of others.
Sexuality or gender should have no
discriminatory
impact on the
treatment of individuals by government, such as in marriage, adoption, immigration, or military service.
While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
We oppose government actions that compel,
subsidize,
or prohibit abortion, sterilization or any other form of birth control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
Government exists
to protect the rights of every individual including life, liberty and
property. Criminal laws should be limited to
violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves. We oppose
reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of existing governments
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights.
Governments are usually the worst polluters, both directly and by subsidizing or protecting polluting industries and practices. We favor including in market prices the measurable costs that products and actions demonstrably and physically impose on non-consenting third parties. Environmental awareness and the voluntary responses to such green pricing are the only fair and effective ways to stimulate the technological innovations and social changes required for protecting our environment and threatened ecosystems.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
It is unjust to tax people in order to finance benefits for other people.
We oppose any such tax, as distinct from taxes that serve as fees for pollution,
consumption of unowned resources, or government services not yet privatized.
We favor continuously reducing taxes as the functions of government are
privatized or made voluntary.
Government should not incur debt,
which burdens future generations without their consent.
We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types.
Individuals engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
Regulation of financial and capital markets should be limited to prohibition of force and fraud.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for education spending to parents.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for health care spending to patients.
We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
We advocate transitioning to a privatized retirement savings industry, with
victims of the Social Security tax having a claim against government property.
Income transfers to the poor from central governments should be phased out in favor of aid from local communities.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.3. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.4. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny, abridge or enhance any individual's rights at the expense of
other people's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
However, children always have the right to establish their maturity by assuming administration and protection of their own rights, ending dependency upon their parents or other guardians, and assuming all responsibilities of adulthood.
3.5. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections. We
support the right to secede where: (1)
secession is supported by a majority within the political unit,
(2) the majority does not attempt suppression of the dissenting
minority, and (3) the government of the new entity is at least as
compatible with human freedom as that from which it seceded.
3.6. Decentralized Government
Problems should always be addressed by the most local level of power that can possibly address them, which ideally is the level of the peaceful honest individual. We support a strict interpretation of the Constitution and enforcement of the Tenth Amendment rule that the federal government has no powers beyond those delegated to it by the Constitution. We support the repeal or overturning of all Acts of Congress outside the narrow powers delegated to it in the Constitution, which are primarily national defense and providing an impartial judicial system. We oppose the President initiating military hostilities in the absence of a declaration of war by Congress.
*************************** 286. row ***************************
old_text: == 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 ==
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.
== Joint Proposal by 2006 Bylaws and Platform Committees ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the
idea of unlimited government and defend the rights of the individual.
== Possible Joint Proposal by the 2008 Bylaws and Platform Committees ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party,
challenge the cult of the omnipotent state and
seek to
defend the rights of the individual
by limiting the powers of government.
[...] hold that
where
governments
exist, they
must not violate the rights of any individual [...] Since
governments
, when instituted,
must not violate individual rights, [...]
or
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 Proposed by Starchild ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party,
seek a world free from aggression and defend the rights of the individual.
== Proposal 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, but pollution of the property of others is a violation of their individual rights.
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.
*************************** 287. row ***************************
old_text: == State Representatives ==
The ten states with the most sustaining members each pick one PlatCom member. Members chosen so far:
* CA – [[image:BruceDovner.jpg|30px]] [[User:BruceDovner|Bruce Dovner]]
* TX – [[image:GuyMcLendon.jpg|30px]] [[User:GuyMcLendon|Guy McLendon]]
** McLendon wrote on PlatComLP08: I give permission for my comments posted on this forum to be forwarded, and ask only a couple of things:
# Copy me on the forward
# Try not to take my comments out of context
# Give me a chance to defend my position, and forward those comments to every group you're copying
# Respect the requests from other PlatCom members who have asked their comments to remain private.
* FL - [[User:VickiKirkland|Vicki Kirkland]]
* GA - [[User:GlennTatum|Glenn Tatum]]
* NY - [[User:AudreyCapozzi|Audrey Capozzi]]
* PA - [[image:HenryHaller.jpg|30px]] [[User:HenryHaller|Henry Haller]]
* IL -
* MI - [[User:DanGrow|Dan Grow]]
* OH – [[User:MikeSmitley|Mike Smitley]]
* VA -
== LNC Appointees ==
In order of net votes received:
* [[image:AliciaMattson.JPG|40px]] [[User:AliciaMattson|Alicia Mattson]] (interim chair)
* [[image:SteveDasbach.jpg|30px]] [[User:SteveDasbach|Steve Dasbach]]
* [[image:AdamMayer.jpg|40px]] [[User:AdamMayer|Adam Mayer]]
* [[User:DavidAitken|David Aitken]]
* [[image:HardyMachia.jpg|40px]] [[User:HardyMacia|Hardy Macia]]
* [[Image:StevenBurden.jpg|35px]][[User:StevenBurden|Steven Burden]]
* [[image:RobertCapozzi.jpg|30px]] [[User:RobertCapozzi|Robert Capozzi]]
* [[User:BonnieScott|Bonnie Scott]]
* [[image:BrianHoltz.jpg|30px]] [[User:BrianHoltz|Brian Holtz]]
** Holtz says: "I hereby give everyone permission to quote anything I post here, except for text that quotes and identifies a member who hasn't given permission to be quoted, or that characterizes the opinions of such a member."
* [[image:JonRoland.jpg|30px]] [[User:JonRoland|Jon Roland]]
** Roland has given permission for all his Platform proposals to be posted on PlatComWiki.
=== Alternates ===
In order of net votes received:
# [[image:RobPower.jpg|30px]] [[User:RobPower|Rob Power]]
# [[image:RuthBennett.jpg|30px]] [[User:RuthBennett|Ruth Bennett]]
# [[image:JimDuensing.jpg|30px]] [[User:JimDuensing|Jim Duensing]]
# [[User:MoreyStrauss|Morey Straus]]
*************************** 288. row ***************************
old_text: == 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 ==
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.
== Joint Proposal by 2006 Bylaws and Platform Committees ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the
idea of unlimited government and defend the rights of the individual.
== Possible Joint Proposal by the 2008 Bylaws and Platform Committees ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party,
challenge the cult of the omnipotent state and
seek to
defend the rights of the individual
by limiting the powers of government.
[...] hold that
where
governments
exist, they
must not violate the rights of any individual [...] Since
governments
, when instituted,
must not violate individual rights, [...]
or
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 Proposed by Starchild ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party,
seek a world free from aggression and defend the rights of the individual.
== Proposal 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. Pollution of the property of others is a violation of their individual rights, and polluters should be held strictly liable for the material damage 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.
*************************** 289. row ***************************
old_text: == 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 ==
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.
== Joint Proposal by 2006 Bylaws and Platform Committees ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the
idea of unlimited government and defend the rights of the individual.
== Possible Joint Proposal by the 2008 Bylaws and Platform Committees ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party,
challenge the cult of the omnipotent state and
seek to
defend the rights of the individual
by limiting the powers of government.
[...] hold that
where
governments
exist, they
must not violate the rights of any individual [...] Since
governments
, when instituted,
must not violate individual rights, [...]
or
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 Proposed by Starchild ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party,
seek a world free from aggression and defend the rights of the individual.
== Proposal 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.
*************************** 290. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
This draft is a result of using new (and potentially more controversial) language to improve
the baseline 100%-recycled Greatest Hits draft.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Text like this is new.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
We favor the freedom and responsibility of adults to decide what sensations and substances they knowingly and voluntarily consume. We favor the freedom of association among private parties to negotiate how they use information voluntarily disclosed to each other.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
We favor the freedom of all adults to engage in any consensual amorous or reproductive behavior or relationship that does not violate the rights of others.
Sexuality or gender should have no
discriminatory
impact on the
treatment of individuals by government, such as in marriage, adoption, immigration, or military service.
While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
We oppose government actions that compel,
subsidize,
or prohibit abortion, sterilization or any other form of birth control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
Government exists
to protect the rights of every individual including life, liberty and
property. Criminal laws should be limited to
violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves. We oppose
reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of existing governments
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights.
Governments are usually the worst polluters, both directly and by subsidizing or protecting polluting industries and practices. We favor including in market prices the measurable costs that products and actions demonstrably and physically impose on non-consenting third parties. Environmental awareness and the voluntary responses to such green pricing are the only fair and effective ways to stimulate the technological innovations and social changes required for protecting our environment and threatened ecosystems.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
It is unjust to tax people in order to finance benefits for other people.
We oppose any such tax, as distinct from taxes that serve as fees for pollution,
consumption of unowned resources, or government services not yet privatized.
We favor continuously reducing taxes as the functions of government are
privatized or made voluntary.
Government should not incur debt,
which burdens future generations without their consent.
We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types.
Individuals engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
Regulation of financial and capital markets should be limited to prohibition of force and fraud.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for education spending to parents.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for health care spending to patients.
We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
We advocate transitioning to a privatized retirement savings industry, with
victims of the Social Security tax having a claim against government property.
Income transfers to the poor from central governments should be phased out in favor of aid from local communities.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.3. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.4. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny, abridge or enhance any individual's rights at the expense of
other people's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
However, children always have the right to establish their maturity by assuming administration and protection of their own rights, ending dependency upon their parents or other guardians, and assuming all responsibilities of adulthood.
3.5. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections. We
support the right to secede where: (1)
secession is supported by a majority within the political unit,
(2) the majority does not attempt suppression of the dissenting
minority, and (3) the government of the new entity is at least as
compatible with human freedom as that from which it seceded.
3.6. Decentralized Government
Problems should always be addressed by the most local level of power that can possibly address them, which ideally is the level of the peaceful honest individual. We support a strict interpretation of the Constitution and enforcement of the Tenth Amendment rule that the federal government has no powers beyond those delegated to it by the Constitution. We support the repeal or overturning of all Acts of Congress outside the narrow powers delegated to it in the Constitution, which are primarily national defense and providing an impartial judicial system. We oppose the President initiating military hostilities in the absence of a declaration of war by Congress.
*************************** 291. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
This draft is a result of using new (and potentially more controversial) language to improve
the baseline 100%-recycled Greatest Hits draft.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Text like this is new.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
We favor the freedom and responsibility of adults to decide what sensations and substances they knowingly and voluntarily consume. We favor the freedom of association among private parties to negotiate how they use information voluntarily disclosed to each other.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
We favor the freedom of all adults to engage in any consensual amorous or reproductive behavior or relationship that does not violate the rights of others.
Sexuality or gender should have no
discriminatory
impact on the
treatment of individuals by government, such as in marriage, adoption, immigration, or military service.
While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
We oppose government actions that compel,
subsidize,
or prohibit abortion, sterilization or any other form of birth control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
Government exists
to protect the rights of every individual including life, liberty and
property. Criminal laws should be limited to
violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves. We oppose
reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of existing governments
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights.
Governments are usually the worst polluters, both directly and by subsidizing or protecting polluting industries and practices. We favor including in market prices the measurable costs that products and actions demonstrably and physically impose on non-consenting third parties. Environmental awareness and the voluntary responses to such green pricing are the only fair and effective ways to stimulate the technological innovations and social changes required for protecting our environment and threatened ecosystems.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
It is unjust to tax people in order to finance benefits for other people.
We oppose any such tax, as distinct from taxes that serve as fees for pollution,
consumption of unowned resources, or government services not yet privatized.
We favor continuously reducing taxes as the functions of government are
privatized or made voluntary.
Government should not incur debt,
which burdens future generations without their consent.
We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types.
Individuals engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
Regulation of financial and capital markets should be limited to prohibition of force and fraud.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for education spending to parents.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for health care spending to patients.
We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
We advocate transitioning to a privatized retirement savings industry, with
victims of the Social Security tax having a claim against government property.
Income transfers to the poor from central governments should be phased out in favor of aid from local communities.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.3. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.4. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
However, children always have the right to establish their maturity by assuming administration and protection of their own rights, ending dependency upon their parents or other guardians, and assuming all responsibilities of adulthood.
3.5. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections. We
support the right to secede where: (1)
secession is supported by a majority within the political unit,
(2) the majority does not attempt suppression of the dissenting
minority, and (3) the government of the new entity is at least as
compatible with human freedom as that from which it seceded.
3.6. Decentralized Government
Problems should always be addressed by the most local level of power that can possibly address them, which ideally is the level of the peaceful honest individual. We support a strict interpretation of the Constitution and enforcement of the Tenth Amendment rule that the federal government has no powers beyond those delegated to it by the Constitution. We support the repeal or overturning of all Acts of Congress outside the narrow powers delegated to it in the Constitution, which are primarily national defense and providing an impartial judicial system. We oppose the President initiating military hostilities in the absence of a declaration of war by Congress.
*************************** 292. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
This draft is a result of using new (and potentially more controversial) language to improve
the baseline 100%-recycled Greatest Hits draft.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Text like this is new.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
We favor the freedom and responsibility of adults to decide what sensations and substances they knowingly and voluntarily consume. We favor the freedom of association among private parties to negotiate how they use information voluntarily disclosed to each other.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
We favor the freedom of all adults to engage in any consensual amorous or reproductive behavior or relationship that does not violate the rights of others.
Sexuality or gender should have no
discriminatory
impact on the
treatment of individuals by government, such as in marriage, adoption, immigration, or military service.
While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
We oppose government actions that compel,
subsidize,
or prohibit abortion, sterilization or any other form of birth control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
Government exists
to protect the rights of every individual including life, liberty and
property. Criminal laws should be limited to
violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves. We oppose
reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of existing governments
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights.
Governments are usually the worst polluters, both directly and by subsidizing or protecting polluting industries and practices. We favor including in market prices the measurable costs that products and actions demonstrably and physically impose on non-consenting third parties. Environmental awareness and the voluntary responses to such green pricing are the only fair and effective ways to stimulate the technological innovations and social changes required for protecting our environment and threatened ecosystems.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
It is unjust to tax people in order to finance benefits for other people.
We oppose any such tax, as distinct from taxes that serve as fees for pollution,
consumption of unowned resources, or government services not yet privatized.
We favor continuously reducing taxes as the functions of government are
privatized or made voluntary.
Government should not incur debt,
which burdens future generations without their consent.
We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types.
Individuals engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
Regulation of financial and capital markets should be limited to prohibition of force and fraud.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for education spending to parents.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for health care spending to patients.
We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
We advocate transitioning to a privatized retirement savings industry, with
victims of the Social Security tax having a claim against government property.
Income transfers to the poor from central governments should be phased out in favor of aid from local communities.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.3. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.4. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
However, children always have the right to establish their maturity by assuming administration and protection of their own rights, ending dependency upon their parents or other guardians, and assuming all responsibilities of adulthood.
3.5. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections. We
support the right to secede where: (1)
secession is supported by a majority within the political unit,
(2) the majority does not attempt suppression of the dissenting
minority, and (3) the government of the new entity is at least as
compatible with human freedom as that from which it seceded.
3.6. Decentralized Government
Problems should always be addressed by the most local level of power that can possibly address them, which ideally is the level of the peaceful honest individual. We support a strict interpretation of the Constitution and enforcement of the Tenth Amendment rule that the federal government has no powers beyond those delegated to it by the Constitution. We support the repeal or overturning of all Acts of Congress outside the narrow powers delegated to it in the Constitution, which are primarily national defense and providing an impartial judicial system. We oppose the President initiating military hostilities in the absence of a declaration of war by Congress.
*************************** 293. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
This draft is a result of using new (and potentially more controversial) language to improve
the baseline 100%-recycled Greatest Hits draft.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Text like this is new.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
We favor the freedom and responsibility of adults to decide what sensations and substances they knowingly and voluntarily consume. We favor the freedom of association among private parties to negotiate how they use information voluntarily disclosed to each other.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
We favor the freedom of all adults to engage in any consensual amorous or reproductive behavior or relationship that does not violate the rights of others.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
Sexuality or gender should have no
discriminatory
impact on the
treatment of individuals by government, such as in marriage, adoption, immigration, or military service.
While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
We oppose government actions that compel,
subsidize,
or prohibit abortion, sterilization or any other form of birth control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
Government exists
to protect the rights of every individual including life, liberty and
property. Criminal laws should be limited to
violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves. We oppose
reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of existing governments
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights.
Governments are usually the worst polluters, both directly and by subsidizing or protecting polluting industries and practices. We favor including in market prices the measurable costs that products and actions demonstrably and physically impose on non-consenting third parties. Environmental awareness and the voluntary responses to such green pricing are the only fair and effective ways to stimulate the technological innovations and social changes required for protecting our environment and threatened ecosystems.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
It is unjust to tax people in order to finance benefits for other people.
We oppose any such tax, as distinct from taxes that serve as fees for pollution,
consumption of unowned resources, or government services not yet privatized.
We favor continuously reducing taxes as the functions of government are
privatized or made voluntary.
Government should not incur debt,
which burdens future generations without their consent.
We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types.
Individuals engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
Regulation of financial and capital markets should be limited to prohibition of force and fraud.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for education spending to parents.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for health care spending to patients.
We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
We advocate transitioning to a privatized retirement savings industry, with
victims of the Social Security tax having a claim against government property.
Income transfers to the poor from central governments should be phased out in favor of aid from local communities.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.3. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.4. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
However, children always have the right to establish their maturity by assuming administration and protection of their own rights, ending dependency upon their parents or other guardians, and assuming all responsibilities of adulthood.
3.5. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections. We
support the right to secede where: (1)
secession is supported by a majority within the political unit,
(2) the majority does not attempt suppression of the dissenting
minority, and (3) the government of the new entity is at least as
compatible with human freedom as that from which it seceded.
3.6. Decentralized Government
Problems should always be addressed by the most local level of power that can possibly address them, which ideally is the level of the peaceful honest individual. We support a strict interpretation of the Constitution and enforcement of the Tenth Amendment rule that the federal government has no powers beyond those delegated to it by the Constitution. We support the repeal or overturning of all Acts of Congress outside the narrow powers delegated to it in the Constitution, which are primarily national defense and providing an impartial judicial system. We oppose the President initiating military hostilities in the absence of a declaration of war by Congress.
*************************** 294. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
This draft is a result of using new (and potentially more controversial) language to improve
the baseline 100%-recycled Greatest Hits draft.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Text like this is new.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
We favor the freedom and responsibility of adults to decide what sensations and substances they knowingly and voluntarily consume. We favor the freedom of association among private parties to negotiate how they use information voluntarily disclosed to each other.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
We favor the freedom of all adults to engage in any consensual amorous or reproductive behavior or relationship that does not violate the rights of others.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
Sexuality or gender should have no
discriminatory
impact on the
treatment of individuals by government, such as in marriage, adoption, immigration, or military service.
While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
We oppose government actions that compel,
subsidize,
or prohibit abortion, sterilization or any other form of birth control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The
primary
purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of existing governments
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights.
Governments are usually the worst polluters, both directly and by subsidizing or protecting polluting industries and practices. We favor including in market prices the measurable costs that products and actions demonstrably and physically impose on non-consenting third parties. Environmental awareness and the voluntary responses to such green pricing are the only fair and effective ways to stimulate the technological innovations and social changes required for protecting our environment and threatened ecosystems.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
It is unjust to tax people in order to finance benefits for other people.
We oppose any such tax, as distinct from taxes that serve as fees for pollution,
consumption of unowned resources, or government services not yet privatized.
We favor continuously reducing taxes as the functions of government are
privatized or made voluntary.
Government should not incur debt,
which burdens future generations without their consent.
We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types.
Individuals engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
Regulation of financial and capital markets should be limited to prohibition of force and fraud.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for education spending to parents.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for health care spending to patients.
We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
We advocate transitioning to a privatized retirement savings industry, with
victims of the Social Security tax having a claim against government property.
Income transfers to the poor from central governments should be phased out in favor of aid from local communities.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.3. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.4. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
However, children always have the right to establish their maturity by assuming administration and protection of their own rights, ending dependency upon their parents or other guardians, and assuming all responsibilities of adulthood.
3.5. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections. We
support the right to secede where: (1)
secession is supported by a majority within the political unit,
(2) the majority does not attempt suppression of the dissenting
minority, and (3) the government of the new entity is at least as
compatible with human freedom as that from which it seceded.
3.6. Decentralized Government
Problems should always be addressed by the most local level of power that can possibly address them, which ideally is the level of the peaceful honest individual. We support a strict interpretation of the Constitution and enforcement of the Tenth Amendment rule that the federal government has no powers beyond those delegated to it by the Constitution. We support the repeal or overturning of all Acts of Congress outside the narrow powers delegated to it in the Constitution, which are primarily national defense and providing an impartial judicial system. We oppose the President initiating military hostilities in the absence of a declaration of war by Congress.
*************************** 295. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
This draft is a result of using new (and potentially more controversial) language to improve
the baseline 100%-recycled Greatest Hits draft.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Text like this is new.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
We favor the freedom and responsibility of adults to decide what sensations and substances they knowingly and voluntarily consume. We favor the freedom of association among private parties to negotiate how they use information voluntarily disclosed to each other.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
We favor the freedom of all adults to engage in any consensual amorous or reproductive behavior or relationship that does not violate the rights of others.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
Sexuality or gender should have no
discriminatory
impact on the
treatment of individuals by government, such as in marriage, adoption, immigration, or military service.
While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
We oppose government actions that compel,
subsidize,
or prohibit abortion, sterilization or any other form of birth control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The
primary
purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights.
Governments are usually the worst polluters, both directly and by subsidizing or protecting polluting industries and practices. We favor including in market prices the measurable costs that products and actions demonstrably and physically impose on non-consenting third parties. Environmental awareness and the voluntary responses to such green pricing are the only fair and effective ways to stimulate the technological innovations and social changes required for protecting our environment and threatened ecosystems.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
It is unjust to tax people in order to finance benefits for other people.
We oppose any such tax, as distinct from taxes that serve as fees for pollution,
consumption of unowned resources, or government services not yet privatized.
We favor continuously reducing taxes as the functions of government are
privatized or made voluntary.
Government should not incur debt,
which burdens future generations without their consent.
We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types.
Individuals engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
Regulation of financial and capital markets should be limited to prohibition of force and fraud.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for education spending to parents.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for health care spending to patients.
We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
We advocate transitioning to a privatized retirement savings industry, with
victims of the Social Security tax having a claim against government property.
Income transfers to the poor from central governments should be phased out in favor of aid from local communities.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.3. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.4. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
However, children always have the right to establish their maturity by assuming administration and protection of their own rights, ending dependency upon their parents or other guardians, and assuming all responsibilities of adulthood.
3.5. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections. We
support the right to secede where: (1)
secession is supported by a majority within the political unit,
(2) the majority does not attempt suppression of the dissenting
minority, and (3) the government of the new entity is at least as
compatible with human freedom as that from which it seceded.
3.6. Decentralized Government
Problems should always be addressed by the most local level of power that can possibly address them, which ideally is the level of the peaceful honest individual. We support a strict interpretation of the Constitution and enforcement of the Tenth Amendment rule that the federal government has no powers beyond those delegated to it by the Constitution. We support the repeal or overturning of all Acts of Congress outside the narrow powers delegated to it in the Constitution, which are primarily national defense and providing an impartial judicial system. We oppose the President initiating military hostilities in the absence of a declaration of war by Congress.
*************************** 296. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
This draft is a result of using new (and potentially more controversial) language to improve
the baseline 100%-recycled Greatest Hits draft.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Text like this is new.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
We favor the freedom and responsibility of adults to decide what sensations and substances they knowingly and voluntarily consume. We favor the freedom of association among private parties to negotiate how they use information voluntarily disclosed to each other.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
We favor the freedom of all adults to engage in any consensual amorous or reproductive behavior or relationship that does not violate the rights of others.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
Sexuality or gender should have no
discriminatory
impact on the
treatment of individuals by government, such as in marriage, adoption, immigration, or military service.
While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
We oppose government actions that compel,
subsidize,
or prohibit abortion, sterilization or any other form of birth control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The
primary
purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights.
Governments are usually the worst polluters, both directly and by subsidizing or protecting polluting industries and practices. We favor including in market prices the measurable costs that products and actions demonstrably and physically impose on non-consenting third parties. Environmental awareness and the voluntary responses to such green pricing are the only fair and effective ways to stimulate the technological innovations and social changes required for protecting our environment and threatened ecosystems.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor,
and it is unjust to tax people in order to finance benefits for other people.
We oppose any such tax, as distinct from taxes that serve as fees for pollution,
consumption of unowned resources, or government services not yet privatized.
We favor continuously reducing taxes as the functions of government are
privatized or made voluntary.
Government should not incur debt,
which burdens future generations without their consent.
We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types.
Individuals engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
Regulation of financial and capital markets should be limited to prohibition of force and fraud.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for education spending to parents.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for health care spending to patients.
