Today the Libertarian Party rewrote its Platform.
The delegates to the Libertarian National Convention in Denver almost totally accepted the Platform Committee’s draft platform (as amended), except for four areas where they improved on it. First, they improved the Personal Relationships plank:
Sexual orientation, preference, gender, or gender identity should have no discriminatory impact on the treatment rights of individuals by government, such as in current marriage, child custody, adoption, immigration, or military service laws. Consenting adults should be free to choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships. Government does not have legitimate authority to define, license, or restrict personal relationships.
Second, they adopted an abortion plank proposed by Aaron Starr that allowed the LP to still say it is “pro-choice on everything”:
Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on all sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration.
Third, they removed some problematic language in the Monopolies and Corporations plank:
We defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and other types of companies based on voluntary association. We seek to divest government of all functions that can be provided by non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We oppose government subsidies to business, labor, or any other special interest. Industries should be governed by free markets and held to strict liability.
Finally, they removed the final sentence the new Energy and Resources plank, which had said: "Energy resources are increased as part of the same process by which man increases the production and supply of all other goods, namely, scientific and technological progress."
The unofficial text of the 2008 LP Platform is at http://libertarianmajority.net/2008-lp-platform.
5 comments:
Corporations are an entity of the state. Individuals cannot form corporations without the direct sanction and special privileges of government. While supporting capitalism, free-markets and business generally, libertarians should have nothing to do with corporations.
What is a right "by government". Treatment by government made sense.
I thought the new abortion plank replaced "both sides" with "all sides" (confirmed at LP website). At least the consensus around me was for that change for amending the Platform Committee's recommended plank, which was replaced by Starr's proposal. I was less agreeable to the second change proposed from the floor (I've forgotten what it was now--it's not in my notes--but it also veered pro-choice).
The new abortion plank takes the pro-choice point of view, while the PlatCom's recommendation was supportable by nearly all Libertarians.
I like Brian's personally preferred abortion position staking a middle ground (see link at name; actual plank proposal now unavailable?) supportable by a majority of Americans but believe it cannot be accommodated by the LP08 adopted abortion plank.
Overall I really like the Pure Principles Platform. My compliments to your efforts to come up with it and promote it, and also to the Platform Committee.
Sorry, I might have gotten the abortion plank in the platform posted here with the one posted at Brian's Libertarian Majority Platform site (link at name).
Daniel, you were right, and I've now edited both the blog entry and my wiki to say "all" instead of "both". Thanks for catching that!
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