Since the beginning of American Government, there have always been opposing sides to issues. Individual feelings gave way to a party system. People ask themselves what they stand for and which of existing political parties holds their best interest in hand. In the past, the strength of the two large political organizations, the Democrats and Republicans, have been the only two parties with the amount of public support and resources to truly become a fixture. However, things are changing. The lesser known political groups are becoming increasingly more active and vocal. One, in particular, is the Libertarian Party. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the Libertarian party. What do Libertarians stand for? How does the Libertarian party’s beliefs compare to the Democratic Party, the Republican Party? What is the current status of the Libertarian party?

Libertarianism, essentially, is a political philosophy which emphasizes individual freedom and the thought that the individual has the right to live his life in any way he chooses, so long as he respects the equal rights of others. The doctrine of the Libertarian party stresses the right to self-ownership and, by extension, the right to private ownership of material resources and property. Libertarians advocate opposition to any form of taxation and favor a laissez-faire economic system. They believe in the American heritage of liberty, enterprise, and personal responsibility. Their stance is a logically consistent approach based on the moral principle of self-ownership. Libertarians also believe that each individual has the right to control his or her own body, action, speech, and property. They feel that Government’s only role is to help individuals defend themselves from force and fraud.

The Libertarian philosophy was born out of the minds of our past leaders. Much of the Libertarian faith rests on past American forerunners like Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine and James Madison. These early adopters built the foundation of the current views on stringent non-governmental involvement. The Libertarian party strongly believes in the preservation of civil liberties and the free-market concept. Thomas Jefferson summed it up when he said that "government governs best when it governs least". Political and social individualism is considered paramount. A person’s right to live must not be infringed upon by the government. Government was established to protect the people, not to franchise them. The Libertarian party’s political conscience is outlined specifically in their published Statement of Principles. Their Statement of Principles briefly reads:

• That the state exists to preserve individual freedom;
• That economic and political parties are inextricably intertwined;
• That the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution;
• That it is emphatically the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what the law should be;
• That this task of objective interpretation is not so far beyond man’s grasp that we should despair, and, in the name of "realism," fall back on prejudice in making judicial determinations. (Statement of Principles - Federalist Society, http://www.fed-soc.org:80)

A more aggressive strain of the Libertarian philosophy was made public and popularized by novelist Ayn Rand in the 1950’s. Her novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged introduced readers to the philosophy of objectivism. She stated that "the common good could be best achieved by each individual pursuing selfish needs". Her writings have been the catalyst of the entrance of many new age Libertarians. There has been a quiet infiltration of Libertarian views into mainstream politics. For instance, House Republicans are currently developing a plan to strip the welfare program of entitlement status. Libertarians have been given the credit in providing the framework to this radical Republican revolution.

In an attempt to develop and influence future party politics, many Libertarian minded entrepreneurs are using their economic means to fund some Republican political facilities. For instance, K. Tucker Neslon, a money manager from New York, sits on Cato’s board of directors, as well as GOPAC (Grand Old Party Action Committee), Newt Gingrich’s political organization. Cato’s ideas have been publicized, although transparent, in the most recent Republican platform, "Contract with America", which held commitments to privatization, budget cutting, and restriction of federal power.

The Libertarian party uses a number of different strategies to promote personal freedom and decreased governmental control. They employ the use of persuasion, creation of alternatives, and political action. As with other political parties, getting others to accept the party’s way of thinking is crucial to the strength and growth of the party. The most recent examples of this were seen during the presidential election of 1996. Presidential candidate Harry Browne used vices including talk radio, public television, and staged party rallies to secure voter support. Creating alternatives to state and local institutions has taken many forms, including the conception of private charities to attempts to create private Libertarian countries abroad. The Libertarian party is also attempting to influence the local, state, national, and international political structure by participating directly in the elections. It has been questioned whether the Libertarian movement is best utilized running a separate campaign or as a wing of the established Republican party.

The platform of Republican party reads very similar to that of the Libertarians. Political platforms are published in an effort to outline the goals and beliefs of the party. The additions to the Libertarian platform are what separate it from the others. Libertarians want to continue the trend toward decreased state control of the economy and reverse the trend toward increased state control of personal choices. (http://www.Libertarian.com/wwlp/docs.intro.html) There is a series of opposing needs that drive a wedge between all of the political parties. Each believes that the other is trying to disavow their ideas. This causes strife between the parties. Republicans have come to be known as the establishment that is sympathetic to the majority, corporate interests, and military strength. Democrats have essentially the exact opposite. Their platform is geared more towards the creation of policy and programs which help their constituents that may be less fortunate. Libertarians tend to think of themselves as government for the people. They believe that people can make their own conscious decisions on what is right or what is wrong and resent the involvement of a third party, in most cases, government agencies, to make their decisions for them. Like Republicans, Libertarians hold true to the small government, free market and free trade philosophy.