We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
We advocate transitioning to a privatized retirement savings industry, with
victims of the Social Security tax having a claim against government property.
Income transfers to the poor from central governments should be phased out in favor of aid from local communities.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.3. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.4. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
However, children always have the right to establish their maturity by assuming administration and protection of their own rights, ending dependency upon their parents or other guardians, and assuming all responsibilities of adulthood.
3.5. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections. We
support the right to secede where: (1)
secession is supported by a majority within the political unit,
(2) the majority does not attempt suppression of the dissenting
minority, and (3) the government of the new entity is at least as
compatible with human freedom as that from which it seceded.
3.6. Decentralized Government
Problems should always be addressed by the most local level of power that can possibly address them, which ideally is the level of the peaceful honest individual. We support a strict interpretation of the Constitution and enforcement of the Tenth Amendment rule that the federal government has no powers beyond those delegated to it by the Constitution. We support the repeal or overturning of all Acts of Congress outside the narrow powers delegated to it in the Constitution, which are primarily national defense and providing an impartial judicial system. We oppose the President initiating military hostilities in the absence of a declaration of war by Congress.
*************************** 297. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
This draft is a result of using new (and potentially more controversial) language to improve
the baseline 100%-recycled Greatest Hits draft.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Text like this is new.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
We favor the freedom and responsibility of adults to decide what sensations and substances they knowingly and voluntarily consume. We favor the freedom of association among private parties to negotiate how they use information voluntarily disclosed to each other.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
We favor the freedom of all adults to engage in any consensual amorous or reproductive behavior or relationship that does not violate the rights of others.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
Sexuality or gender should have no
discriminatory
impact on the
treatment of individuals by government, such as in marriage, adoption, immigration, or military service.
While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
We oppose government actions that compel,
subsidize,
or prohibit abortion, sterilization or any other form of birth control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The
primary
purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights.
Governments are usually the worst polluters, both directly and by subsidizing or protecting polluting industries and practices. We favor including in market prices the measurable costs that products and actions demonstrably and physically impose on non-consenting third parties. Environmental awareness and the voluntary responses to such green pricing are the only fair and effective ways to stimulate the technological innovations and social changes required for protecting our environment and threatened ecosystems.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor,
and it is unjust to tax people in order to finance benefits for other people.
We oppose any such tax, as distinct from taxes that serve as fees for pollution,
consumption of unowned resources, or government services not yet privatized.
We favor continuously reducing taxes as the functions of government are
privatized or made voluntary.
Government should not incur debt,
which burdens future generations without their consent.
We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types.
Individuals engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
Regulation of financial and capital markets should be limited to prohibition of force and fraud.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for education spending to parents.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for health care spending to patients.
We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
We advocate transitioning to a privatized retirement savings industry, with
victims of the Social Security tax having a claim against government property.
Income transfers to the poor from central governments should be phased out in favor of aid from local communities.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.3. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.4. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
However, children always have the right to establish their maturity by assuming administration and protection of their own rights, ending dependency upon their parents or other guardians, and assuming all responsibilities of adulthood.
3.5. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections. We
support the right to secede where: (1)
secession is supported by a majority within the political unit,
(2) the majority does not attempt suppression of the dissenting
minority, and (3) the government of the new entity is at least as
compatible with human freedom as that from which it seceded.
3.6. Decentralized Government
Problems should always be addressed by the most local level of power that can possibly address them, which ideally is the level of the peaceful honest individual. We support a strict interpretation of the Constitution and enforcement of the Tenth Amendment rule that the federal government has no powers beyond those delegated to it by the Constitution. We support the repeal or overturning of all Acts of Congress outside the narrow powers delegated to it in the Constitution, which are primarily national defense and providing an impartial judicial system. We oppose the President initiating military hostilities in the absence of a declaration of war by Congress.
*************************** 298. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
This draft is a result of using new (and potentially more controversial) language to improve
the baseline 100%-recycled Greatest Hits draft.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Text like this is new.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
We favor the freedom and responsibility of adults to decide what sensations and substances they knowingly and voluntarily consume. We favor the freedom of association among private parties to negotiate how they use information voluntarily disclosed to each other.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
We favor the freedom of all adults to engage in any consensual amorous or reproductive behavior or relationship that does not violate the rights of others.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
Sexuality or gender should have no
discriminatory
impact on the
treatment of individuals by government, such as in marriage, adoption, immigration, or military service.
While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
We oppose government actions that compel,
subsidize,
or prohibit abortion, sterilization or any other form of birth control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The
primary
purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights.
Governments are usually the worst polluters, both directly and by subsidizing or protecting polluting industries and practices. We favor including in market prices the measurable costs that products and actions demonstrably and physically impose on non-consenting third parties. Environmental awareness and the voluntary responses to such green pricing are the only fair and effective ways to stimulate the technological innovations and social changes required for protecting our environment and threatened ecosystems.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor,
and it is unjust to tax people in order to finance benefits for other people.
We oppose any such tax, as distinct from taxes that serve as fees for pollution,
consumption of unowned resources, or government services not yet privatized.
We favor continuously reducing taxes as the functions of government are
privatized or made voluntary.
Government should not incur debt,
which burdens future generations without their consent.
We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types.
Individuals engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
Regulation of financial and capital markets should be limited to prohibition of force and fraud.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for education spending to parents.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for health care spending to patients.
We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
We advocate transitioning to a privatized retirement savings industry, with
victims of the Social Security tax having a claim against government property.
Income transfers to the poor from central governments should be phased out in favor of aid from local communities.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
However, children always have the right to establish their maturity by assuming administration and protection of their own rights, ending dependency upon their parents or other guardians, and assuming all responsibilities of adulthood.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections. We
support the right to secede where: (1)
secession is supported by a majority within the political unit,
(2) the majority does not attempt suppression of the dissenting
minority, and (3) the government of the new entity is at least as
compatible with human freedom as that from which it seceded.
3.7. Decentralized Government
Problems should always be addressed by the most local level of power that can possibly address them, which ideally is the level of the peaceful honest individual. We support a strict interpretation of the Constitution and enforcement of the Tenth Amendment rule that the federal government has no powers beyond those delegated to it by the Constitution. We support the repeal or overturning of all Acts of Congress outside the narrow powers delegated to it in the Constitution, which are primarily national defense and providing an impartial judicial system. We oppose the President initiating military hostilities in the absence of a declaration of war by Congress.
*************************** 299. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Health Care and Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State. As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.7. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government. The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 300. row ***************************
old_text: == About the Legislative/Campaign Program Approach ==
The Legislative Program approach to the Platform holds that it should be a near-term policy vision written in a way to appeal directly to the average voter.
=== Examples ===
* [http://www.lp.org/issues/issues.shtml The LP On Today's Issues] on lp.org
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20040618162903/www.lp.org/issues/program/ The Official LP Program as of 2004]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20030207233840/www.lp.org/issues/campplat/ The 2000-2003 LP National Campaign Platform]
* [http://vtlp.org/main/issues.asp The Vermont LP Platform]
* [http://ca.lp.org/program/Program2006-2007.pdf The California LP Program]
* The Texas LP [http://www.tx.lp.org/docs/ShortSimple2006LPT.pdf Short and Simple] pamphlet
* The 2004 [http://marketliberal.org/LP/Docs/2004%20Libertarian%20Viewpoint.pdf Libertarian Viewpoint] LP pamphlet
* The 2006 [http://marketliberal.org/LP/Docs/2006%20A%20New%20Vision%20For%20America.pdf New Vision For America] LP pamphlet
* The New York LP [http://www.ny.lp.org/literature/lpny-trifold.pdf Trifold] pamphlet
* The 2000 [http://www.harrybrowne.org/hb2000/misc/trifold.pdf Harry Browne Trifold] pamphlet
=== Proposals ===
* [http://www.lp.org/archives/lnc20060630.pdf The LP Program nearly adopted in 2006 (pp. 39-43)]
* [http://reformthelp.org/platform/shortA Libertarian Reform Caucus Short Platform A]
* [http://reformthelp.org/platform/shortB Libertarian Reform Caucus Short Platform B]
=== Top Issues ===
[http://www.pollingreport.com/prioriti.htm PollingReport.com] maintains polling data going back to 2002 on what issues Americans consider most important. The list fluctuates over time, but the recent top ten goes something like this:
# Iraq (was #6 in Sep 2003)
# Health care
# Job creation and economic growth
# Education
# Terrorism
# Immigration (not in top 10 before 2005)
# Environment/Climate
# Energy
# Federal Deficit/Debt
# Social Security (was #4 in 2005 during Bush's privatization push)
== Arguments Against a Legislative/Campaign Program Approach ==
=== The Platform Process Is Too Cumbersome ===
Our Bylaws mandate that the Platform be written by a 20-person committee with mandatory SoP prefix, a mandatory plank structure, mandatory continuity from the previous Platform, minority reports, retention voting, floor debate, changes limited to every two years, supermajority approval of all changes, 7/8 hypermajority approval of changes to the SoP, and optional challenge to the Judicial Committee. We would be very unwise to try to write a voter outreach document under such a process.
=== We Aren't a Major Party ===
The nanny-state parties write brochure-like platforms, but they are aimed squarely at journalists and opinion leaders (despite being written in language they hope will be quoted in sound bites to average voters). They don't need a long-lived reference document about their principles because 1) they don't have any and 2) everybody already knows what interest groups they service. Instead, they talk about what they actually did in the last four years and what they plausibly might accomplish in the next four years -- neither of which the LP can talk about.
=== One Size Doesn't Fit All ===
No single campaign program or pamphlet will fit every candidate and every audience. In addition to a Platform surveying our principles, we need
# a legislative program;
# a judicial program;
# a model state program;
# model county and city programs;
# separate voter outreach pamphlets for Democrats, Republicans, and independents;
# a journalist's guide to the LP policy vision;
# an academic's guide to how the LP policy vision fits with modern economics, political philosophy, social science, etc.;
# separate outreach pamphlets for teachers and students;
# separate outreach pamphlets for women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ, immigrants, etc.;
# a member inreach pamphlet on how to advocate the LP policy vision;
# etc.
=== We Already Have Such Documents ===
The LP already has multiple official documents that try to be what is sought by advocates of the legislative/campaign program approach.
See the list above. The electoral needle hasn't been moved by any of these documents, and the reason for this was not the absence of the worlds "national LP platform" on their covers.
=== The LNC Can Write One ===
The LNC can now create a Program with a simple majority vote, whereas the old Bylaws required a 2/3 LNC vote. As the Portland convention minutes say: "Eliminating this Bylaw does not mean we cannot have such a document. It just means that we are not required to have this document, and it can be created and maintained as the need arises." If we de-radicalize the Platform via the Greatest Hits approach, the LNC will be free to commission all the brochures and programs it wants without fear of accusations that it is contradicting the Platform.
In Aug 2004 the LNC's Adverstising/Publication Review Committee [http://www.lp.org/archives/lnc20040814.pdf made] a "unanimous determination that sections of the Libertarian Party Program were in variance with the Libertarian Party Platform". Accordingly, "the APRC chair and national chair directed staff to stop distributing the LP Program and remove it from the website". What happened next was interesting:
"After some discussion including expanding the size of the APRC to five members,
Aaron Starr moved to abolish the APRC from the Policy Manual, and Mark Nelson seconded.
The motion carried 11-5, and the APRC has been abolished.
Michael Gilson DeLemos and others wanted the voting recorded in the minutes.
Voting to dissolve the APRC: Bob Sullentrup, Bill Redpath, Jeremy Keil, Mark Rutherford, Tim Hagan, Admiral Colley, Rick McGinnis, Dena Bruedigam, M Carling, Aaron Starr, Mark Nelson.
Voting otherwise: Dan Karlan, Michael Gilson DeLemos, Jim Lark, Ed Hoch, Lee Wrights."
=== No Silver Bullets ===
We will discredit the idea of de-radicalizing the Platform if we chain it to the naive notion that putting the word "platform" on the cover of a voter pamphlet will move the electoral needle. It won't. Reforming the Platform will remove one obstacle to our success, but it is nowhere near the only obstacle.
*************************** 301. row ***************************
old_text: == About the Legislative/Campaign Program Approach ==
The Legislative Program approach to the Platform holds that it should be a near-term policy vision written in a way to appeal directly to the average voter.
=== Examples ===
* [http://www.lp.org/issues/issues.shtml The LP On Today's Issues] on lp.org
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20040618162903/www.lp.org/issues/program/ The Official LP Program as of 2004]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20030207233840/www.lp.org/issues/campplat/ The 2000-2003 LP National Campaign Platform]
* [http://vtlp.org/main/issues.asp The Vermont LP Platform]
* [http://ca.lp.org/program/Program2006-2007.pdf The California LP Program]
* The Texas LP [http://www.tx.lp.org/docs/ShortSimple2006LPT.pdf Short and Simple] pamphlet
* The 2004 [http://marketliberal.org/LP/Docs/2004%20Libertarian%20Viewpoint.pdf Libertarian Viewpoint] LP pamphlet
* The 2006 [http://marketliberal.org/LP/Docs/2006%20A%20New%20Vision%20For%20America.pdf New Vision For America] LP pamphlet
* The New York LP [http://www.ny.lp.org/literature/lpny-trifold.pdf Trifold] pamphlet
* The 2000 [http://www.harrybrowne.org/hb2000/misc/trifold.pdf Harry Browne Trifold] pamphlet
=== Proposals ===
* [http://www.lp.org/archives/lnc20060630.pdf The LP Program nearly adopted in 2006 (pp. 39-43)]
* [http://reformthelp.org/platform/shortA Libertarian Reform Caucus Short Platform A]
* [http://reformthelp.org/platform/shortB Libertarian Reform Caucus Short Platform B]
=== Top Issues ===
[http://www.pollingreport.com/prioriti.htm PollingReport.com] maintains polling data going back to 2002 on what issues Americans consider most important. The list fluctuates over time, but the recent top ten goes something like this:
# Iraq (was #6 in Sep 2003)
# Health care
# Job creation and economic growth
# Education
# Terrorism
# Immigration (not in top 10 before 2005)
# Environment/Climate
# Energy
# Federal Deficit/Debt
# Social Security (was #4 in 2005 during Bush's privatization push)
== Arguments Against a Legislative/Campaign Program Approach ==
=== The Platform Process Is Too Cumbersome ===
Our Bylaws mandate that the Platform be written by a 20-person committee with mandatory SoP prefix, a mandatory plank structure, mandatory continuity from the previous Platform, minority reports, retention voting, floor debate, changes limited to every two years, supermajority approval of all changes, 7/8 hypermajority approval of changes to the SoP, and optional challenge to the Judicial Committee. We would be very unwise to try to write a voter outreach document under such a process.
=== We Aren't a Major Party ===
The nanny-state parties write brochure-like platforms, but they are aimed squarely at journalists and opinion leaders (despite being written in language they hope will be quoted in sound bites to average voters). They don't need a long-lived reference document about their principles because 1) they don't have any and 2) everybody already knows what interest groups they service. Instead, they talk about what they actually did in the last four years and what they plausibly might accomplish in the next four years -- neither of which the LP can talk about.
=== One Size Doesn't Fit All ===
No single campaign program or pamphlet will fit every candidate and every audience. In addition to a Platform surveying our principles, we need
# a legislative program;
# a judicial program;
# a model state program;
# model county and city programs;
# separate voter outreach pamphlets for Democrats, Republicans, and independents;
# a journalist's guide to the LP policy vision;
# an academic's guide to how the LP policy vision fits with modern economics, political philosophy, social science, etc.;
# separate outreach pamphlets for teachers and students;
# separate outreach pamphlets for women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ, immigrants, etc.;
# a member inreach pamphlet on how to advocate the LP policy vision;
# etc.
=== We Already Have Such Documents ===
The LP already has multiple official documents that try to be what is sought by advocates of the legislative/campaign program approach.
See the list above. The electoral needle hasn't been moved by any of these documents, and the reason for this was not the absence of the worlds "national LP platform" on their covers.
=== The LNC Can Write One ===
The LNC can now create a Program with a simple majority vote, whereas the old Bylaws required a 2/3 LNC vote. As the Portland convention minutes say: "Eliminating this Bylaw does not mean we cannot have such a document. It just means that we are not required to have this document, and it can be created and maintained as the need arises." If we de-radicalize the Platform via the Greatest Hits approach, the LNC will be free to commission all the brochures and programs it wants without fear of accusations that it is contradicting the Platform.
In Aug 2004 the LNC's Adverstising/Publication Review Committee [http://www.lp.org/archives/lnc20040814.pdf made] a "unanimous determination that sections of the Libertarian Party Program were in variance with the Libertarian Party Platform". Accordingly, "the APRC chair and national chair directed staff to stop distributing the LP Program and remove it from the website". What happened next was interesting:
"After some discussion including expanding the size of the APRC to five members,
Aaron Starr moved to abolish the APRC from the Policy Manual, and Mark Nelson seconded.
The motion carried 11-5, and the APRC has been abolished.
Michael Gilson DeLemos and others wanted the voting recorded in the minutes.
Voting to dissolve the APRC: Bob Sullentrup, Bill Redpath, Jeremy Keil, Mark Rutherford, Tim Hagan, Admiral Colley, Rick McGinnis, Dena Bruedigam, M Carling, Aaron Starr, Mark Nelson.
Voting otherwise: Dan Karlan, Michael Gilson DeLemos, Jim Lark, Ed Hoch, Lee Wrights."
In Aug 2005 the LPRC was [http://www.lp.org/archives/lnc20050806.pdf reconstituted] and told to "review the contents of advertising, publications, and other materials produced or distributed to the Party, to ensure that they are consistent with the Statement of Principles and the Party Platform." In Aug 2006 this portfolio was extended to include consistency with the Bylaws as well.
=== No Silver Bullets ===
We will discredit the idea of de-radicalizing the Platform if we chain it to the naive notion that putting the word "platform" on the cover of a voter pamphlet will move the electoral needle. It won't. Reforming the Platform will remove one obstacle to our success, but it is nowhere near the only obstacle.
*************************** 302. row ***************************
old_text: == About the Legislative/Campaign Program Approach ==
The Legislative Program approach to the Platform holds that it should be a near-term policy vision written in a way to appeal directly to the average voter.
=== Examples ===
* [http://www.lp.org/issues/issues.shtml The LP On Today's Issues] on lp.org
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20040618162903/www.lp.org/issues/program/ The Official LP Program as of 2004]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20030207233840/www.lp.org/issues/campplat/ The 2000-2003 LP National Campaign Platform]
* [http://vtlp.org/main/issues.asp The Vermont LP Platform]
* [http://ca.lp.org/program/Program2006-2007.pdf The California LP Program]
* The Texas LP [http://www.tx.lp.org/docs/ShortSimple2006LPT.pdf Short and Simple] pamphlet
* The 2004 [http://marketliberal.org/LP/Docs/2004%20Libertarian%20Viewpoint.pdf Libertarian Viewpoint] LP pamphlet
* The 2006 [http://marketliberal.org/LP/Docs/2006%20A%20New%20Vision%20For%20America.pdf New Vision For America] LP pamphlet
* The New York LP [http://www.ny.lp.org/literature/lpny-trifold.pdf Trifold] pamphlet
* The 2000 [http://www.harrybrowne.org/hb2000/misc/trifold.pdf Harry Browne Trifold] pamphlet
=== Proposals ===
* [http://www.lp.org/archives/lnc20060630.pdf The LP Program nearly adopted in 2006 (pp. 39-43)]
* [http://reformthelp.org/platform/shortA Libertarian Reform Caucus Short Platform A]
* [http://reformthelp.org/platform/shortB Libertarian Reform Caucus Short Platform B]
=== Top Issues ===
[http://www.pollingreport.com/prioriti.htm PollingReport.com] maintains polling data going back to 2002 on what issues Americans consider most important. The list fluctuates over time, but the recent top ten goes something like this:
# Iraq (was #6 in Sep 2003)
# Health care
# Job creation and economic growth
# Education
# Terrorism
# Immigration (not in top 10 before 2005)
# Environment/Climate
# Energy
# Federal Deficit/Debt
# Social Security (was #4 in 2005 during Bush's privatization push)
== Arguments Against a Legislative/Campaign Program Approach ==
=== The Platform Process Is Too Cumbersome ===
Our Bylaws mandate that the Platform be written by a 20-person committee with mandatory SoP prefix, a mandatory plank structure, mandatory continuity from the previous Platform, minority reports, retention voting, floor debate, changes limited to every two years, supermajority approval of all changes, 7/8 hypermajority approval of changes to the SoP, and optional challenge to the Judicial Committee. We would be very unwise to try to write a voter outreach document under such a process.
=== We Aren't a Major Party ===
The nanny-state parties write brochure-like platforms, but they are aimed squarely at journalists and opinion leaders (despite being written in language they hope will be quoted in sound bites to average voters). They don't need a long-lived reference document about their principles because 1) they don't have any and 2) everybody already knows what interest groups they service. Instead, they talk about what they actually did in the last four years and what they plausibly might accomplish in the next four years -- neither of which the LP can talk about.
=== One Size Doesn't Fit All ===
No single campaign program or pamphlet will fit every candidate and every audience. In addition to a Platform surveying our principles, we need
# a legislative program;
# a judicial program;
# a model state program;
# model county and city programs;
# separate voter outreach pamphlets for Democrats, Republicans, and independents;
# a journalist's guide to the LP policy vision;
# an academic's guide to how the LP policy vision fits with modern economics, political philosophy, social science, etc.;
# separate outreach pamphlets for teachers and students;
# separate outreach pamphlets for women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ, immigrants, etc.;
# a member inreach pamphlet on how to advocate the LP policy vision;
# etc.
=== We Already Have Such Documents ===
The LP already has multiple official documents that try to be what is sought by advocates of the legislative/campaign program approach.
See the list above. The electoral needle hasn't been moved by any of these documents, and the reason for this was not the absence of the worlds "national LP platform" on their covers.
=== The LNC Can Write One ===
The LNC can now create a Program with a simple majority vote, whereas the old Bylaws required a 2/3 LNC vote. As the Portland convention minutes say: "Eliminating this Bylaw does not mean we cannot have such a document. It just means that we are not required to have this document, and it can be created and maintained as the need arises." If we de-radicalize the Platform via the Greatest Hits approach, the LNC will be free to commission all the brochures and programs it wants without fear of accusations that it is contradicting the Platform.
In Aug 2004 the LNC's Adverstising/Publication Review Committee [http://www.lp.org/archives/lnc20040814.pdf made] a "unanimous determination that sections of the Libertarian Party Program were in variance with the Libertarian Party Platform". Accordingly, "the APRC chair and national chair directed staff to stop distributing the LP Program and remove it from the website". What happened next was interesting:
"After some discussion including expanding the size of the APRC to five members,
Aaron Starr moved to abolish the APRC from the Policy Manual, and Mark Nelson seconded.
The motion carried 11-5, and the APRC has been abolished.
Michael Gilson DeLemos and others wanted the voting recorded in the minutes.
Voting to dissolve the APRC: Bob Sullentrup, Bill Redpath, Jeremy Keil, Mark Rutherford, Tim Hagan, Admiral Colley, Rick McGinnis, Dena Bruedigam, M Carling, Aaron Starr, Mark Nelson.
Voting otherwise: Dan Karlan, Michael Gilson DeLemos, Jim Lark, Ed Hoch, Lee Wrights."
In Aug 2005 the LPRC was [http://www.lp.org/archives/lnc20050806.pdf reconstituted] and told to "review the contents of advertising, publications, and other materials produced or distributed to the Party, to ensure that they are consistent with the Statement of Principles and the Party Platform." In Aug 2006 this portfolio was extended to include consistency with the Bylaws as well.
=== NatCon Can Adopt One ===
The same 2/3 of NatCon delegates who can adopt a campaign program as the LP Platform can also adopt a campaign program in a Resolution. Convention Resolutions can be appealed to the Judicial Committee for inconsistency with the Statement of Principles, but not for inconsistency with the Platform.
=== No Silver Bullets ===
We will discredit the idea of de-radicalizing the Platform if we chain it to the naive notion that putting the word "platform" on the cover of a voter pamphlet will move the electoral needle. It won't. Reforming the Platform will remove one obstacle to our success, but it is nowhere near the only obstacle.
*************************** 303. row ***************************
old_text: == About the Legislative/Campaign Program Approach ==
The Legislative Program approach to the Platform holds that it should be a near-term policy vision written in a way to appeal directly to the average voter.
=== Examples ===
* [http://www.lp.org/issues/issues.shtml The LP On Today's Issues] on lp.org
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20040618162903/www.lp.org/issues/program/ The Official LP Program as of 2004]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20030207233840/www.lp.org/issues/campplat/ The 2000-2003 LP National Campaign Platform]
* [http://vtlp.org/main/issues.asp The Vermont LP Platform]
* [http://ca.lp.org/program/Program2006-2007.pdf The California LP Program]
* The Texas LP [http://www.tx.lp.org/docs/ShortSimple2006LPT.pdf Short and Simple] pamphlet
* The 2004 [http://marketliberal.org/LP/Docs/2004%20Libertarian%20Viewpoint.pdf Libertarian Viewpoint] LP pamphlet
* The 2006 [http://marketliberal.org/LP/Docs/2006%20A%20New%20Vision%20For%20America.pdf New Vision For America] LP pamphlet
* The New York LP [http://www.ny.lp.org/literature/lpny-trifold.pdf Trifold] pamphlet
* The 2000 [http://www.harrybrowne.org/hb2000/misc/trifold.pdf Harry Browne Trifold] pamphlet
=== Proposals ===
* [http://www.lp.org/archives/lnc20060630.pdf The LP Program nearly adopted in 2006 (pp. 39-43)]
* [http://reformthelp.org/platform/shortA Libertarian Reform Caucus Short Platform A]
* [http://reformthelp.org/platform/shortB Libertarian Reform Caucus Short Platform B]
* [[MarketLiberal Campaign Program]]
=== Top Issues ===
[http://www.pollingreport.com/prioriti.htm PollingReport.com] maintains polling data going back to 2002 on what issues Americans consider most important. The list fluctuates over time, but the recent top ten goes something like this:
# Iraq (was #6 in Sep 2003)
# Health care
# Job creation and economic growth
# Education
# Terrorism
# Immigration (not in top 10 before 2005)
# Environment/Climate
# Energy
# Federal Deficit/Debt
# Social Security (was #4 in 2005 during Bush's privatization push)
== Arguments Against a Legislative/Campaign Program Approach ==
=== The Platform Process Is Too Cumbersome ===
Our Bylaws mandate that the Platform be written by a 20-person committee with mandatory SoP prefix, a mandatory plank structure, mandatory continuity from the previous Platform, minority reports, retention voting, floor debate, changes limited to every two years, supermajority approval of all changes, 7/8 hypermajority approval of changes to the SoP, and optional challenge to the Judicial Committee. We would be very unwise to try to write a voter outreach document under such a process.
=== We Aren't a Major Party ===
The nanny-state parties write brochure-like platforms, but they are aimed squarely at journalists and opinion leaders (despite being written in language they hope will be quoted in sound bites to average voters). They don't need a long-lived reference document about their principles because 1) they don't have any and 2) everybody already knows what interest groups they service. Instead, they talk about what they actually did in the last four years and what they plausibly might accomplish in the next four years -- neither of which the LP can talk about.
=== One Size Doesn't Fit All ===
No single campaign program or pamphlet will fit every candidate and every audience. In addition to a Platform surveying our principles, we need
# a legislative program;
# a judicial program;
# a model state program;
# model county and city programs;
# separate voter outreach pamphlets for Democrats, Republicans, and independents;
# a journalist's guide to the LP policy vision;
# an academic's guide to how the LP policy vision fits with modern economics, political philosophy, social science, etc.;
# separate outreach pamphlets for teachers and students;
# separate outreach pamphlets for women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ, immigrants, etc.;
# a member inreach pamphlet on how to advocate the LP policy vision;
# etc.
=== We Already Have Such Documents ===
The LP already has multiple official documents that try to be what is sought by advocates of the legislative/campaign program approach.
See the list above. The electoral needle hasn't been moved by any of these documents, and the reason for this was not the absence of the worlds "national LP platform" on their covers.
=== The LNC Can Write One ===
The LNC can now create a Program with a simple majority vote, whereas the old Bylaws required a 2/3 LNC vote. As the Portland convention minutes say: "Eliminating this Bylaw does not mean we cannot have such a document. It just means that we are not required to have this document, and it can be created and maintained as the need arises." If we de-radicalize the Platform via the Greatest Hits approach, the LNC will be free to commission all the brochures and programs it wants without fear of accusations that it is contradicting the Platform.
In Aug 2004 the LNC's Adverstising/Publication Review Committee [http://www.lp.org/archives/lnc20040814.pdf made] a "unanimous determination that sections of the Libertarian Party Program were in variance with the Libertarian Party Platform". Accordingly, "the APRC chair and national chair directed staff to stop distributing the LP Program and remove it from the website". What happened next was interesting:
"After some discussion including expanding the size of the APRC to five members,
Aaron Starr moved to abolish the APRC from the Policy Manual, and Mark Nelson seconded.
The motion carried 11-5, and the APRC has been abolished.
Michael Gilson DeLemos and others wanted the voting recorded in the minutes.
Voting to dissolve the APRC: Bob Sullentrup, Bill Redpath, Jeremy Keil, Mark Rutherford, Tim Hagan, Admiral Colley, Rick McGinnis, Dena Bruedigam, M Carling, Aaron Starr, Mark Nelson.
Voting otherwise: Dan Karlan, Michael Gilson DeLemos, Jim Lark, Ed Hoch, Lee Wrights."
In Aug 2005 the LPRC was [http://www.lp.org/archives/lnc20050806.pdf reconstituted] and told to "review the contents of advertising, publications, and other materials produced or distributed to the Party, to ensure that they are consistent with the Statement of Principles and the Party Platform." In Aug 2006 this portfolio was extended to include consistency with the Bylaws as well.
=== NatCon Can Adopt One ===
The same 2/3 of NatCon delegates who can adopt a campaign program as the LP Platform can also adopt a campaign program in a Resolution. Convention Resolutions can be appealed to the Judicial Committee for inconsistency with the Statement of Principles, but not for inconsistency with the Platform.
=== No Silver Bullets ===
We will discredit the idea of de-radicalizing the Platform if we chain it to the naive notion that putting the word "platform" on the cover of a voter pamphlet will move the electoral needle. It won't. Reforming the Platform will remove one obstacle to our success, but it is nowhere near the only obstacle.
*************************** 304. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State. As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.7 Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.8. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 305. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
This draft is a result of using new (and potentially more controversial) language to improve
the baseline 100%-recycled Greatest Hits draft.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Text like this is new.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
We favor the freedom and responsibility of adults to decide what sensations and substances they knowingly and voluntarily consume. We favor the freedom of association among private parties to negotiate how they use information voluntarily disclosed to each other.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
We favor the freedom of all adults to engage in any consensual amorous or reproductive behavior or relationship that does not violate the rights of others.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
Sexuality or gender should have no
discriminatory
impact on the
treatment of individuals by government, such as in marriage, adoption, immigration, or military service.
While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
We oppose government actions that compel,
subsidize,
or prohibit abortion, sterilization or any other form of birth control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The
primary
purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights.
Governments are usually the worst polluters, both directly and by subsidizing or protecting polluting industries and practices. We favor including in market prices the measurable costs that products and actions demonstrably and physically impose on non-consenting third parties. Environmental awareness and the voluntary responses to such green pricing are the only fair and effective ways to stimulate the technological innovations and social changes required for protecting our environment and threatened ecosystems.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor,
and it is unjust to tax people in order to finance benefits for other people.
We oppose any such tax, as distinct from taxes that serve as fees for pollution,
consumption of unowned resources, or government services not yet privatized.
We favor continuously reducing taxes as the functions of government are
privatized or made voluntary.
Government should not incur debt,
which burdens future generations without their consent.
We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types.
Individuals engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
Regulation of financial and capital markets should be limited to prohibition of force and fraud.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for education spending to parents.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.7. Health Care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for health care spending to patients.
We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.8. Retirement and Income Security
We advocate transitioning to a privatized retirement savings industry, with
victims of the Social Security tax having a claim against government property.
Income transfers to the poor from central governments should be phased out in favor of aid from local communities.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
However, children always have the right to establish their maturity by assuming administration and protection of their own rights, ending dependency upon their parents or other guardians, and assuming all responsibilities of adulthood.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections. We
support the right to secede where: (1)
secession is supported by a majority within the political unit,
(2) the majority does not attempt suppression of the dissenting
minority, and (3) the government of the new entity is at least as
compatible with human freedom as that from which it seceded.
3.7. Decentralized Government
Problems should always be addressed by the most local level of power that can possibly address them, which ideally is the level of the peaceful honest individual. We support a strict interpretation of the Constitution and enforcement of the Tenth Amendment rule that the federal government has no powers beyond those delegated to it by the Constitution. We support the repeal or overturning of all Acts of Congress outside the narrow powers delegated to it in the Constitution, which are primarily national defense and providing an impartial judicial system. We oppose the President initiating military hostilities in the absence of a declaration of war by Congress.
*************************** 306. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.7 Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.8. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 307. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
This draft is a result of using new (and potentially more controversial) language to improve
the baseline 100%-recycled Greatest Hits draft.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Text like this is new.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
We favor the freedom and responsibility of adults to decide what sensations and substances they knowingly and voluntarily consume. We favor the freedom of association among private parties to negotiate how they use information voluntarily disclosed to each other.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
We favor the freedom of all adults to engage in any consensual amorous or reproductive behavior or relationship that does not violate the rights of others.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
Sexuality or gender should have no
discriminatory
impact on the
treatment of individuals by government, such as in marriage, adoption, immigration, or military service.
While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
We oppose government actions that compel,
subsidize,
or prohibit abortion, sterilization or any other form of birth control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The
primary
purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights.
Governments are usually the worst polluters, both directly and by subsidizing or protecting polluting industries and practices. We favor including in market prices the measurable costs that products and actions demonstrably and physically impose on non-consenting third parties. Environmental awareness and the voluntary responses to such green pricing are the only fair and effective ways to stimulate the technological innovations and social changes required for protecting our environment and threatened ecosystems.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor,
and it is unjust to tax people in order to finance benefits for other people.
We oppose any such tax, as distinct from taxes that serve as fees for pollution,
consumption of unowned resources, or government services not yet privatized.
We favor continuously reducing taxes as the functions of government are
privatized or made voluntary.
Government should not incur debt,
which burdens future generations without their consent.
We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types.
Individuals engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
Regulation of financial and capital markets should be limited to prohibition of force and fraud.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for education spending to parents.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.7. Health Care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for health care spending to patients.
We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.8. Retirement and Income Security
We advocate transitioning to a privatized retirement savings industry, with
victims of the Social Security tax having a claim against government property.
Income transfers to the poor from central governments should be phased out in favor of aid from local communities.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
However, children always have the right to establish their maturity by assuming administration and protection of their own rights, ending dependency upon their parents or other guardians, and assuming all responsibilities of adulthood.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections. We
support the right to secede where: (1)
secession is supported by a majority within the political unit,
(2) the majority does not attempt suppression of the dissenting
minority, and (3) the government of the new entity is at least as
compatible with human freedom as that from which it seceded.
3.7. Decentralized Government
Problems should always be addressed by the most local level of power that can possibly address them, which ideally is the level of the peaceful honest individual. We support a strict interpretation of the Constitution and enforcement of the Tenth Amendment rule that the federal government has no powers beyond those delegated to it by the Constitution. We support the repeal or overturning of all Acts of Congress outside the narrow powers delegated to it in the Constitution, which are primarily national defense and providing an impartial judicial system. We oppose the President initiating military hostilities in the absence of a declaration of war by Congress.
*************************** 308. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
This draft is a result of using new (and potentially more controversial) language to improve
the baseline 100%-recycled Greatest Hits draft.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Text like this is new.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
We favor the freedom and responsibility of adults to decide what sensations and substances they knowingly and voluntarily consume. We favor the freedom of association among private parties to negotiate how they use information voluntarily disclosed to each other.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
We favor the freedom of all adults to engage in any consensual amorous or reproductive behavior or relationship that does not violate the rights of others.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
Sexuality or gender should have no
discriminatory
impact on the
treatment of individuals by government, such as in marriage, adoption, immigration, or military service.
While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
We oppose government actions that compel,
subsidize,
or prohibit abortion, sterilization or any other form of birth control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The
primary
purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights.
Governments are usually the worst polluters, both directly and by subsidizing or protecting polluting industries and practices. We favor including in market prices the measurable costs that products and actions demonstrably and physically impose on non-consenting third parties. Environmental awareness and the voluntary responses to such green pricing are the only fair and effective ways to stimulate the technological innovations and social changes required for protecting our environment and threatened ecosystems.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor,
and it is unjust to tax people in order to finance benefits for other people.
We oppose any such tax, as distinct from taxes that serve as fees for pollution,
consumption of unowned resources, or government services not yet privatized.
We favor continuously reducing taxes as the functions of government are
privatized or made voluntary.
Government should not incur debt,
which burdens future generations without their consent.
We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types.
Individuals engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
Regulation of financial and capital markets should be limited to prohibition of force and fraud.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for education spending to parents.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.7. Health Care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for health care spending to patients.
We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.8. Retirement and Income Security
We advocate transitioning to a privatized voluntary retirement savings industry, with
victims of the Social Security tax having a claim against government property.
Income transfers to the poor from central governments should be phased out in favor of aid from local communities.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
However, children always have the right to establish their maturity by assuming administration and protection of their own rights, ending dependency upon their parents or other guardians, and assuming all responsibilities of adulthood.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections. We
support the right to secede where: (1)
secession is supported by a majority within the political unit,
(2) the majority does not attempt suppression of the dissenting
minority, and (3) the government of the new entity is at least as
compatible with human freedom as that from which it seceded.
3.7. Decentralized Government
Problems should always be addressed by the most local level of power that can possibly address them, which ideally is the level of the peaceful honest individual. We support a strict interpretation of the Constitution and enforcement of the Tenth Amendment rule that the federal government has no powers beyond those delegated to it by the Constitution. We support the repeal or overturning of all Acts of Congress outside the narrow powers delegated to it in the Constitution, which are primarily national defense and providing an impartial judicial system. We oppose the President initiating military hostilities in the absence of a declaration of war by Congress.
*************************** 309. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.7 Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.8. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression. We
oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law. We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 310. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.7 Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.8. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 311. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
This draft is a result of using new (and potentially more controversial) language to improve
the baseline 100%-recycled Greatest Hits draft.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Text like this is new.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
We favor the freedom and responsibility of adults to decide what sensations and substances they knowingly and voluntarily consume. We favor the freedom of association among private parties to negotiate how they use information voluntarily disclosed to each other.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
We favor the freedom of all adults to engage in any consensual amorous or reproductive behavior or relationship that does not violate the rights of others.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
Sexuality or gender should have no
discriminatory
impact on the
treatment of individuals by government, such as in marriage, adoption, immigration, or military service.
While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
We oppose government actions that compel,
subsidize,
or prohibit abortion, sterilization or any other form of birth control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The
primary
purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights.
Governments are usually the worst polluters, both directly and by subsidizing or protecting polluting industries and practices. We favor including in market prices the measurable costs that products and actions demonstrably and physically impose on non-consenting third parties. Environmental awareness and the voluntary responses to such green pricing are the only fair and effective ways to stimulate the technological innovations and social changes required for protecting our environment and threatened ecosystems.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor,
and it is unjust to tax people in order to finance benefits for other people.
We oppose any such tax, as distinct from taxes that serve as fees for pollution,
consumption of unowned resources, or government services not yet privatized.
We favor continuously reducing taxes as the functions of government are
privatized or made voluntary.
Government should not incur debt,
which burdens future generations without their consent.
We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types.
Individuals engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
Regulation of financial and capital markets should be limited to prohibition of force and fraud.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for education spending to parents.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.7. Health Care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for health care spending to patients.
We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.8. Retirement and Income Security
We advocate transitioning to a privatized voluntary retirement savings industry, with
victims of the Social Security tax having a claim against government property.
Income transfers to the poor from central governments should be phased out in favor of aid from local communities.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
However, children always have the right to establish their maturity by assuming administration and protection of their own rights, ending dependency upon their parents or other guardians, and assuming all responsibilities of adulthood.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections. We
support the right to secede where: (1)
secession is supported by a majority within the political unit,
(2) the majority does not attempt suppression of the dissenting
minority, and (3) the government of the new entity is at least as
compatible with human freedom as that from which it seceded.
3.7. Decentralized Government
Problems should always be addressed by the most local level of power that can possibly address them, which ideally is the level of the peaceful honest individual. We support a strict interpretation of the Constitution and enforcement of the Tenth Amendment rule that the federal government has no powers beyond those delegated to it by the Constitution. We support the repeal or overturning of all Acts of Congress outside the narrow powers delegated to it in the Constitution, which are primarily national defense and providing an impartial judicial system. We oppose the President initiating military hostilities in the absence of a declaration of war by Congress.
*************************** 312. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.7 Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.8. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 313. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
This draft is a result of using new (and potentially more controversial) language to improve
the baseline 100%-recycled Greatest Hits draft.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Text like this is new.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
We favor the freedom and responsibility of adults to decide what sensations and substances they knowingly and voluntarily consume. We favor the freedom of association among private parties to negotiate how they use information voluntarily disclosed to each other.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
We favor the freedom of all adults to engage in any consensual amorous or reproductive behavior or relationship that does not violate the rights of others.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
Sexuality or gender should have no
discriminatory
impact on the
treatment of individuals by government, such as in marriage, adoption, immigration, or military service.
While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
We oppose government actions that compel,
subsidize,
or prohibit abortion, sterilization or any other form of birth control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The
primary
purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights.
Governments are usually the worst polluters, both directly and by subsidizing or protecting polluting industries and practices. We favor including in market prices the measurable costs that products and actions demonstrably and physically impose on non-consenting third parties. Environmental awareness and the voluntary responses to such green pricing are the only fair and effective ways to stimulate the technological innovations and social changes required for protecting our environment and threatened ecosystems.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor,
and it is unjust to tax people in order to finance benefits for other people.
We oppose any such tax, as distinct from taxes that serve as fees for pollution,
consumption of unowned resources, or government services not yet privatized.
We favor continuously reducing taxes as the functions of government are
privatized or made voluntary.
Government should not incur debt,
which burdens future generations without their consent.
We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types.
Individuals engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
Regulation of financial and capital markets should be limited to prohibition of force and fraud.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for education spending to parents.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.7. Health Care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for health care spending to patients.
We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.8. Retirement and Income Security
We advocate transitioning to a privatized voluntary retirement savings industry, with
victims of the Social Security tax having a claim against government property.
Income transfers to the poor from central governments should be phased out in favor of aid from local communities.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
However, children always have the right to establish their maturity by assuming administration and protection of their own rights, ending dependency upon their parents or other guardians, and assuming all responsibilities of adulthood.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections. We
support the right to secede where: (1)
secession is supported by a majority within the political unit,
(2) the majority does not attempt suppression of the dissenting
minority, and (3) the government of the new entity is at least as
compatible with human freedom as that from which it seceded.
3.7. Decentralized Government
Problems should always be addressed by the most local level of power that can possibly address them, which ideally is the level of the peaceful honest individual. We support a strict interpretation of the Constitution and enforcement of the Tenth Amendment rule that the federal government has no powers beyond those delegated to it by the Constitution. We support the repeal or overturning of all Acts of Congress outside the narrow powers delegated to it in the Constitution, which are primarily national defense and providing an impartial judicial system. We oppose the President initiating military hostilities in the absence of a declaration of war by Congress.
*************************** 314. row ***************************
old_text:
*************************** 315. row ***************************
old_text: [[Image:dwg.jpg]]
*************************** 316. row ***************************
old_text: == State Representatives ==
The ten states with the most sustaining members each pick one PlatCom member. Members chosen so far:
* CA – [[image:BruceDovner.jpg|30px]] [[User:BruceDovner|Bruce Dovner]]
* TX – [[image:GuyMcLendon.jpg|30px]] [[User:GuyMcLendon|Guy McLendon]]
** McLendon wrote on PlatComLP08: I give permission for my comments posted on this forum to be forwarded, and ask only a couple of things:
# Copy me on the forward
# Try not to take my comments out of context
# Give me a chance to defend my position, and forward those comments to every group you're copying
# Respect the requests from other PlatCom members who have asked their comments to remain private.
* FL - [[User:VickiKirkland|Vicki Kirkland]]
* GA - [[User:GlennTatum|Glenn Tatum]]
* NY - [[User:AudreyCapozzi|Audrey Capozzi]]
* PA - [[image:HenryHaller.jpg|30px]] [[User:HenryHaller|Henry Haller]]
* IL -
* MI - [[image:dwg.jpg|30px]][[User:DanGrow|Daniel W. Grow]]
* OH – [[User:MikeSmitley|Mike Smitley]]
* VA -
== LNC Appointees ==
In order of net votes received:
* [[image:AliciaMattson.JPG|40px]] [[User:AliciaMattson|Alicia Mattson]] (interim chair)
* [[image:SteveDasbach.jpg|30px]] [[User:SteveDasbach|Steve Dasbach]]
* [[image:AdamMayer.jpg|40px]] [[User:AdamMayer|Adam Mayer]]
* [[User:DavidAitken|David Aitken]]
* [[image:HardyMachia.jpg|40px]] [[User:HardyMacia|Hardy Macia]]
* [[Image:StevenBurden.jpg|35px]][[User:StevenBurden|Steven Burden]]
* [[image:RobertCapozzi.jpg|30px]] [[User:RobertCapozzi|Robert Capozzi]]
* [[User:BonnieScott|Bonnie Scott]]
* [[image:BrianHoltz.jpg|30px]] [[User:BrianHoltz|Brian Holtz]]
** Holtz says: "I hereby give everyone permission to quote anything I post here, except for text that quotes and identifies a member who hasn't given permission to be quoted, or that characterizes the opinions of such a member."
* [[image:JonRoland.jpg|30px]] [[User:JonRoland|Jon Roland]]
** Roland has given permission for all his Platform proposals to be posted on PlatComWiki.
=== Alternates ===
In order of net votes received:
# [[image:RobPower.jpg|30px]] [[User:RobPower|Rob Power]]
# [[image:RuthBennett.jpg|30px]] [[User:RuthBennett|Ruth Bennett]]
# [[image:JimDuensing.jpg|30px]] [[User:JimDuensing|Jim Duensing]]
# [[User:MoreyStrauss|Morey Straus]]
*************************** 317. row ***************************
old_text: == The Silence Option ==
PlatCom members who believe the Platform should be silent on abortion include: Dasbach, Mattson, McLendon.
== Greatest Hits Draft (keeps 1996-2006 language) ==
Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration. We oppose government actions that either compel or prohibit abortion, sterilization or any other form of birth control.
== Roland Draft ==
We support the right of a pregnant woman to terminate her pregnancy,
but acknowledge that a state may require that this be done in a way that
leaves the fetus alive if that is feasible and does not burden her right
to eject the fetus from her body.
== Holtz Draft ==
While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible. We oppose government actions that compel or subsidize abortion, sterilization, or any other form of birth control.
== Oldies Draft (uses 1972 language) ==
We support the right to practice voluntary birth control or voluntary termination of pregnancies during their first hundred days.
== Language Considered by 2003 Platform Reformatting Committee ==
Traditionally, honest individuals have disagreed on when a so-called fetus becomes a human being. This is a question that only education and science can possibly answer. Government interference cannot play a proper role on this issue of knowledge, ethics, and morality. Therefore, laws outright banning abortion, laws outright providing tax money to pay for abortions, laws forcing abortions, and economic protectionism of the abortion industry have no place in a society and a body politic that strives for legitimate, truthful answers to one of life's most basic issues.
*************************** 318. row ***************************
old_text: '''NOTE: This is a personal archive of reference materials created and administered by [[User:BrianHoltz|Brian Holtz]]. It is not an official publication of the 2008 LP Platform Committee, though some members of the committee do use and contribute to some content here.'''
The user accounts of PlatCom members are FirstnameLastname, e.g. AliciaMattson. The default password is given in [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PlatCommLP08/message/74 message 74] of PlatComLP08.
* [[Convention Rules governing the Platform]]
* The members of the [[2008 Platform Committee]]
* Perspectives on Platform Purpose
** [[Platform Criteria]]
** [[Legislative Program]]
* [[Platform Retention Votes]]
* [[LP Purpose Proposals]]
* [[Pledge Proposals]]
* [[Statement of Principles Proposals]]
* [[Slogan Proposals]]
* [[Proposed Platform Outlines]]
* Proposed Platform Rewrites and Campaign Programs
** [[Greatest Hits Draft Platform]]
** [[Greatest Hits Remix Platform]]
** [[Greatest Hits Short Platform]]
** [[Plankless Platform]]
** [[MarketLiberal Campaign Program]]
* Proposed Planks
** [[Taxation Plank]]
** [[Representative Government Plank]]
** [[Healthcare Plank]]
** [[Retirement Security]]
** [[Immigration Plank]]
** [[Foreign Policy Plank]]
** [[Abortion Plank]]
** [[Environment and Resources Plank]]
* Report Proposals
** [[Greatest Hits Draft Report|Brian's Greatest Hits Report Proposal]]
* [http://marketliberal.org/LP/Platforms/ Archive] of the 1972 and 1990 - 2006 LP Platforms
* [http://marketliberal.org/LP/Conventions/ Minutes] of the Platform floor proceedings of the 1993 - 2006 LP Conventions
* Controversies
** [[Uses Of The LP Platform To Attack The LP]]
** [[Does The Pledge Mandate Zero-Aggression Absolutism?]]
** [[Does the SoP Mandate Zero-Agression Absolutism?]]
** [[Does Zero-Aggression Absolutism Imply Anarchism?]]
** [[Is Taxation Theft?]]
* State LP Platforms
* Platforms of other parties
* Libertarian public policy resources
*************************** 319. row ***************************
old_text: == Current Slogans ==
* The Party of Principle
* Smaller Government... Lower Taxes... More Freedom...
== Alternative Slogans ==
* Civil Liberties and Free Markets
* Legalize Freedom
* Pro-Choice on Everything
*************************** 320. row ***************************
old_text: == 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 ==
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.
== Joint Proposal by 2006 Bylaws and Platform Committees ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the
idea of unlimited government and defend the rights of the individual.
== Possible Joint Proposal by the 2008 Bylaws and Platform Committees ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party,
challenge the cult of the omnipotent state and
seek to
defend the rights of the individual
by limiting the powers of government.
[...] hold that
where
governments
exist, they
must not violate the rights of any individual [...] Since
governments
, when instituted,
must not violate individual rights, [...]
or
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 Proposed by Starchild ==
We, the members of the Libertarian Party,
seek a world free from aggression and defend the rights of the individual.
== Proposal 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 Statement of Principles 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.
*************************** 321. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.7 Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.8. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 322. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Financial Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.7 Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.8. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 323. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Financial Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure.
We support the right of free persons to voluntarily associate in, or to establish, labor unions. We support the concept that an employer may recognize a union as the collective bargaining agent of some or all of his employees. We oppose governmental interference in bargaining.
2.6. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.7 Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.8. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 324. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Financial Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability.
We support the right of free persons to voluntarily associate in, or to establish, labor unions. We support the concept that an employer may recognize a union as the collective bargaining agent of some or all of his employees. We oppose governmental interference in bargaining.
2.6. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.7 Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.8. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 325. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Financial Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies and Corporations
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability.
2.6. Labor
We support the right of free persons to voluntarily associate in, or to establish, labor unions. We support the concept that an employer may recognize a union as the collective bargaining agent of some or all of his employees. We oppose governmental interference in bargaining.
2.7. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.8. Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.9. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 326. row ***************************
old_text: This page tries to collect all the various criteria that PlatCom members have suggested they would use to evaluate Platform proposals. When this list stabilizes, we can ask PlatCom members to assign a weighting to how important each criterion is to them, and thus get a sense of how the committee might work toward consensus.
* avoids extremist/destinational language/rhetoric that makes our party and candidates easy to ridicule;
** 12: Aitken, Burden, Capozzi, Dasbach, Duensing, Holtz, Macia, Mattson, McLendon, Roland, Smitley,Grow
* starts with a clean sheet of paper (i.e. not necessarily keeping any of the 15 current planks)
** 10: Aitken?, Burden, Capozzi, Dasbach, Duensing, Holtz, Macia, Mattson, Roland, Smitley
* is written to resonate with the views of the 16% to 20% of voters who polls show fall into the libertarian quadrant;
** 9: Burden, Capozzi, Dasbach?, Duensing, Holtz, Macia, Mattson, McLendon, Smitley
* focuses on 5 to 15 issues important to voters in the next election cycle or two;
** 8: Aitken?, Burden, Capozzi?, Dasbach, Duensing, Macia, Mayer, Roland?, Smitley
* is ideologically broad enough for the vast majority of Libertarians to stand on comfortably;
** 8: Burden, Capozzi, Dasbach, Duensing, Holtz, Mattson, McLendon, Scott
* highlights the idea of decentralizing/defederalizing most federal programs
** 8: Capozzi (tepid), Dasbach, Haller, Holtz, Macia, McLendon, Roland, Grow
* focuses on policy initiatives that are feasible in the next 5 to 15 years;
** 7: Aitken, Burden, Capozzi?, Dasbach?, Duensing, Macia, Roland, Smitley
* helps educate Libertarians in developing a comprehensive Libertarian philosophy;
** 7: Capozzi, Duensing, Haller, Holtz, Power, Straus, Sundwall?
* should be significantly shorter than recent Platforms;
** 7: Burden, Capozzi, Haller, Holtz, Macia, Mattson, McLendon, Scott
* tries to state our positions in positive language about what we support, rather than in negative language about what we oppose;
** 7: Burden, Capozzi, Duensing, Haller, Holtz, Macia, Mattson, McLendon
* avoids laundry lists about what legislation, agencies, and court decisions we oppose;
** 6: Burden, Capozzi, Duensing, Holtz, Macia, Mattson, Scott
* makes destination and transition implicit in broad principles explaining what the Bylaws mean by "a libertarian direction" in public policy;
** 5: Burden, Capozzi, Dasbach, Holtz, Mattson
* is written to resonate with the views of the most liberty-friendly 34% of voters;
** 5: Capozzi, Duensing, Macia, Mattson, Smitley?
* consistent with the major [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianism schools of libertarianism] without endorsing one of them as best;
** 5: Capozzi, Dasbach, Duensing, Holtz, Mattson
* is silent on issues on which more than 10% - 20% of Denver delegates would vehemently disagree;
** 5: Dasbach, Duensing, Mattson, Macia, McLendon
* explains the justification and benefits of our positions in a way the average voter can understand;
** 5: Burden, Capozzi, Duensing, McLendon, Smitley, Grow
* avoids echoing Republican-style rhetoric about the severity of the threat of Islamist terrorism;
** 5: Burden (strong), Capozzi, Haller, Holtz, McLendon, Grow
* should not be silent on abortion
** 5: Capozzi, Duensing, Holtz, Roland, Grow
* has comprehensiveness approaching the pre-Portland Platform
** 4: Capozzi, Haller, Holtz, Scott
* describes and advocates a society without any government coercion whatsoever;
** 4: Haller, Power, Straus, Sundwall?
* avoids expanding our the Platform's description of our common ground with issue complaints, theoretical justifications, and marketing promises;
** 4: Burden, Capozzi, Holtz, Macia, Mattson
* avoids policy coverage gaps (e.g. abortion, RTKBA, GLBQT) that wouuld likely alienate Libertarian interest groups;
** 4: Burden, Haller, Holtz, Macia? Power?
* should be silent on abortion
** 4: Burden, Dasbach, Mattson, McLendon
* includes formal sections for both ideal destination and transitional actions;
** 3: Aitken, Haller, McLendon, Mayer indifferent
* confines itself to policy initiatives that are consistent with the Constitution (as properly interpreted) that our candidates are required to swear to uphold;
** 3: Macia, McLendon, Roland
* includes specificity about what legislation, agencies, and court decisions we oppose;
** 3: Duensing, Haller, Roland
* takes a stand against the threat to our liberty from Islamist terrorism
** 3: Aitken, Burden, Haller
* avoids new language that could attract disagreement or quibbling from delegates;
** 2: Holtz, Mattson
* is written to resonate with the views of the most liberty-friendly 51% of voters;
** 2: Burden, Duensing?, Macia?
* promotes innovative voluntary ways to reduce pollution;
** 2: Adam Mayer, Grow
*************************** 327. row ***************************
old_text: This page tries to collect all the various criteria that PlatCom members have suggested they would use to evaluate Platform proposals. When this list stabilizes, we can ask PlatCom members to assign a weighting to how important each criterion is to them, and thus get a sense of how the committee might work toward consensus.
* avoids extremist/destinational language/rhetoric that makes our party and candidates easy to ridicule;
** 12: Aitken, Burden, Capozzi, Dasbach, Duensing, Holtz, Macia, Mattson, McLendon, Roland, Smitley,Grow
* starts with a clean sheet of paper (i.e. not necessarily keeping any of the 15 current planks)
** 10: Aitken?, Burden, Capozzi, Dasbach, Duensing, Holtz, Macia, Mattson, Roland, Smitley
* is written to resonate with the views of the 16% to 20% of voters who polls show fall into the libertarian quadrant;
** 9: Burden, Capozzi, Dasbach?, Duensing, Holtz, Macia, Mattson, McLendon, Smitley
* focuses on 5 to 15 issues important to voters in the next election cycle or two;
** 8: Aitken?, Burden, Capozzi?, Dasbach, Duensing, Macia, Mayer, Roland?, Smitley
* is ideologically broad enough for the vast majority of Libertarians to stand on comfortably;
** 8: Burden, Capozzi, Dasbach, Duensing, Holtz, Mattson, McLendon, Scott
* highlights the idea of decentralizing/defederalizing most federal programs
** 8: Capozzi (tepid), Dasbach, Haller, Holtz, Macia, McLendon, Roland, Grow
* focuses on policy initiatives that are feasible in the next 5 to 15 years;
** 7: Aitken, Burden, Capozzi?, Dasbach?, Duensing, Macia, Roland, Smitley
* helps educate Libertarians in developing a comprehensive Libertarian philosophy;
** 7: Capozzi, Duensing, Haller, Holtz, Power, Straus, Sundwall?
* should be significantly shorter than recent Platforms;
** 7: Burden, Capozzi, Haller, Holtz, Macia, Mattson, McLendon, Scott
* tries to state our positions in positive language about what we support, rather than in negative language about what we oppose;
** 7: Burden, Capozzi, Duensing, Haller, Holtz, Macia, Mattson, McLendon
* avoids laundry lists about what legislation, agencies, and court decisions we oppose;
** 6: Burden, Capozzi, Duensing, Holtz, Macia, Mattson, Scott
* makes destination and transition implicit in broad principles explaining what the Bylaws mean by "a libertarian direction" in public policy;
** 5: Burden, Capozzi, Dasbach, Holtz, Mattson
* is written to resonate with the views of the most liberty-friendly 34% of voters;
** 5: Capozzi, Duensing, Macia, Mattson, Smitley?
* consistent with the major [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianism schools of libertarianism] without endorsing one of them as best;
** 5: Capozzi, Dasbach, Duensing, Holtz, Mattson
* is silent on issues on which more than 10% - 20% of Denver delegates would vehemently disagree;
** 5: Dasbach, Duensing, Mattson, Macia, McLendon
* explains the justification and benefits of our positions in a way the average voter can understand;
** 5: Burden, Capozzi, Duensing, McLendon, Smitley, Grow
* avoids echoing Republican-style rhetoric about the severity of the threat of Islamist terrorism;
** 5: Burden (strong), Capozzi, Haller, Holtz, McLendon, Grow
* should not be silent on abortion
** 5: Capozzi, Duensing, Holtz, Roland, Grow
* has comprehensiveness approaching the pre-Portland Platform
** 4: Capozzi, Haller, Holtz, Scott
* describes and advocates a society without any government coercion whatsoever;
** 4: Haller, Power, Straus, Sundwall?
* avoids expanding our the Platform's description of our common ground with issue complaints, theoretical justifications, and marketing promises;
** 4: Burden, Capozzi, Holtz, Macia, Mattson
* avoids policy coverage gaps (e.g. abortion, RTKBA, GLBQT) that wouuld likely alienate Libertarian interest groups;
** 4: Burden, Haller, Holtz, Macia? Power?
* should be silent on abortion
** 4: Burden, Dasbach, Mattson, McLendon
* includes formal sections for both ideal destination and transitional actions;
** 3: Aitken, Haller, McLendon, Mayer indifferent
* confines itself to policy initiatives that are consistent with the Constitution (as properly interpreted) that our candidates are required to swear to uphold;
** 3: Macia, McLendon, Roland
* includes specificity about what legislation, agencies, and court decisions we oppose;
** 3: Duensing, Haller, Roland
* takes a stand against the threat to our liberty from Islamist terrorism
** 2: Aitken, Burden
* avoids new language that could attract disagreement or quibbling from delegates;
** 2: Holtz, Mattson
* is written to resonate with the views of the most liberty-friendly 51% of voters;
** 2: Burden, Duensing?, Macia?
* promotes innovative voluntary ways to reduce pollution;
** 2: Adam Mayer, Grow
*************************** 328. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Financial Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies and Corporations
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability.
2.6. Labor Markets
We support the right of free persons to voluntarily associate in, or to establish, labor unions. We support the concept that an employer may recognize a union as the collective bargaining agent of some or all of his employees. We oppose governmental interference in bargaining.
2.7. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.8. Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.9. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 329. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Financial Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies and Corporations
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability.
2.6. Labor Markets
We support the right of free persons to voluntarily associate in, or to establish, labor unions. We support the concept that an employer may recognize a union as the collective bargaining agent of some or all of his employees. We oppose governmental interference in bargaining.
We call for the abolition of government agencies that restrict entry into any profession. No consumer should be legally restrained from hiring unlicensed individuals.
2.7. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.8. Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.9. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 330. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Financial Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies and Corporations
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability.
2.6. Labor Markets
We support the right of free persons to voluntarily associate in, or to establish, labor unions. We support the concept that an employer may recognize a union as the collective bargaining agent of some or all of his employees. We oppose governmental interference in bargaining.
We call for the abolition of government agencies that restrict entry into any profession. No consumer should be legally restrained from hiring unlicensed individuals.
2.7. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.8. Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.9. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
The important principle in foreign policy should be the elimination of intervention by the United States government in the affairs of other nations.
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 331. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Financial Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies and Corporations
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability.
2.6. Labor Markets
We support the right of free persons to voluntarily associate in, or to establish, labor unions. We support the concept that an employer may recognize a union as the collective bargaining agent of some or all of his employees. We oppose governmental interference in bargaining.
We call for the abolition of government agencies that restrict entry into any profession. No consumer should be legally restrained from hiring unlicensed individuals.
2.7. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.8. Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.9. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
The important principle in foreign policy should be the elimination of intervention by the United States government in the affairs of other nations.
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
We condemn the use of force, and especially the use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 332. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Financial Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies and Corporations
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability.
2.6. Labor Markets
We support the right of free persons to voluntarily associate in, or to establish, labor unions. We support the concept that an employer may recognize a union as the collective bargaining agent of some or all of his employees. We oppose governmental interference in bargaining.
We call for the abolition of government agencies that restrict entry into any profession. No consumer should be legally restrained from hiring unlicensed individuals.
2.7. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.8. Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.9. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
The important principle in foreign policy should be the elimination of intervention by the United States government in the affairs of other nations.
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
We condemn the use of force, and especially the use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 333. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1996 platform.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for
population control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Financial Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies and Corporations
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability.
2.6. Labor Markets
We support the right of free persons to voluntarily associate in, or to establish, labor unions. We support the concept that an employer may recognize a union as the collective bargaining agent of some or all of his employees. We oppose governmental interference in bargaining.
We call for the abolition of government agencies that restrict entry into any profession. No consumer should be legally restrained from hiring unlicensed individuals.
2.7. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.8. Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.9. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
The important principle in foreign policy should be the elimination of intervention by the United States government in the affairs of other nations.
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
We condemn the use of force, and especially the use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 334. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1996 platform.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for population control.
Full PlatCom needs to choose one of:
* (Silence)
* Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration.
* We support the repeal of all laws restricting voluntary birth control or voluntary termination of pregnancies during their first hundred days.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Financial Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies and Corporations
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability.
2.6. Labor Markets
We support the right of free persons to voluntarily associate in, or to establish, labor unions. We support the concept that an employer may recognize a union as the collective bargaining agent of some or all of his employees. We oppose governmental interference in bargaining.
We call for the abolition of government agencies that restrict entry into any profession. No consumer should be legally restrained from hiring unlicensed individuals.
2.7. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.8. Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.9. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
The important principle in foreign policy should be the elimination of intervention by the United States government in the affairs of other nations.
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
We condemn the use of force, and especially the use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 335. row ***************************
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old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1996 platform.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for population control.
Full PlatCom should choose one of:
* (Silence)
* Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people's abortions, nor should any government or individual force a woman to have an abortion.
* We support the repeal of all laws restricting voluntary birth control or voluntary termination of pregnancies during their first hundred days.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Financial Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies and Corporations
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability.
2.6. Labor Markets
We support the right of free persons to voluntarily associate in, or to establish, labor unions. We support the concept that an employer may recognize a union as the collective bargaining agent of some or all of his employees. We oppose governmental interference in bargaining.
We call for the abolition of government agencies that restrict entry into any profession. No consumer should be legally restrained from hiring unlicensed individuals.
2.7. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.8. Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.9. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
The important principle in foreign policy should be the elimination of intervention by the United States government in the affairs of other nations.
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
We condemn the use of force, and especially the use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 337. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1996 platform.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for population control.
The full PlatCom should choose one of:
* (Silence)
* Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people's abortions, nor should any government or individual force a woman to have an abortion.
* We support the repeal of all laws restricting voluntary birth control or voluntary termination of pregnancies during their first hundred days.
* While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Financial Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies and Corporations
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability.
2.6. Labor Markets
We support the right of free persons to voluntarily associate in, or to establish, labor unions. We support the concept that an employer may recognize a union as the collective bargaining agent of some or all of his employees. We oppose governmental interference in bargaining.
We call for the abolition of government agencies that restrict entry into any profession. No consumer should be legally restrained from hiring unlicensed individuals.
2.7. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.8. Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.9. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
The important principle in foreign policy should be the elimination of intervention by the United States government in the affairs of other nations.
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
We condemn the use of force, and especially the use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 338. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1996 platform.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for population control.
The full PlatCom should choose one of:
# [Say nothing more than the above.]
# Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people's abortions, nor should any government or individual force a woman to have an abortion.
# We support the repeal of all laws restricting voluntary birth control or voluntary termination of pregnancies during their first hundred days.
# While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Financial Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies and Corporations
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability.
2.6. Labor Markets
We support the right of free persons to voluntarily associate in, or to establish, labor unions. We support the concept that an employer may recognize a union as the collective bargaining agent of some or all of his employees. We oppose governmental interference in bargaining.
We call for the abolition of government agencies that restrict entry into any profession. No consumer should be legally restrained from hiring unlicensed individuals.
2.7. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.8. Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.9. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
The important principle in foreign policy should be the elimination of intervention by the United States government in the affairs of other nations.
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
We condemn the use of force, and especially the use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 339. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1996 platform.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for population control.
The full PlatCom should choose one of:
# [Say nothing more than the above.]
# Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people's abortions, nor should any government or individual force a woman to have an abortion.
# We support the repeal of all laws restricting voluntary birth control or voluntary termination of pregnancies during their first hundred days.
# While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Financial Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies and Corporations
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability.
2.6. Labor Markets
We support the right of free persons to voluntarily associate in, or to establish, labor unions. We support the concept that an employer may recognize a union as the collective bargaining agent of some or all of his employees. We oppose governmental interference in bargaining.
We call for the abolition of government agencies that restrict entry into any profession. No consumer should be legally restrained from hiring unlicensed individuals.
2.7. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.8. Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.9. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
The important principle in foreign policy should be the elimination of intervention by the United States government in the affairs of other nations.
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
We condemn the use of force, and especially the use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups.
3.4. Free Trade and Migration
We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade.
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 340. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1996 platform.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for population control.
The full PlatCom should choose one of:
# [Say nothing more than the above.]
# We recognize that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people's abortions, nor should any government or individual force a woman to have an abortion.
# Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people's abortions, nor should any government or individual force a woman to have an abortion.
# We support the repeal of all laws restricting voluntary birth control or voluntary termination of pregnancies during their first hundred days.
# While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Financial Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies and Corporations
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability.
2.6. Labor Markets
We support the right of free persons to voluntarily associate in, or to establish, labor unions. We support the concept that an employer may recognize a union as the collective bargaining agent of some or all of his employees. We oppose governmental interference in bargaining.
We call for the abolition of government agencies that restrict entry into any profession. No consumer should be legally restrained from hiring unlicensed individuals.
2.7. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.8. Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.9. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
The important principle in foreign policy should be the elimination of intervention by the United States government in the affairs of other nations.
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
We condemn the use of force, and especially the use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups.
3.4. Free Trade and Migration
We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade.
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 341. row ***************************
old_text: '''NOTE: This is a personal archive of reference materials created and administered by [[User:BrianHoltz|Brian Holtz]]. It is not an official publication of the 2008 LP Platform Committee, though some members of the committee do use and contribute to some content here.'''
The user accounts of PlatCom members are FirstnameLastname, e.g. AliciaMattson. The default password is given in [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PlatCommLP08/message/74 message 74] of PlatComLP08.
* [[Convention Rules governing the Platform]]
* The members of the [[2008 Platform Committee]]
* Perspectives on Platform Purpose
** [[Platform Criteria]]
** [[Legislative Program]]
* [[Platform Retention Votes]]
* [[LP Purpose Proposals]]
* [[Pledge Proposals]]
* [[Statement of Principles Proposals]]
* [[Slogan Proposals]]
* [[Proposed Platform Outlines]]
* Proposed Platform Rewrites and Campaign Programs
** [[Greatest Hits Draft Platform]]
** [[Greatest Hits Remix Platform]]
** [[Greatest Hits Short Platform]]
** [[Plankless Platform]]
** [[MarketLiberal Campaign Program]]
* Proposed Planks
** [[Taxation Plank]]
** [[Representative Government Plank]]
** [[Healthcare Plank]]
** [[Retirement Security]]
** [[Immigration Plank]]
** [[Foreign Policy Plank]]
** [[Abortion Plank]]
** [[Environment and Resources Plank]]
* Subcommittees
** [[Directional Principles Subcommittee]]
** [[Voter-Targeted Near-Term Policy Subcommittee]]
* Report Proposals
** [[Greatest Hits Draft Report|Brian's Greatest Hits Report Proposal]]
* [http://marketliberal.org/LP/Platforms/ Archive] of the 1972 and 1990 - 2006 LP Platforms
* [http://marketliberal.org/LP/Conventions/ Minutes] of the Platform floor proceedings of the 1993 - 2006 LP Conventions
* Controversies
** [[Uses Of The LP Platform To Attack The LP]]
** [[Does The Pledge Mandate Zero-Aggression Absolutism?]]
** [[Does the SoP Mandate Zero-Agression Absolutism?]]
** [[Does Zero-Aggression Absolutism Imply Anarchism?]]
** [[Is Taxation Theft?]]
* State LP Platforms
* Platforms of other parties
* Libertarian public policy resources
*************************** 342. row ***************************
old_text: The opinions on this page are those of Brian Holtz, and aren't guaranteed to reflect the opinions of the DP subcommittee.
== Definition and Criteria ==
The Directional Principles approach is to have a Platform that for each broad issue states the enduring principles that unite most Libertarians around what the Bylaws call "a libertarian direction" in public policy for that issue, thus yielding a Platform consistent with both incremental reform and radical ultimate goals. A DP platform can be seen as an attempt to satisfy at least the following criteria (each of which had been endorsed by a majority of the first five people to join the DP subcommittee):
* avoids extremist/destinational language/rhetoric that makes our party and candidates easy to ridicule;
* starts with a clean sheet of paper (i.e. not necessarily keeping any of the 15 current planks);
* is written to resonate with the views of the 16% to 20% of voters who polls show fall into the libertarian quadrant;
* is ideologically broad enough for the vast majority of Libertarians to stand on comfortably;
* helps educate Libertarians in developing a comprehensive Libertarian philosophy;
* should be significantly shorter than recent Platforms;
* makes destination and transition implicit in broad principles explaining what the Bylaws mean by "a * libertarian direction" in public policy;
* consistent with the major schools of libertarianism without endorsing one of them as best;
* has comprehensiveness approaching the pre-Portland Platform; and
* avoids expanding our the Platform's description of our common ground with issue complaints, theoretical justifications, and marketing promises.
== A DP "Baseline" ==
The DP subcommittee was formed on 2007-10-06, consisting of Bob Capozzi, Henry Haller, Brian Holtz, Alicia Mattson, and Guy McLendon. The subcommittee held four voice conferences. At the first conference, Holtz was elected Chair and we decided to modify the "Greatest Hits" draft platform to form a "baseline" proposal.
The DP "baseline" concept is of a Platform draft designed to maximize the chances of comprehensive Platform repair, and minimize the chances of the LP going another two years with an amputated Platform. If the PlatCom recommends a Platform rewrite full of novel language, the rewrite may very well not win a (non-debatable) motion to suspend the rules to consider omnibus adoption of it. If the PlatCom recommends such a rewrite as a series of planks, then several will inevitably fail to win adoption and the Platform will still have gaping holes for another two years. The "baseline" concept is to start with a minimal-controversy draft of 100% recycled language, and give the Denver delegates a chance to accept it as a safety net or cofferdam to protect the chances of comprehensive Platform repair as they go on to consider each of the PlatCom's possibly-creative plank recommendations. Having such a baseline in place would remove from the rest of the Platform debate the risk that each failure to adopt a plank will leave a hole in the Platform. If the delegates reject such an insurance policy, the rest of the debate can still proceed as it would have otherwise, just with the risk of holes. And if the PlatCom itself decides not to propose an omnibus baseline rewrite, the baseline is still a useful starting point for drafting any novel language needed for a set of final DP-style plank recommendations.
== DP Structure ==
In addition to being 100% recycled, the next thing to notice about the DP baseline is its section structure. The pre-Portland Platform scattered economic issues across two sections named "Trade and the Economy" and "Domestic Ills". It labeled as "Domestic Ills" such things as Agriculture, Election Laws, and Consumer Protection -- which don't sound very much like "ills" at all. Instead of organizing our platform around the problems we don't want government to try to solve, or the government "solutions" that we oppose, the DP baseline organizes itself around the enduring liberties that the LP stands up for. In his 1971 essay "The Case for a Libertarian Political Party", David Nolan divided those liberties into two categories -- personal and economic -- and that timeless distinction is the best way to organize our Platform's assertion of human liberties. That leaves a handful of other issues -- relating to foreign policy, franchise, and democratic procedure -- that can collectively be labeled "Securing Liberty", since the correct policies on these issues will safeguard all personal and economic liberties equally. This is why the baseline has three sections: 1) Personal Liberty, 2) Economic Liberty, and 3) Securing Liberty.
== Areas To Improve ==
The Wiki history of the DP baseline gives the details of the changes the subcommittee made. For the potential task of refining the baseline into final plank recommendations, it's important to note for each plank the areas where there was sentiment for saying something that no recycled language said in an acceptable way.
*************************** 343. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
This draft is a result of using new (and potentially more controversial) language to improve
the baseline 100%-recycled Greatest Hits draft.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Text like this is new.
Preamble
As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others. We believe that respect for individual rights is the essential precondition for a free and prosperous world, that force and fraud must be banished from human relationships, and that only through freedom can peace and prosperity be realized. Consequently, we defend each person's right to engage in any activity that is peaceful and honest, and welcome the diversity that freedom brings. The world we seek to build is one where individuals are free to follow their own dreams in their own ways, without interference from government or any authoritarian power. In the following pages we have set forth our basic principles and enumerated various policy stands derived from those principles. These specific policies are not our goal, however. Our goal is nothing more nor less than a world set free in our lifetime, and it is to this end that we take these stands.
Statement of Principles
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.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
We favor the freedom and responsibility of adults to decide what sensations and substances they knowingly and voluntarily consume. We favor the freedom of association among private parties to negotiate how they use information voluntarily disclosed to each other.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
We favor the freedom of all adults to engage in any consensual amorous or reproductive behavior or relationship that does not violate the rights of others.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
Sexuality or gender should have no
discriminatory
impact on the
treatment of individuals by government, such as in marriage, adoption, immigration, or military service.
While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
We oppose government actions that compel,
subsidize,
or prohibit abortion, sterilization or any other form of birth control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The
primary
purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights.
Governments are usually the worst polluters, both directly and by subsidizing or protecting polluting industries and practices. We favor including in market prices the measurable costs that products and actions demonstrably and physically impose on non-consenting third parties. Environmental awareness and the voluntary responses to such green pricing are the only fair and effective ways to stimulate the technological innovations and social changes required for protecting our environment and threatened ecosystems.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor,
and it is unjust to tax people in order to finance benefits for other people.
We oppose any such tax, as distinct from taxes that serve as fees for pollution,
consumption of unowned resources, or government services not yet privatized.
We favor continuously reducing taxes as the functions of government are
privatized or made voluntary.
Government should not incur debt,
which burdens future generations without their consent.
We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types.
Individuals engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
Regulation of financial and capital markets should be limited to prohibition of force and fraud.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for education spending to parents.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.7. Health Care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for health care spending to patients.
We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.8. Retirement and Income Security
We advocate transitioning to a privatized voluntary retirement savings industry, with
victims of the Social Security tax having a claim against government property.
Income transfers to the poor from central governments should be phased out in favor of aid from local communities.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
However, children always have the right to establish their maturity by assuming administration and protection of their own rights, ending dependency upon their parents or other guardians, and assuming all responsibilities of adulthood.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections. We
support the right to secede where: (1)
secession is supported by a majority within the political unit,
(2) the majority does not attempt suppression of the dissenting
minority, and (3) the government of the new entity is at least as
compatible with human freedom as that from which it seceded.
3.7. Decentralized Government
Problems should always be addressed by the most local level of power that can possibly address them, which ideally is the level of the peaceful honest individual. We support a strict interpretation of the Constitution and enforcement of the Tenth Amendment rule that the federal government has no powers beyond those delegated to it by the Constitution. We support the repeal or overturning of all Acts of Congress outside the narrow powers delegated to it in the Constitution, which are primarily national defense and providing an impartial judicial system. We oppose the President initiating military hostilities in the absence of a declaration of war by Congress.
*************************** 344. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1996 platform.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Preamble
As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others. We believe that respect for individual rights is the essential precondition for a free and prosperous world, that force and fraud must be banished from human relationships, and that only through freedom can peace and prosperity be realized. Consequently, we defend each person's right to engage in any activity that is peaceful and honest, and welcome the diversity that freedom brings. The world we seek to build is one where individuals are free to follow their own dreams in their own ways, without interference from government or any authoritarian power. In the following pages we have set forth our basic principles and enumerated various policy stands derived from those principles. These specific policies are not our goal, however. Our goal is nothing more nor less than a world set free in our lifetime, and it is to this end that we take these stands.
Statement of Principles
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.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for population control.
The full PlatCom should choose one of:
# [Say nothing more than the above.]
# We recognize that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people's abortions, nor should any government or individual force a woman to have an abortion.
# Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people's abortions, nor should any government or individual force a woman to have an abortion.
# We support the repeal of all laws restricting voluntary birth control or voluntary termination of pregnancies during their first hundred days.
# While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Financial Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies and Corporations
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability.
2.6. Labor Markets
We support the right of free persons to voluntarily associate in, or to establish, labor unions. We support the concept that an employer may recognize a union as the collective bargaining agent of some or all of his employees. We oppose governmental interference in bargaining.
We call for the abolition of government agencies that restrict entry into any profession. No consumer should be legally restrained from hiring unlicensed individuals.
2.7. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.8. Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.9. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
The important principle in foreign policy should be the elimination of intervention by the United States government in the affairs of other nations.
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
We condemn the use of force, and especially the use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups.
3.4. Free Trade and Migration
We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade.
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 345. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1996 platform.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Preamble
As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others. We believe that respect for individual rights is the essential precondition for a free and prosperous world, that force and fraud must be banished from human relationships, and that only through freedom can peace and prosperity be realized. Consequently, we defend each person's right to engage in any activity that is peaceful and honest, and welcome the diversity that freedom brings. The world we seek to build is one where individuals are free to follow their own dreams in their own ways, without interference from government or any authoritarian power. In the following pages we have set forth our basic principles and enumerated various policy stands derived from those principles. These specific policies are not our goal, however. Our goal is nothing more nor less than a world set free in our lifetime, and it is to this end that we take these stands.
Statement of Principles
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.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for population control.
The full PlatCom should choose one of:
# [Say nothing more than the above.]
# We recognize that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people's abortions, nor should any government or individual force a woman to have an abortion.
# Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people's abortions, nor should any government or individual force a woman to have an abortion.
# We support the repeal of all laws restricting voluntary birth control or voluntary termination of pregnancies during their first hundred days.
# While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Financial Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies and Corporations
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability.
2.6. Labor Markets
We support the right of free persons to voluntarily associate in, or to establish, labor unions. We support the concept that an employer may recognize a union as the collective bargaining agent of some or all of his employees. We oppose governmental interference in bargaining.
We call for the abolition of government agencies that restrict entry into any profession. No consumer should be legally restrained from hiring unlicensed individuals.
2.7. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.8. Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.9. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
The important principle in foreign policy should be the elimination of intervention by the United States government in the affairs of other nations.
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
We condemn the use of force, and especially the use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups.
3.4. Free Trade and Migration
We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade.
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 346. row ***************************
old_text: The opinions on this page are those of Brian Holtz, and aren't guaranteed to reflect the opinions of the DP subcommittee.
== Definition and Criteria ==
The Directional Principles approach is to have a Platform that for each broad issue states the enduring principles that unite most Libertarians around what the Bylaws call "a libertarian direction" in public policy for that issue, thus yielding a Platform consistent with both incremental reform and radical ultimate goals. A DP platform can be seen as an attempt to satisfy at least the following criteria (each of which had been endorsed by a majority of the first five people to join the DP subcommittee):
* avoids extremist/destinational language/rhetoric that makes our party and candidates easy to ridicule;
* starts with a clean sheet of paper (i.e. not necessarily keeping any of the 15 current planks);
* is written to resonate with the views of the 16% to 20% of voters who polls show fall into the libertarian quadrant;
* is ideologically broad enough for the vast majority of Libertarians to stand on comfortably;
* helps educate Libertarians in developing a comprehensive Libertarian philosophy;
* should be significantly shorter than recent Platforms;
* makes destination and transition implicit in broad principles explaining what the Bylaws mean by "a * libertarian direction" in public policy;
* consistent with the major schools of libertarianism without endorsing one of them as best;
* has comprehensiveness approaching the pre-Portland Platform; and
* avoids expanding our the Platform's description of our common ground with issue complaints, theoretical justifications, and marketing promises.
== A DP "Baseline" ==
The DP subcommittee was formed on 2007-10-06, consisting of Bob Capozzi, Henry Haller, Brian Holtz, Alicia Mattson, and Guy McLendon. The subcommittee held four voice conferences. At the first conference, Holtz was elected Chair and we decided to modify the "Greatest Hits" draft platform to form a "baseline" proposal.
The DP "baseline" concept is of a Platform draft designed to maximize the chances of comprehensive Platform repair, and minimize the chances of the LP going another two years with an amputated Platform. If the PlatCom recommends a Platform rewrite full of novel language, the rewrite may very well not win a (non-debatable) motion to suspend the rules to consider omnibus adoption of it. If the PlatCom recommends such a rewrite as a series of planks, then several will inevitably fail to win adoption and the Platform will still have gaping holes for another two years. The "baseline" concept is to start with a minimal-controversy draft of 100% recycled language, and give the Denver delegates a chance to accept it as a safety net or cofferdam to protect the chances of comprehensive Platform repair as they go on to consider each of the PlatCom's possibly-creative plank recommendations. Having such a baseline in place would remove from the rest of the Platform debate the risk that each failure to adopt a plank will leave a hole in the Platform. If the delegates reject such an insurance policy, the rest of the debate can still proceed as it would have otherwise, just with the risk of holes. And if the PlatCom itself decides not to propose an omnibus baseline rewrite, the baseline is still a useful starting point for drafting any novel language needed for a set of final DP-style plank recommendations.
== DP Structure ==
In addition to being 100% recycled, the next thing to notice about the DP baseline is its section structure. The pre-Portland Platform scattered economic issues across two sections named "Trade and the Economy" and "Domestic Ills". It labeled as "Domestic Ills" such things as Agriculture, Election Laws, and Consumer Protection -- which don't sound very much like "ills" at all. Instead of organizing our platform around the problems we don't want government to try to solve, or the government "solutions" that we oppose, the DP baseline organizes itself around the enduring liberties that the LP stands up for. In his 1971 essay "The Case for a Libertarian Political Party", David Nolan divided those liberties into two categories -- personal and economic -- and that timeless distinction is the best way to organize our Platform's assertion of human liberties. That leaves a handful of other issues -- relating to foreign policy, franchise, and democratic procedure -- that can collectively be labeled "Securing Liberty", since the correct policies on these issues will safeguard all personal and economic liberties equally. This is why the baseline has three sections: 1) Personal Liberty, 2) Economic Liberty, and 3) Securing Liberty.
== Areas To Improve ==
The Wiki history of the DP baseline gives the details of the changes the subcommittee made. For the potential task of refining the baseline into final plank recommendations, it's important to note for each plank the areas where there was sentiment for saying something that no recycled language said in an acceptable way.
=== Personal and Bodily Privacy ===
* The language about victimless crimes is vague. Need some language that describes such activity more clearly than just by listing "drugs" as an example.
* It would be nice to have some language that states in a positive way the principle that peaceful non-fraudulent free association by informed consenting private parties by definition cannot violate privacy rights.
=== Sexuality and Reproduction ===
* We recognized that the full PlatCom will inevitably have to decide the abortion question, and so we just laid out five alternatives for the baseline. One of them even involves novel language, which would be the only novel language in the baseline.
* We include two of the three of the sentences in the Principles section of the existing Sexuality and Gender plank. Nearly all the other details of that plank can be preserved by combining the third sentence with the novel phrase "such as in marriage, adoption, immigration, or military service."
*************************** 347. row ***************************
old_text: The opinions on this page are those of Brian Holtz, and aren't guaranteed to reflect the opinions of the DP subcommittee.
== Definition and Criteria ==
The Directional Principles approach is to have a Platform that for each broad issue states the enduring principles that unite most Libertarians around what the Bylaws call "a libertarian direction" in public policy for that issue, thus yielding a Platform consistent with both incremental reform and radical ultimate goals. A DP platform can be seen as an attempt to satisfy at least the following criteria (each of which had been endorsed by a majority of the first five people to join the DP subcommittee):
* avoids extremist/destinational language/rhetoric that makes our party and candidates easy to ridicule;
* starts with a clean sheet of paper (i.e. not necessarily keeping any of the 15 current planks);
* is written to resonate with the views of the 16% to 20% of voters who polls show fall into the libertarian quadrant;
* is ideologically broad enough for the vast majority of Libertarians to stand on comfortably;
* helps educate Libertarians in developing a comprehensive Libertarian philosophy;
* should be significantly shorter than recent Platforms;
* makes destination and transition implicit in broad principles explaining what the Bylaws mean by "a * libertarian direction" in public policy;
* consistent with the major schools of libertarianism without endorsing one of them as best;
* has comprehensiveness approaching the pre-Portland Platform; and
* avoids expanding our the Platform's description of our common ground with issue complaints, theoretical justifications, and marketing promises.
== A DP "Baseline" ==
The DP subcommittee was formed on 2007-10-06, consisting of Bob Capozzi, Henry Haller, Brian Holtz, Alicia Mattson, and Guy McLendon. The subcommittee held four voice conferences. At the first conference, Holtz was elected Chair and we decided to modify the "Greatest Hits" draft platform to form a "baseline" proposal.
The DP "baseline" concept is of a Platform draft designed to maximize the chances of comprehensive Platform repair, and minimize the chances of the LP going another two years with an amputated Platform. If the PlatCom recommends a Platform rewrite full of novel language, the rewrite may very well not win a (non-debatable) motion to suspend the rules to consider omnibus adoption of it. If the PlatCom recommends such a rewrite as a series of planks, then several will inevitably fail to win adoption and the Platform will still have gaping holes for another two years. The "baseline" concept is to start with a minimal-controversy draft of 100% recycled language, and give the Denver delegates a chance to accept it as a safety net or cofferdam to protect the chances of comprehensive Platform repair as they go on to consider each of the PlatCom's possibly-creative plank recommendations. Having such a baseline in place would remove from the rest of the Platform debate the risk that each failure to adopt a plank will leave a hole in the Platform. If the delegates reject such an insurance policy, the rest of the debate can still proceed as it would have otherwise, just with the risk of holes. And if the PlatCom itself decides not to propose an omnibus baseline rewrite, the baseline is still a useful starting point for drafting any novel language needed for a set of final DP-style plank recommendations.
== DP Structure ==
In addition to being 100% recycled, the next thing to notice about the DP baseline is its section structure. The pre-Portland Platform scattered economic issues across two sections named "Trade and the Economy" and "Domestic Ills". It labeled as "Domestic Ills" such things as Agriculture, Election Laws, and Consumer Protection -- which don't sound very much like "ills" at all. Instead of organizing our platform around the problems we don't want government to try to solve, or the government "solutions" that we oppose, the DP baseline organizes itself around the enduring liberties that the LP stands up for. In his 1971 essay "The Case for a Libertarian Political Party", David Nolan divided those liberties into two categories -- personal and economic -- and that timeless distinction is the best way to organize our Platform's assertion of human liberties. That leaves a handful of other issues -- relating to foreign policy, franchise, and democratic procedure -- that can collectively be labeled "Securing Liberty", since the correct policies on these issues will safeguard all personal and economic liberties equally. This is why the baseline has three sections: 1) Personal Liberty, 2) Economic Liberty, and 3) Securing Liberty.
== Areas To Improve ==
The Wiki history of the DP baseline gives the details of the changes the subcommittee made. For the potential task of refining the baseline into final plank recommendations, it's important to note for each plank the areas where there was sentiment for saying something that no recycled language said in an acceptable way.
=== Personal and Bodily Privacy ===
* The language about victimless crimes is vague. Need some language that describes such activity more clearly than just by listing "drugs" as an example.
* It would be nice to have some language that states in a positive way the principle that peaceful non-fraudulent free association by informed consenting private parties by definition cannot violate privacy rights.
=== Sexuality and Reproduction ===
* We recognized that the full PlatCom will inevitably have to decide the abortion question, and so we just laid out five alternatives for the baseline. One of them even involves novel language, which would be the only novel language in the baseline.
* We include two of the three of the sentences in the Principles section of the existing Sexuality and Gender plank. Nearly all the other details of that plank can be preserved by combining the third sentence with the novel phrase "such as in marriage, adoption, immigration, or military service."
=== Crime and Justice ===
* We want to change "The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution" to "The primary purpose...".
=== Self-Defense ===
* We want to be more specific about gun rights, but think we can do better than the prior Platform art that seems to open the door to private Stinger missiles and personal nukes.
=== Environment and Resources ===
* This is widely considered one of the weakest areas of prior Platform art. Raising the bar here using novel language will not be hard.
=== Government Finance and Spending ===
* We'd love to finesse the abolition-all-taxes schism with a novel statement like: "We favor continuously reducing taxes as the functions of government are privatized or made voluntary."
=== Money and Financial Markets ===
* We dropped a sentence about insider trading because we think it can be phrased much more positively and palatably.
=== Labor Markets ===
* We think we can improve on the language opposing occupational licensure.
=== International Affairs ===
* We would like to rephrase "American soil" in a way that doesn't rule out long-range defense against inbound missiles, approaching armadas, etc.
=== Free Trade and Migration ===
* The free trade language could be improved and expanded.
* We'd like to improve on the available language that opposes sanctions against the hiring of "undocumented" workers.
=== Secession ===
* Some of us favored re-using available language endorsing the ability of jurisdictions (as distinct from individuals) to establish independence. While the majority agreed in principle, the words secede/secession were deal-breakers for them.
* On a related note, some of us would like to see a stronger call for decentralized government, enforcement of the 10th Amendment, and an end to undeclared wars.
*************************** 348. row ***************************
old_text: The opinions on this page are those of Brian Holtz, and aren't guaranteed to reflect the opinions of the DP subcommittee.
== Definition and Criteria ==
The Directional Principles approach is to have a Platform that for each broad issue states the enduring principles that unite most Libertarians around what the Bylaws call "a libertarian direction" in public policy for that issue, thus yielding a Platform consistent with both incremental reform and radical ultimate goals. A DP platform can be seen as an attempt to satisfy at least the following [[Platform Criteria]] (each of which had been endorsed by a majority of the first five people to join the DP subcommittee):
* avoids extremist/destinational language/rhetoric that makes our party and candidates easy to ridicule;
* starts with a clean sheet of paper (i.e. not necessarily keeping any of the 15 current planks);
* is written to resonate with the views of the 16% to 20% of voters who polls show fall into the libertarian quadrant;
* is ideologically broad enough for the vast majority of Libertarians to stand on comfortably;
* helps educate Libertarians in developing a comprehensive Libertarian philosophy;
* should be significantly shorter than recent Platforms;
* makes destination and transition implicit in broad principles explaining what the Bylaws mean by "a * libertarian direction" in public policy;
* consistent with the major schools of libertarianism without endorsing one of them as best;
* has comprehensiveness approaching the pre-Portland Platform; and
* avoids expanding our the Platform's description of our common ground with issue complaints, theoretical justifications, and marketing promises.
== A DP "Baseline" ==
The DP subcommittee was formed on 2007-10-06, consisting of Bob Capozzi, Henry Haller, Brian Holtz, Alicia Mattson, and Guy McLendon. The subcommittee held four voice conferences. At the first conference, Holtz was elected Chair and we decided to modify the "[[Greatest Hits Draft Platform|greatest hits]]" draft platform to form a "baseline" proposal.
The DP "baseline" concept is of a Platform draft designed to maximize the chances of comprehensive Platform repair, and minimize the chances of the LP going another two years with an amputated Platform. If the PlatCom recommends a Platform rewrite full of novel language, the rewrite may very well not win a (non-debatable) motion to suspend the rules to consider omnibus adoption of it. If the PlatCom recommends such a rewrite as a series of planks, then several will inevitably fail to win adoption and the Platform will still have gaping holes for another two years. The "baseline" concept is to start with a minimal-controversy draft of 100% recycled language, and give the Denver delegates a chance to accept it as a safety net or cofferdam to protect the chances of comprehensive Platform repair as they go on to consider each of the PlatCom's possibly-creative plank recommendations. Having such a baseline in place would remove from the rest of the Platform debate the risk that each failure to adopt a plank will leave a hole in the Platform. If the delegates reject such an insurance policy, the rest of the debate can still proceed as it would have otherwise, just with the risk of holes. And if the PlatCom itself decides not to propose an omnibus baseline rewrite, the baseline is still a useful starting point for drafting any novel language needed for a set of final DP-style plank recommendations.
== DP Structure ==
In addition to being 100% recycled, the next thing to notice about the DP baseline is its section structure. The pre-Portland Platform scattered economic issues across two sections named "Trade and the Economy" and "Domestic Ills". It labeled as "Domestic Ills" such things as Agriculture, Election Laws, and Consumer Protection -- which don't sound very much like "ills" at all. Instead of organizing our platform around the problems we don't want government to try to solve, or the government "solutions" that we oppose, the DP baseline organizes itself around the enduring liberties that the LP stands up for. In his 1971 essay "The Case for a Libertarian Political Party", David Nolan divided those liberties into two categories -- personal and economic -- and that timeless distinction is the best way to organize our Platform's assertion of human liberties. That leaves a handful of other issues -- relating to foreign policy, franchise, and democratic procedure -- that can collectively be labeled "Securing Liberty", since the correct policies on these issues will safeguard all personal and economic liberties equally. This is why the baseline has three sections: 1) Personal Liberty, 2) Economic Liberty, and 3) Securing Liberty.
== Areas To Improve ==
The [http://marketliberal.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Greatest_Hits_Draft_Platform&action=history Wiki history] of the DP baseline gives the details of the changes the subcommittee made. For the potential task of refining the baseline into final plank recommendations, it's important to note for each plank the areas where there was sentiment for saying something that no recycled language said in an acceptable way.
=== Personal and Bodily Privacy ===
* The language about victimless crimes is vague. Need some language that describes such activity more clearly than just by listing "drugs" as an example.
* It would be nice to have some language that states in a positive way the principle that peaceful non-fraudulent free association by informed consenting private parties by definition cannot violate privacy rights.
=== Sexuality and Reproduction ===
* We recognized that the full PlatCom will inevitably have to decide the abortion question, and so we just laid out five alternatives for the baseline. One of them even involves novel language, which would be the only novel language in the baseline.
* We include two of the three of the sentences in the Principles section of the existing Sexuality and Gender plank. Nearly all the other details of that plank can be preserved by combining the third sentence with the novel phrase "such as in marriage, adoption, immigration, or military service."
=== Crime and Justice ===
* We want to change "The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution" to "The primary purpose...".
=== Self-Defense ===
* We want to be more specific about gun rights, but think we can do better than the prior Platform art that seems to open the door to private Stinger missiles and personal nukes.
=== Environment and Resources ===
* This is widely considered one of the weakest areas of prior Platform art. Raising the bar here using novel language will not be hard.
=== Government Finance and Spending ===
* We'd love to finesse the abolition-all-taxes schism with a novel statement like: "We favor continuously reducing taxes as the functions of government are privatized or made voluntary."
=== Money and Financial Markets ===
* We dropped a sentence about insider trading because we think it can be phrased much more positively and palatably.
=== Labor Markets ===
* We think we can improve on the language opposing occupational licensure.
=== International Affairs ===
* We would like to rephrase "American soil" in a way that doesn't rule out long-range defense against inbound missiles, approaching armadas, etc.
=== Free Trade and Migration ===
* The free trade language could be improved and expanded.
* We'd like to improve on the available language that opposes sanctions against the hiring of "undocumented" workers.
=== Secession ===
* Some of us favored re-using available language endorsing the ability of jurisdictions (as distinct from individuals) to establish independence. While the majority agreed in principle, the words secede/secession were deal-breakers for them.
* On a related note, some of us would like to see a stronger call for decentralized government, enforcement of the 10th Amendment, and an end to undeclared wars.
*************************** 349. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
This draft is a result of using new (and potentially more controversial) language to improve
the baseline 100%-recycled Greatest Hits draft.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Text like this is new.
Preamble
As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others. We believe that respect for individual rights is the essential precondition for a free and prosperous world, that force and fraud must be banished from human relationships, and that only through freedom can peace and prosperity be realized. Consequently, we defend each person's right to engage in any activity that is peaceful and honest, and welcome the diversity that freedom brings. The world we seek to build is one where individuals are free to follow their own dreams in their own ways, without interference from government or any authoritarian power. In the following pages we have set forth our basic principles and enumerated various policy stands derived from those principles. These specific policies are not our goal, however. Our goal is nothing more nor less than a world set free in our lifetime, and it is to this end that we take these stands.
Statement of Principles
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.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
We favor the freedom and responsibility of adults to decide what sensations and substances they knowingly and voluntarily consume. We favor the freedom of association among private parties to negotiate how they use information voluntarily disclosed to each other.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
We favor the freedom of all consenting adults to engage in any amorous or reproductive behavior or relationship that does not violate the rights of others.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
Sexuality or gender should have no
discriminatory
impact on the
treatment of individuals by government, such as in marriage, adoption, immigration, or military service.
While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
We oppose government actions that compel,
subsidize,
or prohibit abortion, sterilization or any other form of birth control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The
primary
purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights.
Governments are usually the worst polluters, both directly and by subsidizing or protecting polluting industries and practices. We favor including in market prices the measurable costs that products and actions demonstrably and physically impose on non-consenting third parties. Environmental awareness and the voluntary responses to such green pricing are the only fair and effective ways to stimulate the technological innovations and social changes required for protecting our environment and threatened ecosystems.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor,
and it is unjust to tax people in order to finance benefits for other people.
We oppose any such tax, as distinct from taxes that serve as fees for pollution,
consumption of unowned resources, or government services not yet privatized.
We favor continuously reducing taxes as the functions of government are
privatized or made voluntary.
Government should not incur debt,
which burdens future generations without their consent.
We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types.
Individuals engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
Regulation of financial and capital markets should be limited to prohibition of force and fraud.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for education spending to parents.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.7. Health Care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for health care spending to patients.
We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.8. Retirement and Income Security
We advocate transitioning to a privatized voluntary retirement savings industry, with
victims of the Social Security tax having a claim against government property.
Income transfers to the poor from central governments should be phased out in favor of aid from local communities.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
However, children always have the right to establish their maturity by assuming administration and protection of their own rights, ending dependency upon their parents or other guardians, and assuming all responsibilities of adulthood.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections. We
support the right to secede where: (1)
secession is supported by a majority within the political unit,
(2) the majority does not attempt suppression of the dissenting
minority, and (3) the government of the new entity is at least as
compatible with human freedom as that from which it seceded.
3.7. Decentralized Government
Problems should always be addressed by the most local level of power that can possibly address them, which ideally is the level of the peaceful honest individual. We support a strict interpretation of the Constitution and enforcement of the Tenth Amendment rule that the federal government has no powers beyond those delegated to it by the Constitution. We support the repeal or overturning of all Acts of Congress outside the narrow powers delegated to it in the Constitution, which are primarily national defense and providing an impartial judicial system. We oppose the President initiating military hostilities in the absence of a declaration of war by Congress.
*************************** 350. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
This draft is a result of using new (and potentially more controversial) language to improve
the baseline 100%-recycled Greatest Hits draft.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Text like this is new.
Preamble
As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others. We believe that respect for individual rights is the essential precondition for a free and prosperous world, that force and fraud must be banished from human relationships, and that only through freedom can peace and prosperity be realized. Consequently, we defend each person's right to engage in any activity that is peaceful and honest, and welcome the diversity that freedom brings. The world we seek to build is one where individuals are free to follow their own dreams in their own ways, without interference from government or any authoritarian power. In the following pages we have set forth our basic principles and enumerated various policy stands derived from those principles. These specific policies are not our goal, however. Our goal is nothing more nor less than a world set free in our lifetime, and it is to this end that we take these stands.
Statement of Principles
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.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
We favor the freedom and responsibility of adults to decide what sensations and substances they knowingly and voluntarily consume. We favor the freedom of association among private parties to negotiate how they use information voluntarily disclosed to each other.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
We favor the freedom of all consenting adults to engage in any amorous or reproductive behavior or relationship that does not violate the rights of others.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
Sexuality or gender should have no
discriminatory
impact on the
treatment of individuals by government, such as in marriage, adoption, immigration, or military service.
While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
We oppose government actions that compel,
subsidize,
or prohibit abortion, sterilization or any other form of birth control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The
primary
purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights.
Governments are usually the worst polluters, both directly and by subsidizing or protecting polluting industries and practices. We favor including in market prices the measurable costs that products and actions demonstrably and physically impose on non-consenting third parties. Environmental awareness and the voluntary responses to such green pricing are the only fair and effective ways to stimulate the technological innovations and social changes required for protecting our environment and threatened ecosystems.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor,
and it is unjust to tax people in order to finance benefits for other people.
We oppose any such tax, as distinct from taxes that serve as fees for pollution,
consumption of unowned resources, or government services not yet privatized.
We favor continuously reducing taxes as the functions of government are
privatized or made voluntary.
Government should not incur debt,
which burdens future generations without their consent.
We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types.
Individuals engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
Regulation of financial and capital markets should be limited to prohibition of force and fraud.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for education spending to parents.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.7. Health Care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for health care spending to patients.
We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.8. Retirement and Income Security
We advocate transitioning to a privatized voluntary retirement savings industry, with
victims of the Social Security tax having a claim against government property.
Income transfers to the poor from central governments should be phased out in favor of aid from local communities.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
However, children always have the right to establish their maturity by assuming administration and protection of their own rights, ending dependency upon their parents or other guardians, and assuming all responsibilities of adulthood.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections. We
support the right to secede where: (1)
secession is supported by a majority within the political unit,
(2) the majority does not attempt suppression of the dissenting
minority, and (3) the government of the new entity is at least as
compatible with human freedom as that from which it seceded.
3.7. Decentralized Government
Problems should always be addressed at the most local level as possible, which ideally is the level of the peaceful honest individual. We support a strict interpretation of the Constitution and enforcement of the Tenth Amendment rule that the federal government has no powers beyond those delegated to it by the Constitution. We support the repeal or overturning of all Acts of Congress outside the narrow powers delegated to it in the Constitution, which are primarily national defense and providing an impartial judicial system. We oppose the President initiating military hostilities in the absence of a declaration of war by Congress.
*************************** 351. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
This draft is a result of using new (and potentially more controversial) language to improve
the baseline 100%-recycled Greatest Hits draft.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Text like this is new.
Preamble
As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others. We believe that respect for individual rights is the essential precondition for a free and prosperous world, that force and fraud must be banished from human relationships, and that only through freedom can peace and prosperity be realized. Consequently, we defend each person's right to engage in any activity that is peaceful and honest, and welcome the diversity that freedom brings. The world we seek to build is one where individuals are free to follow their own dreams in their own ways, without interference from government or any authoritarian power. In the following pages we have set forth our basic principles and enumerated various policy stands derived from those principles. These specific policies are not our goal, however. Our goal is nothing more nor less than a world set free in our lifetime, and it is to this end that we take these stands.
Statement of Principles
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.
1. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
We favor the freedom and responsibility of adults to decide what sensations and substances they knowingly and voluntarily consume. We favor the freedom of association among private parties to negotiate how they use information voluntarily disclosed to each other.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
We favor the freedom of all consenting adults to engage in any amorous or reproductive behavior or relationship that does not violate the rights of others.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
Sexuality or gender should have no
discriminatory
impact on the
treatment of individuals by government, such as in marriage, adoption, immigration, or military service.
While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
We oppose government actions that compel,
subsidize,
or prohibit abortion, sterilization or any other form of birth control.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The
primary
purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights.
Governments are usually the worst polluters, both directly and by subsidizing or protecting polluting industries and practices. We favor including in market prices the measurable costs that products and actions demonstrably and physically impose on non-consenting third parties. Environmental awareness and the voluntary responses to such green pricing are the only fair and effective ways to stimulate the technological innovations and social changes required for protecting our environment and threatened ecosystems.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor,
and it is unjust to tax people in order to finance benefits for other people.
We oppose any such tax, as distinct from taxes that serve as fees for pollution,
congestion, consumption of unowned resources, or government services not yet privatized.
We favor continuously reducing taxes as the functions of government are
privatized or made voluntary.
Government should not incur debt,
which burdens future generations without their consent.
We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution.
2.4. Money and Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types.
Individuals engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
Regulation of financial and capital markets should be limited to prohibition of force and fraud.
2.5. Monopolies, Corporations, and Labor
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability. We seek the elimination of
occupational licensure. We support the right to associate or not
associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to
recognize or refuse to recognize a union.
2.6. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for education spending to parents.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.7. Health Care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State,
and returning control of and responsibility for health care spending to patients.
We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.8. Retirement and Income Security
We advocate transitioning to a privatized voluntary retirement savings industry, with
victims of the Social Security tax having a claim against government property.
Income transfers to the poor from central governments should be phased out in favor of aid from local communities.
3. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil. We recognize the right to unrestricted
trade and travel. We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
3.4. Immigration and Naturalization
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
However, children always have the right to establish their maturity by assuming administration and protection of their own rights, ending dependency upon their parents or other guardians, and assuming all responsibilities of adulthood.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections. We
support the right to secede where: (1)
secession is supported by a majority within the political unit,
(2) the majority does not attempt suppression of the dissenting
minority, and (3) the government of the new entity is at least as
compatible with human freedom as that from which it seceded.
3.7. Decentralized Government
Problems should always be addressed at the most local level as possible, which ideally is the level of the peaceful honest individual. We support a strict interpretation of the Constitution and enforcement of the Tenth Amendment rule that the federal government has no powers beyond those delegated to it by the Constitution. We support the repeal or overturning of all Acts of Congress outside the narrow powers delegated to it in the Constitution, which are primarily national defense and providing an impartial judicial system. We oppose the President initiating military hostilities in the absence of a declaration of war by Congress.
*************************** 352. row ***************************
old_text: == McLendon Draft ==
Taxation
The Issue: The scope of government at all levels - federal, state & local - has grown far beyond what is authorized by the US Constitution, and by many state Constitutions. Consequently, taxation at all levels has expanded, and now imposes a crushing burden on the US taxpayer. Collection of income taxes is highly invasive, and leads to loss of privacy.
The Principle: Individuals have sole ownership of all the time that constitutes their lives, and to the fruits of their labor. Individual income taxes are more onerous than consumption taxes, tariffs, and excise taxes. To the extent taxes are necessary to accomplish authorized functions of government, such functions should be funded by taxes that do not invade individuals' privacy or self-ownership.
Long Term Vision: Only minimal revenues are required to fund legitimate government functions. Such minimal amounts should be collected in a voluntary, non-intrusive manner, so privacy is protected as an unalienable right. Many government functions would be privatized, so donations and voluntary user fees may eventually replace taxation.
Transitional Action: Eliminate all taxation on individual incomes. As unauthorized functions of the federal government are eliminated, subsequent cost savings would be applied to reduction of taxes, and the federal debt. Excise taxes on air & water pollution raise revenue by penalizing the polluter, and thereby protect the environment.
== Holtz Draft ==
The Issue: Government spending at all levels now absorbs nearly a third of America's economic production, compared to under a tenth as recently as the 1920's. At the federal level alone, the tax code in 2004 was 3,457 pages (plus 13,458 pages of IRS regulations), compared to 94 pages in 1928. People accused of violating tax rules are considered guilty until proven innocent, and ignorance of one of these 16,915 pages is not considered a valid defense. Taxation in America is monumentally unjust and monumentally inefficient.
The Principle: It is unjust to tax people in order to finance benefits for other people. We oppose any such tax, as distinct from taxes that serve as fees for pollution, congestion, consumption of unowned resources, or government services not yet privatized.
The Solution: We favor continuously reducing taxes as the functions of government are privatized or made voluntary. We call for the eventual abolition of all taxation on income (i.e. wages, interest, dividends, profits, gifts, and inheritance); on the sale of goods and services; and on real estate improvements.
Transitional Action: If it will help speed the repeal of the above taxes while the functions of government they finance are being privatized, we support their replacement with 1) taxes on pollution based on the damage it causes, and 2) taxes on that part of land rent created by government services not yet privatized. However, we oppose any tax reform that lacks strict safeguards ensuring it will significantly reduce America's total tax burden.
== Dasbach Language ==
Taxes should be reduced to the lowest level consistent with maintaining a free society.
== Haller Draft ==
THE ISSUE. The scope of government has grown far beyond what is authorized by the Constitution. To fund all these programs, the government has resorted to expanded coercive taxation and to incurring debt, which loads our economy with a fiscal anchor that will burden many future generations.
THE PRINCIPLE. Government should be funded by voluntary means. Government should not incur debt, [which burdens future generations without their consent] except in the case of national emergency as determined by super majorities of both houses of Congress.
THE SOLUTION. We support the eventual repeal of all taxation. To accomplish that, coercive taxes should be continuously reduced and simplified as government spending is cut and the functions of government are privatized or made voluntary. We recognize that it may prove impossible to fully eliminate such taxes and still maintain a government adequate to defend our freedom. A debt-free and tax-free government will free up economic resources, promote economic growth, and lower interest rates.
ACTION/TRANSITION.
* We support the passage of a “Balanced Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
* Initiate a program of reductions in the individual income tax, with a goal of repealing the 16th Amendment.
* Initiate a program of selling government assets to pay off the national debt.
== Dovner Draft ==
Libertarians believe taxation is wrong because it coercively takes money from people who don't want a particular service, and is often put to use to fund programs which the taxpayer opposes, such as wars, and because it burdens productivity and contributes to economic stagnation. Wherever taxation cannot be eliminated, it should be continually reduced and kept to a minimum. The most odious of taxes is the income tax and we call for it to be phased out.
== Draft submitted by geolibertarian economist Fred Foldvary ==
Given that an imposed government exists and obtains revenue, these are the sources proposed by the Libertarian Party, as being the least worst for liberty and economic well being:
1. Voluntary user fees, for services provided by government, when feasible. Proposing such fees does not imply that the LP favors government provision, but only that given such provision, user fees are the least worst way to finance services with specific beneficiaries.
2. Pollution levies based on the damage caused by the emissions. Pollution is tresspass and an invasion of the property of others, and the levy is compensation for damages.
3. Assessments based on the value of land, as government works and services increase land value, and so long as these are provided and funded by government, a levy based on the site value returns to government that land value and rent added by the services. Proposing this revenue source does not imply that the LP favors government provision, only that given such provision, a charge on the generated land value and rent is less unjust and less economically damaging than general taxes on income and sales.
4. Tolls on highways and streets just high enough to prevent congestion. Such tolls would be charge by private providers, and make the use of streets and highways more efficient.
All taxes other than the above should be abolished, in particular all taxes on wages, interest, dividends, and profits; all taxes on the sale of goods and services; and taxes on buildings and other real estate improvements.
*************************** 353. row ***************************
old_text: '''NOTE: This is a personal archive of reference materials created and administered by [[User:BrianHoltz|Brian Holtz]]. It is not an official publication of the 2008 LP Platform Committee, though some members of the committee do use and contribute to some content here.'''
The user accounts of PlatCom members are FirstnameLastname, e.g. AliciaMattson. The default password is given in [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PlatCommLP08/message/74 message 74] of PlatComLP08.
* [[Convention Rules governing the Platform]]
* The members of the [[2008 Platform Committee]]
* Perspectives on Platform Purpose
** [[Platform Criteria]]
** [[Legislative Program]]
* [[Platform Retention Votes]]
* [[LP Purpose Proposals]]
* [[Pledge Proposals]]
* [[Statement of Principles Proposals]]
* [[Slogan Proposals]]
* [[Proposed Platform Outlines]]
* Proposed Platform Rewrites and Campaign Programs
** [[Greatest Hits Draft Platform]]
** [[Greatest Hits Remix Platform]]
** [[Greatest Hits Short Platform]]
** [[Plankless Platform]]
** [[MarketLiberal Campaign Program]]
* Proposed Planks
** [[Taxation Plank]]
** [[Representative Government Plank]]
** [[Healthcare Plank]]
** [[Retirement Security]]
** [[Immigration Plank]]
** [[Foreign Policy Plank]]
** [[Abortion Plank]]
** [[Environment and Resources Plank]]
* Subcommittees
** [[Directional Principles Subcommittee]]
** [[Voter-Targeted Near-Term Policy Subcommittee]]
* Report Proposals
** [[Greatest Hits Draft Report|Brian's Greatest Hits Report Proposal]]
* [http://marketliberal.org/LP/Platforms/ Archive] of the 1972 and 1990 - 2006 LP Platforms
* [http://marketliberal.org/LP/Conventions/ Minutes] of the Platform floor proceedings of the 1993 - 2006 LP Conventions
* Controversies
** [[Uses Of The LP Platform To Attack The LP]]
** [[Does The Pledge Mandate Zero-Aggression Absolutism?]]
** [[Does the SoP Mandate Zero-Agression Absolutism?]]
** [[Does Zero-Aggression Absolutism Imply Anarchism?]]
** [[Is Taxation Theft?]]
* State LP Platforms
* Platforms of other parties
** [[Democratic Freedom Caucus Platform]]
* Libertarian public policy resources
*************************** 354. row ***************************
old_text: Individuals should have the freedom to live their lives the way they want to, as long as they respect the right of everyone else to have the same freedom. Each person should have personal liberty and economic liberty. Liberty also requires social responsibility.
== Personal Liberty ==
Personal liberty includes the right to control your own body, and make your own choices about how you live.
a) Freedom of Speech, Belief, and Lifestyle. The government should not favor any religion, belief, or philosophy over others, and should not restrict freedom of speech or of the press, or the freedom to practice any peaceful religion, belief philosophy, or lifestyle.
b) Equal Freedom. People of any race, ethnicity, minority opinion, gender, or lifestyle should have the same legal rights as everyone else. Laws should not discriminate against any group, and should also not favor one group over another.
c) Privacy. The right to privacy, as implied by the Bill of Rights (Articles 4 and 9), should be upheld.
d) Reproductive Rights. Each individual should have the right to control his or her own body, including making choices about family planning. The decision of whether or not to have an abortion is an extremely sensitive one, and should remain chiefly with the woman and her doctor, not the government.
e) Food and Medical Decisions. Each individual should have the right to make decisions regarding what foods or medicines to put into his or her body, which medical treatments to use, and when to stop treatment.
f) Freedom from Crime. One of the basic functions of government is to stop crime. In order to use police resources wisely, the government should distinguish between victimless crimes and crimes in which there is a victim. Murder, bodily attack, kidnapping, vandalism, robbery, and fraud all involve victims. However, gambling, pornography, and use of tobacco, alcohol, or marijuana in private are victimless crimes, if no one is forced to participate.
Police resources should focus on crimes that involve victims. It is usually impractical to enforce victimless crime laws. For example, if many people wish to use a particular food, drug, or beverage that is prohibited by law, the demand creates a black market. Since the courts will not handle black market disputes, rival gangs then settle disputes with violence. Furthermore, the black market price becomes so high that people commit robberies in order to obtain enough money to afford the artificially high price of black market products. The harm of many prohibition laws, then, outweighs the benefit. Therefore, government should only prohibit particular foods, drugs, beverages, etc. if there is overwhelming evidence of a public benefit in doing so.
Freedom from crime includes the right to self-defense. Since criminals can always find ways to obtain weapons, it is unwise to unilaterally disarm honest citizens, since police cannot be everywhere. Law-abiding individuals should have the right to own hand-held weapons, including rifles and pistols. This right should only be restricted when there are compelling and demonstrably effective reasons of public safety. For example, government may restrict children and convicted criminals from access to weapons.
g) Freedom from Involuntary Servitude. There should be no military draft, which is a form of slavery. A military draft is often used as a means of forcing American soldiers to fight unpopular wars in far off countries. When the military is restricted to its proper role of defending U.S. territory, then military duty is a patriotic service.
== Economic Liberty ==
Just as an individual should have the right to control his or her own body, each individual should also have the right to control the fruits of his or her labor. People should have the freedom to engage in voluntary economic exchanges, and to form voluntary economic organizations, whether for non-profit or profit purposes, as long as they respect the equal rights of others.
a) Property Rights Based on Justice. There are two forms of property:
1) human-made products, such as cars, houses, and machinery; and
2) land, which refers to spatial locations, along with the natural resources within those locations - therefore, land was not produced by any person.
Out of justice and practicality, it is proper to allow an individual to keep the rewards from his or her labor. So, there should be the least taxes possible on labor, because taxes on labor take the fruits of labor. Such taxes are not only unjust, but also lower the incentive to be productive. Taxes on income, sales, or buildings all take away the rewards of labor and productivity, so they are the most harmful kinds of taxes. The least harmful tax is a tax on land location value or on extraction of natural resources, because those are not products of labor, but are fixed resources.
Land is fundamentally different from products made by human effort, because no person can produce land, meaning locations and natural resources. So, property in land needs to be treated somewhat differently from other types of property, in order to prevent over-concentrated ownership of land and natural resources.
b) End Corporate Welfare. Government should not subsidize special interests. For example, corporate welfare should not be provided by government. Also, government should not protect corporations from competition, by such means as monopolistic types of licensing laws, not related to safety or consumer protection. For example, license fees should be no higher than administrative costs, and there should be no arbitrary quotas on the number of licenses issued.
c) Consumer Protection. There should be strong laws against business fraud and false advertising, which violate agreements made with others.
d) Worker Protection. There should be strong laws against fraud in employment practices. For example, no company should be allowed to mislead a worker into believing that working conditions are safe if there are chemical or other hazards the company is aware of.
e) Environmental Protection. There should be strong laws against polluting the air or water that others must use. In addition, we should remove government obstacles that prevent individuals from suing companies for polluting. For example, we should repeal the Price-Anderson Act, which severely restricts the right of victims of nuclear accidents to sue the owners of nuclear plants. In addition, we should remove laws that require victims to first spend time asking government administrative bureaucracies to look into a situation, rather than letting the victims immediately pursue a court action against a company. The government also should not subsidize developers.
f) Free Trade with Free Countries. We should phase in free trade with other free countries, at the same time that we are phasing in more freedom within our own country. It is unjust and impractical to suddenly allow open imports of goods from other countries before we have removed the obstacles that hinder productivity within our own country, such as high taxes on production, and hoarding of land (see 2-a). Also, it is unjust to allow imports of foreign products made using slave labor. There are shades of gray in defining slave labor. In countries that have very little freedom, such as those with high taxes on labor, or monopolistic licensing and landownership patterns, the workers’ lack of freedom can sometimes border on slavery. U.S. policy on tariffs and free trade should be based on general standards of how free a country or foreign industry is, rather than on arbitrary criteria or special interest protectionism.
== Limited Government ==
a) Essential Government Services. Government should provide any necessary services that cannot currently be provided adequately by the non-government sector (non-profit or for-profit groups). However, government should not provide any services that can be provided adequately by the non-government sector.
b) Government Incentives. For those essential services that need to be provided by government, we should attempt to introduce incentives for government efficiency.
c) Constitutional Democracy. The U.S. government was founded as a constitutional democracy, which means a democracy that respects the wishes of the majority of voters, as long as the rights of minorities are not violated (including minorities based on race, religion, lifestyle, or opinion). That is why the U.S. Constitution includes a Bill of Rights, which lists individual rights that are not allowed to be violated. Since everyone is in the minority on at least some issues, the Bill of Rights protects the rights of all of us. The Bill of Rights should be strictly enforced.
d) Fully Informed Juries. Juries should be informed of their traditional right and duty to judge the law as well as the facts. If a jury believes a person is being prosecuted for a law that is unconstitutional, then the jury has the right to let that person go free. The jury’s right to judge the law was considered by some of the writers of the U.S. Constitution to be one of the most important checks to prevent the government from violating the Constitution and individual rights.
The right of juries to judge the law has played an important historical role: protecting newspapers against censorship laws (such as the famous Peter Zenger case); protecting runaway slaves against pro-slavery laws - in cases where they were allowed to have jury trials; and protecting workers against laws that prevented them from forming unions.
Juries should be selected at random, rather than carefully packed by the prosecution or the defense - who should not be allowed to screen out prospective jurors except in very limited cases, such as when a prospective juror has a close relationship with the defendant. (Some outrageous cases of jury-packing have involved selecting all-white juries for trials of racially-motivated crimes.) When citizens become informed of the full rights, powers, and importance of juries, it is likely that more citizens will see jury service as a part of responsible citizenship, like voting. With fewer people trying to get out of jury service, and less packing of juries, the quality of juries would also be likely to improve.
e) U.S. Defense, Not World Police. The military should defend the territory of the U.S., rather than being the world’s policeman. The U.S. military should only be involved in situations where there is a direct threat to U.S. territory. Our military should certainly not be used to prop up foreign dictators, or to subsidize multinational corporations.
== Social Responsibility ==
Individual liberty can only be upheld when there is also responsibility. Individuals should be responsible for helping themselves, and for cooperating in ways that help each other. In the case of essential services, such as assistance for the needy, there should only be cuts in these services if adequate services can be provided by the non-government sector. Recipients of government help also have a responsibility to help themselves if they are able. The goal of government assistance should be to try to get people to the point where they can help themselves, if at all possible. In general, able-bodied people should not be on welfare, with the possible exception of certain emergencies, in which case government help should only be temporary, until the person has been helped through the emergency situation. In cases of able-bodied people, government assistance should be conditioned on responsibility on the part of the recipient.
*************************** 355. row ***************************
old_text: Individuals should have the freedom to live their lives the way they want to, as long as they respect the right of everyone else to have the same freedom. Each person should have personal liberty and economic liberty. Liberty also requires social responsibility.
== Personal Liberty ==
Personal liberty includes the right to control your own body, and make your own choices about how you live.
=== Freedom of Speech, Belief, and Lifestyle ===
The government should not favor any religion, belief, or philosophy over others, and should not restrict freedom of speech or of the press, or the freedom to practice any peaceful religion, belief philosophy, or lifestyle.
=== Equal Freedom ===
People of any race, ethnicity, minority opinion, gender, or lifestyle should have the same legal rights as everyone else. Laws should not discriminate against any group, and should also not favor one group over another.
=== Privacy ===
The right to privacy, as implied by the Bill of Rights (Articles 4 and 9), should be upheld.
=== Reproductive Rights ===
Each individual should have the right to control his or her own body, including making choices about family planning. The decision of whether or not to have an abortion is an extremely sensitive one, and should remain chiefly with the woman and her doctor, not the government.
=== Food and Medical Decisions ===
Each individual should have the right to make decisions regarding what foods or medicines to put into his or her body, which medical treatments to use, and when to stop treatment.
=== Freedom from Crime ===
One of the basic functions of government is to stop crime. In order to use police resources wisely, the government should distinguish between victimless crimes and crimes in which there is a victim. Murder, bodily attack, kidnapping, vandalism, robbery, and fraud all involve victims. However, gambling, pornography, and use of tobacco, alcohol, or marijuana in private are victimless crimes, if no one is forced to participate.
Police resources should focus on crimes that involve victims. It is usually impractical to enforce victimless crime laws. For example, if many people wish to use a particular food, drug, or beverage that is prohibited by law, the demand creates a black market. Since the courts will not handle black market disputes, rival gangs then settle disputes with violence. Furthermore, the black market price becomes so high that people commit robberies in order to obtain enough money to afford the artificially high price of black market products. The harm of many prohibition laws, then, outweighs the benefit. Therefore, government should only prohibit particular foods, drugs, beverages, etc. if there is overwhelming evidence of a public benefit in doing so.
Freedom from crime includes the right to self-defense. Since criminals can always find ways to obtain weapons, it is unwise to unilaterally disarm honest citizens, since police cannot be everywhere. Law-abiding individuals should have the right to own hand-held weapons, including rifles and pistols. This right should only be restricted when there are compelling and demonstrably effective reasons of public safety. For example, government may restrict children and convicted criminals from access to weapons.
=== Freedom from Involuntary Servitude ===
There should be no military draft, which is a form of slavery. A military draft is often used as a means of forcing American soldiers to fight unpopular wars in far off countries. When the military is restricted to its proper role of defending U.S. territory, then military duty is a patriotic service.
== Economic Liberty ==
Just as an individual should have the right to control his or her own body, each individual should also have the right to control the fruits of his or her labor. People should have the freedom to engage in voluntary economic exchanges, and to form voluntary economic organizations, whether for non-profit or profit purposes, as long as they respect the equal rights of others.
=== Property Rights Based on Justice ===
There are two forms of property:
1) human-made products, such as cars, houses, and machinery; and
2) land, which refers to spatial locations, along with the natural resources within those locations - therefore, land was not produced by any person.
Out of justice and practicality, it is proper to allow an individual to keep the rewards from his or her labor. So, there should be the least taxes possible on labor, because taxes on labor take the fruits of labor. Such taxes are not only unjust, but also lower the incentive to be productive. Taxes on income, sales, or buildings all take away the rewards of labor and productivity, so they are the most harmful kinds of taxes. The least harmful tax is a tax on land location value or on extraction of natural resources, because those are not products of labor, but are fixed resources.
Land is fundamentally different from products made by human effort, because no person can produce land, meaning locations and natural resources. So, property in land needs to be treated somewhat differently from other types of property, in order to prevent over-concentrated ownership of land and natural resources.
=== End Corporate Welfare ===
Government should not subsidize special interests. For example, corporate welfare should not be provided by government. Also, government should not protect corporations from competition, by such means as monopolistic types of licensing laws, not related to safety or consumer protection. For example, license fees should be no higher than administrative costs, and there should be no arbitrary quotas on the number of licenses issued.
=== Consumer Protection ===
There should be strong laws against business fraud and false advertising, which violate agreements made with others.
=== Worker Protection ===
There should be strong laws against fraud in employment practices. For example, no company should be allowed to mislead a worker into believing that working conditions are safe if there are chemical or other hazards the company is aware of.
=== Environmental Protection ===
There should be strong laws against polluting the air or water that others must use. In addition, we should remove government obstacles that prevent individuals from suing companies for polluting. For example, we should repeal the Price-Anderson Act, which severely restricts the right of victims of nuclear accidents to sue the owners of nuclear plants. In addition, we should remove laws that require victims to first spend time asking government administrative bureaucracies to look into a situation, rather than letting the victims immediately pursue a court action against a company. The government also should not subsidize developers.
=== Free Trade with Free Countries ===
We should phase in free trade with other free countries, at the same time that we are phasing in more freedom within our own country. It is unjust and impractical to suddenly allow open imports of goods from other countries before we have removed the obstacles that hinder productivity within our own country, such as high taxes on production, and hoarding of land (see 2-a). Also, it is unjust to allow imports of foreign products made using slave labor. There are shades of gray in defining slave labor. In countries that have very little freedom, such as those with high taxes on labor, or monopolistic licensing and landownership patterns, the workers’ lack of freedom can sometimes border on slavery. U.S. policy on tariffs and free trade should be based on general standards of how free a country or foreign industry is, rather than on arbitrary criteria or special interest protectionism.
== Limited Government ==
=== Essential Government Services ===
Government should provide any necessary services that cannot currently be provided adequately by the non-government sector (non-profit or for-profit groups). However, government should not provide any services that can be provided adequately by the non-government sector.
=== Government Incentives ===
For those essential services that need to be provided by government, we should attempt to introduce incentives for government efficiency.
=== Constitutional Democracy ===
The U.S. government was founded as a constitutional democracy, which means a democracy that respects the wishes of the majority of voters, as long as the rights of minorities are not violated (including minorities based on race, religion, lifestyle, or opinion). That is why the U.S. Constitution includes a Bill of Rights, which lists individual rights that are not allowed to be violated. Since everyone is in the minority on at least some issues, the Bill of Rights protects the rights of all of us. The Bill of Rights should be strictly enforced.
=== Fully Informed Juries ===
Juries should be informed of their traditional right and duty to judge the law as well as the facts. If a jury believes a person is being prosecuted for a law that is unconstitutional, then the jury has the right to let that person go free. The jury’s right to judge the law was considered by some of the writers of the U.S. Constitution to be one of the most important checks to prevent the government from violating the Constitution and individual rights.
The right of juries to judge the law has played an important historical role: protecting newspapers against censorship laws (such as the famous Peter Zenger case); protecting runaway slaves against pro-slavery laws - in cases where they were allowed to have jury trials; and protecting workers against laws that prevented them from forming unions.
Juries should be selected at random, rather than carefully packed by the prosecution or the defense - who should not be allowed to screen out prospective jurors except in very limited cases, such as when a prospective juror has a close relationship with the defendant. (Some outrageous cases of jury-packing have involved selecting all-white juries for trials of racially-motivated crimes.) When citizens become informed of the full rights, powers, and importance of juries, it is likely that more citizens will see jury service as a part of responsible citizenship, like voting. With fewer people trying to get out of jury service, and less packing of juries, the quality of juries would also be likely to improve.
=== U.S. Defense, Not World Police ===
The military should defend the territory of the U.S., rather than being the world’s policeman. The U.S. military should only be involved in situations where there is a direct threat to U.S. territory. Our military should certainly not be used to prop up foreign dictators, or to subsidize multinational corporations.
== Social Responsibility ==
Individual liberty can only be upheld when there is also responsibility. Individuals should be responsible for helping themselves, and for cooperating in ways that help each other. In the case of essential services, such as assistance for the needy, there should only be cuts in these services if adequate services can be provided by the non-government sector. Recipients of government help also have a responsibility to help themselves if they are able. The goal of government assistance should be to try to get people to the point where they can help themselves, if at all possible. In general, able-bodied people should not be on welfare, with the possible exception of certain emergencies, in which case government help should only be temporary, until the person has been helped through the emergency situation. In cases of able-bodied people, government assistance should be conditioned on responsibility on the part of the recipient.
*************************** 356. row ***************************
old_text: '''NOTE: This is a personal archive of reference materials created and administered by [[User:BrianHoltz|Brian Holtz]]. It is not an official publication of the 2008 LP Platform Committee, though some members of the committee do use and contribute to some content here.'''
The user accounts of PlatCom members are FirstnameLastname, e.g. AliciaMattson. The default password is given in [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PlatCommLP08/message/74 message 74] of PlatComLP08.
* [[Convention Rules governing the Platform]]
* The members of the [[2008 Platform Committee]]
* Perspectives on Platform Purpose
** [[Platform Criteria]]
** [[Legislative Program]]
* [[Platform Retention Votes]]
* [[LP Purpose Proposals]]
* [[Pledge Proposals]]
* [[Statement of Principles Proposals]]
* [[Slogan Proposals]]
* [[Proposed Platform Outlines]]
* Proposed Platform Rewrites and Campaign Programs
** [[Greatest Hits Draft Platform]]
** [[Greatest Hits Remix Platform]]
** [[Greatest Hits Short Platform]]
** [[Plankless Platform]]
** [[MarketLiberal Campaign Program]]
* Proposed Planks
** [[Taxation Plank]]
** [[Representative Government Plank]]
** [[Healthcare Plank]]
** [[Retirement Security]]
** [[Immigration Plank]]
** [[Foreign Policy Plank]]
** [[Abortion Plank]]
** [[Environment and Resources Plank]]
* Subcommittees
** [[Directional Principles Subcommittee]]
** [[Voter-Targeted Near-Term Policy Subcommittee]]
* Report Proposals
** [[Greatest Hits Draft Report|Brian's Greatest Hits Report Proposal]]
* [http://marketliberal.org/LP/Platforms/ Archive] of the 1972 and 1990 - 2006 LP Platforms
* [http://marketliberal.org/LP/Conventions/ Minutes] of the Platform floor proceedings of the 1993 - 2006 LP Conventions
* Controversies
** [[Uses Of The LP Platform To Attack The LP]]
** [[Does The Pledge Mandate Zero-Aggression Absolutism?]]
** [[Does the SoP Mandate Zero-Agression Absolutism?]]
** [[Does Zero-Aggression Absolutism Imply Anarchism?]]
** [[Is Taxation Theft?]]
* State LP Platforms
* Platforms of other parties
** [[Democratic Freedom Caucus Platform]]
** [[Democratic Freedom Caucus Redacted Platform]]
* Libertarian public policy resources
*************************** 357. row ***************************
old_text: Individuals should have the freedom to live their lives the way they want to, as long as they respect the right of everyone else to have the same freedom. Each person should have personal liberty and economic liberty. Liberty also requires social responsibility.
== Personal Liberty ==
Personal liberty includes the right to control your own body, and make your own choices about how you live.
=== Freedom of Speech, Belief, and Lifestyle ===
The government should not favor any religion, belief, or philosophy over others, and should not restrict freedom of speech or of the press, or the freedom to practice any peaceful religion, belief philosophy, or lifestyle.
=== Equal Freedom ===
People of any race, ethnicity, minority opinion, gender, or lifestyle should have the same legal rights as everyone else. Laws should not discriminate against any group, and should also not favor one group over another.
=== Privacy ===
The right to privacy, as implied by the Bill of Rights (Articles 4 and 9), should be upheld.
=== Reproductive Rights ===
Each individual should have the right to control his or her own body, including making choices about family planning. The decision of whether or not to have an abortion is an extremely sensitive one, and should remain chiefly with the woman and her doctor, not the government.
=== Food and Medical Decisions ===
Each individual should have the right to make decisions regarding what foods or medicines to put into his or her body, which medical treatments to use, and when to stop treatment.
=== Freedom from Crime ===
One of the basic functions of government is to stop crime. In order to use police resources wisely, the government should distinguish between victimless crimes and crimes in which there is a victim. Murder, bodily attack, kidnapping, vandalism, robbery, and fraud all involve victims. However, gambling, pornography, and use of tobacco, alcohol, or marijuana in private are victimless crimes, if no one is forced to participate.
Police resources should focus on crimes that involve victims. It is usually impractical to enforce victimless crime laws. For example, if many people wish to use a particular food, drug, or beverage that is prohibited by law, the demand creates a black market. Since the courts will not handle black market disputes, rival gangs then settle disputes with violence. Furthermore, the black market price becomes so high that people commit robberies in order to obtain enough money to afford the artificially high price of black market products. The harm of many prohibition laws, then, outweighs the benefit. Therefore, government should only prohibit particular foods, drugs, beverages, etc. if there is overwhelming evidence of a public benefit in doing so.
Freedom from crime includes the right to self-defense. Since criminals can always find ways to obtain weapons, it is unwise to unilaterally disarm honest citizens, since police cannot be everywhere. Law-abiding individuals should have the right to own hand-held weapons, including rifles and pistols. This right should only be restricted when there are compelling and demonstrably effective reasons of public safety. For example, government may restrict children and convicted criminals from access to weapons.
=== Freedom from Involuntary Servitude ===
There should be no military draft, which is a form of slavery. A military draft is often used as a means of forcing American soldiers to fight unpopular wars in far off countries. When the military is restricted to its proper role of defending U.S. territory, then military duty is a patriotic service.
== Economic Liberty ==
Just as an individual should have the right to control his or her own body, each individual should also have the right to control the fruits of his or her labor. People should have the freedom to engage in voluntary economic exchanges, and to form voluntary economic organizations, whether for non-profit or profit purposes, as long as they respect the equal rights of others.
=== Property Rights Based on Justice ===
There are two forms of property:
1) human-made products, such as cars, houses, and machinery; and
2) land, which refers to spatial locations, along with the natural resources within those locations - therefore, land was not produced by any person.
Out of justice and practicality, it is proper to allow an individual to keep the rewards from his or her labor. So, there should be the least taxes possible on labor, because taxes on labor take the fruits of labor. Such taxes are not only unjust, but also lower the incentive to be productive. Taxes on income, sales, or buildings all take away the rewards of labor and productivity, so they are the most harmful kinds of taxes. The least harmful tax is a tax on land location value or on extraction of natural resources, because those are not products of labor, but are fixed resources.
Land is fundamentally different from products made by human effort, because no person can produce land, meaning locations and natural resources. So, property in land needs to be treated somewhat differently from other types of property, in order to prevent over-concentrated ownership of land and natural resources.
=== End Corporate Welfare ===
Government should not subsidize special interests. For example, corporate welfare should not be provided by government. Also, government should not protect corporations from competition, by such means as monopolistic types of licensing laws, not related to safety or consumer protection. For example, license fees should be no higher than administrative costs, and there should be no arbitrary quotas on the number of licenses issued.
=== Consumer Protection ===
There should be strong laws against business fraud and false advertising, which violate agreements made with others.
=== Worker Protection ===
There should be strong laws against fraud in employment practices. For example, no company should be allowed to mislead a worker into believing that working conditions are safe if there are chemical or other hazards the company is aware of.
=== Environmental Protection ===
There should be strong laws against polluting the air or water that others must use. In addition, we should remove government obstacles that prevent individuals from suing companies for polluting. For example, we should repeal the Price-Anderson Act, which severely restricts the right of victims of nuclear accidents to sue the owners of nuclear plants. In addition, we should remove laws that require victims to first spend time asking government administrative bureaucracies to look into a situation, rather than letting the victims immediately pursue a court action against a company. The government also should not subsidize developers.
=== Free Trade with Free Countries ===
We should phase in free trade with other free countries, at the same time that we are phasing in more freedom within our own country. It is unjust and impractical to suddenly allow open imports of goods from other countries before we have removed the obstacles that hinder productivity within our own country, such as high taxes on production, and hoarding of land (see 2-a). Also, it is unjust to allow imports of foreign products made using slave labor. There are shades of gray in defining slave labor. In countries that have very little freedom, such as those with high taxes on labor, or monopolistic licensing and landownership patterns, the workers’ lack of freedom can sometimes border on slavery. U.S. policy on tariffs and free trade should be based on general standards of how free a country or foreign industry is, rather than on arbitrary criteria or special interest protectionism.
== Limited Government ==
=== Essential Government Services ===
Government should provide any necessary services that cannot currently be provided adequately by the non-government sector (non-profit or for-profit groups). However, government should not provide any services that can be provided adequately by the non-government sector.
=== Government Incentives ===
For those essential services that need to be provided by government, we should attempt to introduce incentives for government efficiency.
=== Constitutional Democracy ===
The U.S. government was founded as a constitutional democracy, which means a democracy that respects the wishes of the majority of voters, as long as the rights of minorities are not violated (including minorities based on race, religion, lifestyle, or opinion). That is why the U.S. Constitution includes a Bill of Rights, which lists individual rights that are not allowed to be violated. Since everyone is in the minority on at least some issues, the Bill of Rights protects the rights of all of us. The Bill of Rights should be strictly enforced.
=== Fully Informed Juries ===
Juries should be informed of their traditional right and duty to judge the law as well as the facts. If a jury believes a person is being prosecuted for a law that is unconstitutional, then the jury has the right to let that person go free. The jury’s right to judge the law was considered by some of the writers of the U.S. Constitution to be one of the most important checks to prevent the government from violating the Constitution and individual rights.
The right of juries to judge the law has played an important historical role: protecting newspapers against censorship laws (such as the famous Peter Zenger case); protecting runaway slaves against pro-slavery laws - in cases where they were allowed to have jury trials; and protecting workers against laws that prevented them from forming unions.
Juries should be selected at random, rather than carefully packed by the prosecution or the defense - who should not be allowed to screen out prospective jurors except in very limited cases, such as when a prospective juror has a close relationship with the defendant. (Some outrageous cases of jury-packing have involved selecting all-white juries for trials of racially-motivated crimes.) When citizens become informed of the full rights, powers, and importance of juries, it is likely that more citizens will see jury service as a part of responsible citizenship, like voting. With fewer people trying to get out of jury service, and less packing of juries, the quality of juries would also be likely to improve.
=== U.S. Defense, Not World Police ===
The military should defend the territory of the U.S., rather than being the world’s policeman. The U.S. military should only be involved in situations where there is a direct threat to U.S. territory. Our military should certainly not be used to prop up foreign dictators, or to subsidize multinational corporations.
== Social Responsibility ==
Individual liberty can only be upheld when there is also responsibility. Individuals should be responsible for helping themselves, and for cooperating in ways that help each other. In the case of essential services, such as assistance for the needy, there should only be cuts in these services if adequate services can be provided by the non-government sector. Recipients of government help also have a responsibility to help themselves if they are able. The goal of government assistance should be to try to get people to the point where they can help themselves, if at all possible. In general, able-bodied people should not be on welfare, with the possible exception of certain emergencies, in which case government help should only be temporary, until the person has been helped through the emergency situation. In cases of able-bodied people, government assistance should be conditioned on responsibility on the part of the recipient.
*************************** 358. row ***************************
old_text: Individuals should have the freedom to live their lives the way they want to, as long as they respect the right of everyone else to have the same freedom. Each person should have personal liberty and economic liberty. Liberty also requires social responsibility.
== Personal Liberty ==
Personal liberty includes the right to control your own body, and make your own choices about how you live.
=== Freedom of Speech, Belief, and Lifestyle ===
The government should not favor any religion, belief, or philosophy over others, and should not restrict freedom of speech or of the press, or the freedom to practice any peaceful religion, belief philosophy, or lifestyle.
=== Equal Freedom ===
People of any race, ethnicity, minority opinion, gender, or lifestyle should have the same legal rights as everyone else. Laws should not discriminate against any group, and should also not favor one group over another.
=== Privacy ===
The right to privacy, as implied by the Bill of Rights (Articles 4 and 9), should be upheld.
=== Reproductive Rights ===
Each individual should have the right to control his or her own body, including making choices about family planning. The decision of whether or not to have an abortion is an extremely sensitive one, and should remain chiefly with the woman and her doctor, not the government.
=== Food and Medical Decisions ===
Each individual should have the right to make decisions regarding what foods or medicines to put into his or her body, which medical treatments to use, and when to stop treatment.
=== Freedom from Crime ===
One of the basic functions of government is to stop crime. In order to use police resources wisely, the government should distinguish between victimless crimes and crimes in which there is a victim. Murder, bodily attack, kidnapping, vandalism, robbery, and fraud all involve victims. However, gambling, pornography, and use of tobacco, alcohol, or marijuana in private are victimless crimes, if no one is forced to participate.
Police resources should focus on crimes that involve victims. It is usually impractical to enforce victimless crime laws. For example, if many people wish to use a particular food, drug, or beverage that is prohibited by law, the demand creates a black market. Since the courts will not handle black market disputes, rival gangs then settle disputes with violence. Furthermore, the black market price becomes so high that people commit robberies in order to obtain enough money to afford the artificially high price of black market products. The harm of many prohibition laws, then, outweighs the benefit. Therefore, government should only prohibit particular foods, drugs, beverages, etc. if there is overwhelming evidence of a public benefit in doing so.
Freedom from crime includes the right to self-defense. Since criminals can always find ways to obtain weapons, it is unwise to unilaterally disarm honest citizens, since police cannot be everywhere. Law-abiding individuals should have the right to own hand-held weapons, including rifles and pistols. This right should only be restricted when there are compelling and demonstrably effective reasons of public safety. For example, government may restrict children and convicted criminals from access to weapons.
=== Freedom from Involuntary Servitude ===
There should be no military draft, which is a form of slavery. A military draft is often used as a means of forcing American soldiers to fight unpopular wars in far off countries. When the military is restricted to its proper role of defending U.S. territory, then military duty is a patriotic service.
== Economic Liberty ==
Just as an individual should have the right to control his or her own body, each individual should also have the right to control the fruits of his or her labor. People should have the freedom to engage in voluntary economic exchanges, and to form voluntary economic organizations, whether for non-profit or profit purposes, as long as they respect the equal rights of others.
=== Property Rights Based on Justice ===
There are two forms of property:
1) human-made products, such as cars, houses, and machinery; and
2) land, which refers to spatial locations, along with the natural resources within those locations - therefore, land was not produced by any person.
Out of justice and practicality, it is proper to allow an individual to keep the rewards from his or her labor. So, there should be the least taxes possible on labor, because taxes on labor take the fruits of labor. Such taxes are not only unjust, but also lower the incentive to be productive. Taxes on income, sales, or buildings all take away the rewards of labor and productivity, so they are the most harmful kinds of taxes. The least harmful tax is a tax on land location value or on extraction of natural resources, because those are not products of labor, but are fixed resources. Land is fundamentally different from products made by human effort, because no person can produce land, meaning locations and natural resources. So, property in land needs to be treated somewhat differently from other types of property, in order to prevent over-concentrated ownership of land and natural resources.
=== End Corporate Welfare ===
Government should not subsidize special interests. For example, corporate welfare should not be provided by government. Also, government should not protect corporations from competition, by such means as monopolistic types of licensing laws, not related to safety or consumer protection. For example, license fees should be no higher than administrative costs, and there should be no arbitrary quotas on the number of licenses issued.
=== Consumer Protection ===
There should be strong laws against business fraud and false advertising, which violate agreements made with others.
=== Worker Protection ===
There should be strong laws against fraud in employment practices. For example, no company should be allowed to mislead a worker into believing that working conditions are safe if there are chemical or other hazards the company is aware of.
=== Environmental Protection ===
There should be strong laws against polluting the air or water that others must use. In addition, we should remove government obstacles that prevent individuals from suing companies for polluting. For example, we should repeal the Price-Anderson Act, which severely restricts the right of victims of nuclear accidents to sue the owners of nuclear plants. In addition, we should remove laws that require victims to first spend time asking government administrative bureaucracies to look into a situation, rather than letting the victims immediately pursue a court action against a company. The government also should not subsidize developers.
=== Free Trade with Free Countries ===
We should phase in free trade with other free countries, at the same time that we are phasing in more freedom within our own country. It is unjust and impractical to suddenly allow open imports of goods from other countries before we have removed the obstacles that hinder productivity within our own country, such as high taxes on production, and hoarding of land (see 2-a). Also, it is unjust to allow imports of foreign products made using slave labor. There are shades of gray in defining slave labor. In countries that have very little freedom, such as those with high taxes on labor, or monopolistic licensing and landownership patterns, the workers’ lack of freedom can sometimes border on slavery. U.S. policy on tariffs and free trade should be based on general standards of how free a country or foreign industry is, rather than on arbitrary criteria or special interest protectionism.
== Limited Government ==
=== Essential Government Services ===
Government should provide any necessary services that cannot currently be provided adequately by the non-government sector (non-profit or for-profit groups). However, government should not provide any services that can be provided adequately by the non-government sector.
=== Government Incentives ===
For those essential services that need to be provided by government, we should attempt to introduce incentives for government efficiency.
=== Constitutional Democracy ===
The U.S. government was founded as a constitutional democracy, which means a democracy that respects the wishes of the majority of voters, as long as the rights of minorities are not violated (including minorities based on race, religion, lifestyle, or opinion). That is why the U.S. Constitution includes a Bill of Rights, which lists individual rights that are not allowed to be violated. Since everyone is in the minority on at least some issues, the Bill of Rights protects the rights of all of us. The Bill of Rights should be strictly enforced.
=== Fully Informed Juries ===
Juries should be informed of their traditional right and duty to judge the law as well as the facts. If a jury believes a person is being prosecuted for a law that is unconstitutional, then the jury has the right to let that person go free. The jury’s right to judge the law was considered by some of the writers of the U.S. Constitution to be one of the most important checks to prevent the government from violating the Constitution and individual rights.
The right of juries to judge the law has played an important historical role: protecting newspapers against censorship laws (such as the famous Peter Zenger case); protecting runaway slaves against pro-slavery laws - in cases where they were allowed to have jury trials; and protecting workers against laws that prevented them from forming unions.
Juries should be selected at random, rather than carefully packed by the prosecution or the defense - who should not be allowed to screen out prospective jurors except in very limited cases, such as when a prospective juror has a close relationship with the defendant. (Some outrageous cases of jury-packing have involved selecting all-white juries for trials of racially-motivated crimes.) When citizens become informed of the full rights, powers, and importance of juries, it is likely that more citizens will see jury service as a part of responsible citizenship, like voting. With fewer people trying to get out of jury service, and less packing of juries, the quality of juries would also be likely to improve.
=== U.S. Defense, Not World Police ===
The military should defend the territory of the U.S., rather than being the world’s policeman. The U.S. military should only be involved in situations where there is a direct threat to U.S. territory. Our military should certainly not be used to prop up foreign dictators, or to subsidize multinational corporations.
== Social Responsibility ==
Individual liberty can only be upheld when there is also responsibility. Individuals should be responsible for helping themselves, and for cooperating in ways that help each other. In the case of essential services, such as assistance for the needy, there should only be cuts in these services if adequate services can be provided by the non-government sector. Recipients of government help also have a responsibility to help themselves if they are able. The goal of government assistance should be to try to get people to the point where they can help themselves, if at all possible. In general, able-bodied people should not be on welfare, with the possible exception of certain emergencies, in which case government help should only be temporary, until the person has been helped through the emergency situation. In cases of able-bodied people, government assistance should be conditioned on responsibility on the part of the recipient.
*************************** 359. row ***************************
old_text: '''NOTE: This is a personal archive of reference materials created and administered by [[User:BrianHoltz|Brian Holtz]]. It is not an official publication of the 2008 LP Platform Committee, though some members of the committee do use and contribute to some content here.'''
The user accounts of PlatCom members are FirstnameLastname, e.g. AliciaMattson. The default password is given in [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PlatCommLP08/message/74 message 74] of PlatComLP08.
* [[Convention Rules governing the Platform]]
* The members of the [[2008 Platform Committee]]
* Perspectives on Platform Purpose
** [[Platform Criteria]]
** [[Legislative Program]]
* [[Platform Retention Votes]]
* [[LP Purpose Proposals]]
* [[Pledge Proposals]]
* [[Statement of Principles Proposals]]
* [[Slogan Proposals]]
* [[Proposed Platform Outlines]]
* Proposed Platform Rewrites and Campaign Programs
** [[Greatest Hits Draft Platform]]
** [[Greatest Hits Remix Platform]]
** [[Greatest Hits Short Platform]]
** [[Plankless Platform]]
** [[MarketLiberal Campaign Program]]
* Proposed Planks
** [[Taxation Plank]]
** [[Representative Government Plank]]
** [[Healthcare Plank]]
** [[Retirement Security]]
** [[Immigration Plank]]
** [[Foreign Policy Plank]]
** [[Abortion Plank]]
** [[Environment and Resources Plank]]
* Subcommittees
** [[Directional Principles Subcommittee]]
** [[Voter-Targeted Near-Term Policy Subcommittee]]
* Report Proposals
** [[Greatest Hits Draft Report|Brian's Greatest Hits Report Proposal]]
* [http://marketliberal.org/LP/Platforms/ Archive] of the 1972 and 1990 - 2006 LP Platforms
* [http://marketliberal.org/LP/Conventions/ Minutes] of the Platform floor proceedings of the 1993 - 2006 LP Conventions
* Controversies
** [[Uses Of The LP Platform To Attack The LP]]
** [[Does The Pledge Mandate Zero-Aggression Absolutism?]]
** [[Does the SoP Mandate Zero-Agression Absolutism?]]
** [[Does Zero-Aggression Absolutism Imply Anarchism?]]
** [[Is Taxation Theft?]]
* State LP Platforms
* Platforms of other parties
** [[Democratic Freedom Caucus Platform]]
** [[Democratic Freedom Caucus Redacted Platform]]
** [http://www.gp.org/platform/2004/2004platform.pdf Green Party] (GP-US ran Ralph Nader for POTUS twice)
** [http://www.greenparty.org/Platform.php Green Party USA] (more radical party eclipsed by GP-US)
* Libertarian public policy resources
*************************** 360. row ***************************
old_text: '''NOTE: This is a personal archive of reference materials created and administered by [[User:BrianHoltz|Brian Holtz]]. It is not an official publication of the 2008 LP Platform Committee, though some members of the committee do use and contribute to some content here.'''
The user accounts of PlatCom members are FirstnameLastname, e.g. AliciaMattson. The default password is given in [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PlatCommLP08/message/74 message 74] of PlatComLP08.
* [[Convention Rules governing the Platform]]
* The members of the [[2008 Platform Committee]]
* Perspectives on Platform Purpose
** [[Platform Criteria]]
** [[Legislative Program]]
* [[Platform Retention Votes]]
* [[LP Purpose Proposals]]
* [[Pledge Proposals]]
* [[Statement of Principles Proposals]]
* [[Slogan Proposals]]
* [[Proposed Platform Outlines]]
* Proposed Platform Rewrites
** [[Greatest Hits Draft Platform]]
** [[Greatest Hits Remix Platform]]
** [[Greatest Hits Short Platform]]
** [[Plankless Platform]]
** [http://wspp.rationalreview.com/ World's Smallest Political Platform]
** [http://restore04.com/ Restoration Caucus]
* Proposed Campaign Programs
** [[MarketLiberal Campaign Program]]
* Proposed Planks
** [[Taxation Plank]]
** [[Representative Government Plank]]
** [[Healthcare Plank]]
** [[Retirement Security]]
** [[Immigration Plank]]
** [[Foreign Policy Plank]]
** [[Abortion Plank]]
** [[Environment and Resources Plank]]
* Subcommittees
** [[Directional Principles Subcommittee]]
** [[Voter-Targeted Near-Term Policy Subcommittee]]
* Report Proposals
** [[Greatest Hits Draft Report|Brian's Greatest Hits Report Proposal]]
* [http://marketliberal.org/LP/Platforms/ Archive] of the 1972 and 1990 - 2006 LP Platforms
* [http://marketliberal.org/LP/Conventions/ Minutes] of the Platform floor proceedings of the 1993 - 2006 LP Conventions
* Controversies
** [[Uses Of The LP Platform To Attack The LP]]
** [[Does The Pledge Mandate Zero-Aggression Absolutism?]]
** [[Does the SoP Mandate Zero-Agression Absolutism?]]
** [[Does Zero-Aggression Absolutism Imply Anarchism?]]
** [[Is Taxation Theft?]]
* State LP Platforms
* Platforms of other parties
** [[Democratic Freedom Caucus Platform]]
** [[Democratic Freedom Caucus Redacted Platform]]
** [http://www.gp.org/platform/2004/2004platform.pdf Green Party] (GP-US ran Ralph Nader for POTUS twice)
** [http://www.greenparty.org/Platform.php Green Party USA] (more radical party eclipsed by GP-US)
* Libertarian public policy resources
*************************** 361. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1996 platform.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Preamble
As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others. We believe that respect for individual rights is the essential precondition for a free and prosperous world, that force and fraud must be banished from human relationships, and that only through freedom can peace and prosperity be realized. Consequently, we defend each person's right to engage in any activity that is peaceful and honest, and welcome the diversity that freedom brings. The world we seek to build is one where individuals are free to follow their own dreams in their own ways, without interference from government or any authoritarian power. In the following pages we have set forth our basic principles and enumerated various policy stands derived from those principles. These specific policies are not our goal, however. Our goal is nothing more nor less than a world set free in our lifetime, and it is to this end that we take these stands.
Statement of Principles
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.
1.0. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Sexuality and Reproduction
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for population control.
The full PlatCom should choose one of:
# [Say nothing more than the above.]
# We recognize that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people's abortions, nor should any government or individual force a woman to have an abortion.
# Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people's abortions, nor should any government or individual force a woman to have an abortion.
# We support the repeal of all laws restricting voluntary birth control or voluntary termination of pregnancies during their first hundred days.
# While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2.0. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Financial Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies and Corporations
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability.
2.6. Labor Markets
We support the right of free persons to voluntarily associate in, or to establish, labor unions. We support the concept that an employer may recognize a union as the collective bargaining agent of some or all of his employees. We oppose governmental interference in bargaining.
We call for the abolition of government agencies that restrict entry into any profession. No consumer should be legally restrained from hiring unlicensed individuals.
2.7. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.8. Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.9. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3.0. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
The important principle in foreign policy should be the elimination of intervention by the United States government in the affairs of other nations.
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
We condemn the use of force, and especially the use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups.
3.4. Free Trade and Migration
We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade.
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 362. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1996 platform.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Preamble
As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others. We believe that respect for individual rights is the essential precondition for a free and prosperous world, that force and fraud must be banished from human relationships, and that only through freedom can peace and prosperity be realized. Consequently, we defend each person's right to engage in any activity that is peaceful and honest, and welcome the diversity that freedom brings. The world we seek to build is one where individuals are free to follow their own dreams in their own ways, without interference from government or any authoritarian power. In the following pages we have set forth our basic principles and enumerated various policy stands derived from those principles. These specific policies are not our goal, however. Our goal is nothing more nor less than a world set free in our lifetime, and it is to this end that we take these stands.
Statement of Principles
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.
1.0. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Personal Relationships
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for population control.
The full PlatCom should choose one of:
# [Say nothing more than the above.]
# We recognize that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people's abortions, nor should any government or individual force a woman to have an abortion.
# Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people's abortions, nor should any government or individual force a woman to have an abortion.
# We support the repeal of all laws restricting voluntary birth control or voluntary termination of pregnancies during their first hundred days.
# While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2.0. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Financial Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies and Corporations
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability.
2.6. Labor Markets
We support the right of free persons to voluntarily associate in, or to establish, labor unions. We support the concept that an employer may recognize a union as the collective bargaining agent of some or all of his employees. We oppose governmental interference in bargaining.
We call for the abolition of government agencies that restrict entry into any profession. No consumer should be legally restrained from hiring unlicensed individuals.
2.7. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.8. Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.9. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3.0. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
The important principle in foreign policy should be the elimination of intervention by the United States government in the affairs of other nations.
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
We condemn the use of force, and especially the use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups.
3.4. Free Trade and Migration
We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade.
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 363. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1996 platform.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Preamble
As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others. We believe that respect for individual rights is the essential precondition for a free and prosperous world, that force and fraud must be banished from human relationships, and that only through freedom can peace and prosperity be realized. Consequently, we defend each person's right to engage in any activity that is peaceful and honest, and welcome the diversity that freedom brings. The world we seek to build is one where individuals are free to follow their own dreams in their own ways, without interference from government or any authoritarian power. In the following pages we have set forth our basic principles and enumerated various policy stands derived from those principles. These specific policies are not our goal, however. Our goal is nothing more nor less than a world set free in our lifetime, and it is to this end that we take these stands.
Statement of Principles
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.
1.0. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Personal Relationships
Sexuality or gender should have no impact on the rights of individuals.
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for population control.
The full PlatCom should choose one of:
# [Say nothing more than the above.]
# We recognize that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people's abortions, nor should any government or individual force a woman to have an abortion.
# Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people's abortions, nor should any government or individual force a woman to have an abortion.
# We support the repeal of all laws restricting voluntary birth control or voluntary termination of pregnancies during their first hundred days.
# While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2.0. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution that restricts Congress from
spending any more than it collected in revenue the previous year.
2.4. Money and Financial Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies and Corporations
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability.
2.6. Labor Markets
We support the right of free persons to voluntarily associate in, or to establish, labor unions. We support the concept that an employer may recognize a union as the collective bargaining agent of some or all of his employees. We oppose governmental interference in bargaining.
We call for the abolition of government agencies that restrict entry into any profession. No consumer should be legally restrained from hiring unlicensed individuals.
2.7. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.8. Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.9. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3.0. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
The important principle in foreign policy should be the elimination of intervention by the United States government in the affairs of other nations.
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
We condemn the use of force, and especially the use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups.
3.4. Free Trade and Migration
We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade.
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 364. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1996 platform.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Preamble
As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others. We believe that respect for individual rights is the essential precondition for a free and prosperous world, that force and fraud must be banished from human relationships, and that only through freedom can peace and prosperity be realized. Consequently, we defend each person's right to engage in any activity that is peaceful and honest, and welcome the diversity that freedom brings. The world we seek to build is one where individuals are free to follow their own dreams in their own ways, without interference from government or any authoritarian power. In the following pages we have set forth our basic principles and enumerated various policy stands derived from those principles. These specific policies are not our goal, however. Our goal is nothing more nor less than a world set free in our lifetime, and it is to this end that we take these stands.
Statement of Principles
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.
1.0. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Personal Relationships
Sexuality or gender should have no impact on the rights of individuals.
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for population control.
The full PlatCom should choose one of:
# [Say nothing more than the above.]
# We recognize that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people's abortions, nor should any government or individual force a woman to have an abortion.
# Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people's abortions, nor should any government or individual force a woman to have an abortion.
# We support the repeal of all laws restricting voluntary birth control or voluntary termination of pregnancies during their first hundred days.
# While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2.0. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution.
2.4. Money and Financial Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies and Corporations
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest. Nuclear
power, transportation, and other industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability.
2.6. Labor Markets
We support the right of free persons to voluntarily associate in, or to establish, labor unions. We support the concept that an employer may recognize a union as the collective bargaining agent of some or all of his employees. We oppose governmental interference in bargaining.
We call for the abolition of government agencies that restrict entry into any profession. No consumer should be legally restrained from hiring unlicensed individuals.
2.7. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.8. Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.9. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3.0. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
The important principle in foreign policy should be the elimination of intervention by the United States government in the affairs of other nations.
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
We condemn the use of force, and especially the use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups.
3.4. Free Trade and Migration
We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade.
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 365. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1996 platform.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Preamble
As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others. We believe that respect for individual rights is the essential precondition for a free and prosperous world, that force and fraud must be banished from human relationships, and that only through freedom can peace and prosperity be realized. Consequently, we defend each person's right to engage in any activity that is peaceful and honest, and welcome the diversity that freedom brings. The world we seek to build is one where individuals are free to follow their own dreams in their own ways, without interference from government or any authoritarian power. In the following pages we have set forth our basic principles and enumerated various policy stands derived from those principles. These specific policies are not our goal, however. Our goal is nothing more nor less than a world set free in our lifetime, and it is to this end that we take these stands.
Statement of Principles
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.
1.0. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Personal Relationships
Sexuality or gender should have no impact on the rights of individuals.
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for population control.
The full PlatCom should choose one of:
# [Say nothing more than the above.]
# We recognize that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people's abortions, nor should any government or individual force a woman to have an abortion.
# Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people's abortions, nor should any government or individual force a woman to have an abortion.
# We support the repeal of all laws restricting voluntary birth control or voluntary termination of pregnancies during their first hundred days.
# While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2.0. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution.
2.4. Money and Financial Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies and Corporations
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest.
Industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability.
2.6. Labor Markets
We support the right of free persons to voluntarily associate in, or to establish, labor unions. We support the concept that an employer may recognize a union as the collective bargaining agent of some or all of his employees. We oppose governmental interference in bargaining.
We call for the abolition of government agencies that restrict entry into any profession. No consumer should be legally restrained from hiring unlicensed individuals.
2.7. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.8. Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.9. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3.0. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
The important principle in foreign policy should be the elimination of intervention by the United States government in the affairs of other nations.
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
We condemn the use of force, and especially the use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups.
3.4. Free Trade and Migration
We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade.
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels. In order to grant
voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we
propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for
legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single-winner
elections.
*************************** 366. row ***************************
old_text: __NOTOC__
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972, 2004, and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1972 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 1972 and 2004 platforms.
Text like this is from the 1996 platform.
Text like this is from the 2002 platform.
Text like this is from the 2004 platform.
Text like this is from (and identical in) the 2004 and 2006 platforms.
Text like this is from the 2006 platform.
Preamble
As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others. We believe that respect for individual rights is the essential precondition for a free and prosperous world, that force and fraud must be banished from human relationships, and that only through freedom can peace and prosperity be realized. Consequently, we defend each person's right to engage in any activity that is peaceful and honest, and welcome the diversity that freedom brings. The world we seek to build is one where individuals are free to follow their own dreams in their own ways, without interference from government or any authoritarian power. In the following pages we have set forth our basic principles and enumerated various policy stands derived from those principles. These specific policies are not our goal, however. Our goal is nothing more nor less than a world set free in our lifetime, and it is to this end that we take these stands.
Statement of Principles
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.
1.0. Personal Liberty
Individuals
should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept
responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Our
support of an individual's right to make choices in
life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those
choices.
1.1. Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of
expression, and
oppose government censorship, regulation or control of
communications media and technology.
We recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use
of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary
consent of the owners.
We favor the freedom to engage in or
abstain from
any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.
1.2. Personal and Bodily Privacy
We support the protections provided by the Fourth
Amendment to be
secure in our persons, homes, and
property.
Only actions that
infringe on the rights of others can properly be
termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes"
without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational
purposes.
1.3. Personal Relationships
Sexuality or gender should have no impact on the rights of individuals.
Consenting adults should be free to
choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license
personal relationships.
We oppose all coercive measures for population control.
The full PlatCom should choose one of:
# [Say nothing more than the above.]
# We recognize that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people's abortions, nor should any government or individual force a woman to have an abortion.
# Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people's abortions, nor should any government or individual force a woman to have an abortion.
# We support the repeal of all laws restricting voluntary birth control or voluntary termination of pregnancies during their first hundred days.
# While Libertarians have good-faith differences on this issue, a majority of us believe that a fetus starts deserving legal protection sometime after the first trimester and before birth. We support the right to terminate one's pregnancy during the first trimester. We do not oppose requirements that ending a pregnancy in the third trimester must leave a healthy fetus alive if that is feasible.
1.4. Crime and Justice
The purpose of a justice system is to provide restitution to
those suffering a loss at the expense of those who caused the loss.
Government exists to protect the rights of every
individual including life, liberty and property.
Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the
rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that
place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.
Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to
themselves.
We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally
accused. We favor all-volunteer juries and assert the
common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the
justice of the law.
1.5. Self-Defense
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. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to
be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the
right to keep and bear arms.
2.0. Economic Liberty
A free and competitive market
allocates resources in the most efficient
manner. Each person has
the right to offer goods and services to
others on the free market. The only proper role of government
in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate
disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is
protected. We oppose all government interference with voluntary
and contractual relations among individuals. People should be allowed
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.
2.1. Property and Contract
The owners of property have the
full right to control, use, dispose of -- or in any manner enjoy --
their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of
their control infringes the valid rights of others. Property
rights are entitled to the same protection as
all other human rights. We
oppose all controls on wages,
prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates. We oppose all violations of the right
to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade. The
right to trade
includes the right not to trade -- for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners
by the government or private action in violation of individual rights,
we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
2.2. Environment and Resources
Pollution of other people's
property is a violation of individual
rights. We support the development of an
objective system
defining resource rights
as individual property rights.
Individuals have the right to
homestead unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national
governments and within unclaimed territory.
2.3. Government Finance and Spending
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor.
We call for the repeal of the
income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all
federal programs and services not required under the US Constitution.
Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations
without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced
Budget Amendment” to the US Constitution.
2.4. Money and Financial Markets
We favor
free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and
depository institutions of all types. Individuals
engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any
mutually agreeable commodity or item.
We call for the abolition of all
regulation of financial and capital markets.
2.5. Monopolies and Corporations
We advocate a strict separation of business and state.
We seek to divest government of
all functions that can be provided by
non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We
defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and
other types of companies based on voluntary association. We oppose government subsidies to
business, labor, or any other special
interest.
Industries should be governed by free
markets and held to strict liability.
2.6. Labor Markets
We support the right of free persons to voluntarily associate in, or to establish, labor unions. We support the concept that an employer may recognize a union as the collective bargaining agent of some or all of his employees. We oppose governmental interference in bargaining.
We call for the abolition of government agencies that restrict entry into any profession. No consumer should be legally restrained from hiring unlicensed individuals.
2.7. Education
We advocate the separation of
education and State.
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market,
achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice.
As an interim measure to encourage the growth of
private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we
support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an
individual's education.
2.8. Health care
We advocate the separation of
medicine and State. We favor restoring and reviving a free market
health care system. We recognize the
freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they
want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want,
the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of
their medical care.
2.9. Retirement and Income Security
Retirement
planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the
government.
Participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
The proper source of
help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and
individuals.
3.0. Securing Liberty
The principles which guide a
legitimate government in its
relationships with other governments are the same
as those which
guide relationships among individuals: no individual, group, or
government may initiate
force against any other individual, group, or government.
3.1. National Defense
We
support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United
States against aggression.
The United States should abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world.
We oppose any form of
compulsory national service.
3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights
The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence
to detect and to counter threats to domestic security.
This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens.
The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war.
Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the
nation must be subject to oversight and transparency.
We oppose the government's use
of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it
should have, especially that which
shows that the government has violated the law.
3.3. International Affairs
The important principle in foreign policy should be the elimination of intervention by the United States government in the affairs of other nations.
American foreign policy should
seek an America at peace with the world
and the defense -- against attack from abroad -- of the lives, liberty,
and property of the American people on American soil.
We recognize the right of all people to
resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights.
We condemn the use of force, and especially the use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups.
3.4. Free Trade and Migration
We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade.
Political freedom and escape
from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained
by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom
demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital
across national borders. However,
we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals
who pose a threat to security, health or property.
3.5. Franchise and Discrimination
Government should
not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex,
wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits,
political preference or sexual orientation.
Parents, or other
guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their
own standards and beliefs, without interference by government -- unless
they are abusing the children.
3.6. Representative Government
We support
electoral systems that are more representative of the electorate at the
federal, state and local levels.
As private voluntary groups, political parties should be allowed to establish their own rules for nomination procedures, primaries and conventions.
We call for an end to any tax-financed subsidies to candidates or parties and the repeal of all laws which restrict voluntary financing of election campaigns