Although the similarities between the Libertarian party and the Republican party are quite conspicuous, the Republican party still rejects much of the Libertarian agenda. For instance, the recently passed crime bill which allows police to use evidence obtained without the presence of a search warrant is strictly opposed by Libertarians, though, passed by the Republican Congress. Also, many Libertarians want to legalize drugs while Republicans are once again igniting the war on drugs. These examples show how the Libertarian beliefs are included in the American policy, but not completely as Libertarians see them. As with the other political parties, there are groups of Libertarians that are outside of the traditional philosophy which believes in the legalization of drugs, drastically reduced military, privatization of public schools, and a strict non-intervention stance on all foreign affairs

Historically, Libertarians have been mistrustful of conservative Republicans, whom they consider just as likely to abuse state and local power as liberals. Many parts of the Libertarian agenda are too radical for most established Republicans or Democrats. For instance, Libertarians oppose government interference, even in the form of the Civil Rights Act. Many Libertarians believe that it fundamentally opposes the rights of free association. In the Libertarian view, all human relationships are voluntary. The only actions that should be forbidden by law are those that involve the initiation of force against those who have themselves used violence or deception. (The Coming Libertarian Age, http://www.cato.org/pubs/desc.html)

Differences between Libertarians and democrats are as obvious as the differences between Republicans and Democrats. However, they accept the Democrats’ traditional commitment to the civil liberties, supporting freedom of choice in affairs of a personal matters, such as abortion, consensual sex, pornography, and privacy rights.

The Libertarian Party is the nations third largest political organization, but it still holds very few elected positions and have very little power when it comes to the workings of the government. It is also the fastest growing party in existence. Although the Libertarian way of thinking has been around as long as there has been individual freedom. The Libertarian party was not publicly organized in America until December of 1971 by Dave Nolan. In 1972 the party had a total of 85 members. Since then, it’s candidates have run for political office on both the local and national level They have had Presidential candidates in every election since 1972. There is a Libertarian party established in each of the 50 states, but it has not won enough followers to become a major political force. Through the years, the vast expansion of the Libertarian party has swelled it’s membership to over 100,000. Statistics show that as of December 1996, the total number of Libertarians per one million of the population is 81.3. (National Libertarian Party Membership Statistics, Special Report: An Inside Look at the Libertarian Party, January, 1997) This number has been rising dramatically as the Libertarian party mobilizes. It was organized by people who realized that politicians had strayed from the America’s original Libertarian foundation. Their vision was the same as that of America’s founders – a world where individuals are free to follow their own dreams in their own ways, a world of peace, harmony, opportunity, and abundance. (The Libertarian Party, http://www.lp.org/lp-overview.html)

It was possible in the 1996 presidential election for three third-party candidates to each receive 1 percent of the popular vote. This would have been the first time since 1912 that this has taken place. Libertarian nominee, Harry Browne, was the only candidate outside of the standard two party system to join Ross Perot on the ballots of all 50 states and the District of Colombia. This strengthens the argument that the American public is disheartened with many of the aged two party candidates and their message. (Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, Vol 54 Issue: 40, October 5, 1996) Although the returns were not quite as large as the party had hoped for, Browne still managed to obtain approximately 463,000 votes, or just around 0.5% of all of the popular votes cast. His totals ranked him only behind Ed Clark, Libertarian Presidential candidate in 1980, who received a surprising 921,000 votes. Browne’s vote count also represents a 63% increase in votes over the party’s 1992 totals, when Libertarian Party candidate Andre Marrou received 291,000 votes. Speculators believe that the lack of funds in comparison to the Republican and Democratic contenders had a definite effect on election totals. The Libertarian Party and it’s members considered Browne’s quest for the Presidency a success. Shortly after the election results were counted, Harry Browne said, "We have to start tomorrow, building a larger and more powerful Libertarian party". (The Harry Browne Presidential Campaign and a Bit of Brief Libertarian Party History, http://www.harrybrowne96.org/perspective=Bergland.html)

As noted above, the Libertarian party is the fastest growing political party in existence. Their numbers have increased significantly with each year. In 1995, a Gallup poll reported that 39 percent of Americans said that "the federal government has become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens." Opponents did not believe it, so they tried the poll again, taking out the word "immediate". This time, 52 percent of Americans agreed. It is this portion of the population that the Libertarian party is targeting for potential future membership. (Cato Online Policy Report, http://www.cato.org/pubs/policy_report/cpr-19n1-1.html). . The growing numbers of Libertarian converts will continue to create a stronger and more powerful political party.

Much of the reason for this development is the creation and explosion of the Internet. Many newly converted Libertarians stumble across a political ideology that is highly visible online. Many confess that their first exposure to the Libertarian party was on the Internet. A part of the growth of the Libertarian party can be attributed to it’s appeal to young people, who develop many of their ideas on culture and politics online. (Sidewalks for Sale, Rolling Stone Magazine, April 6, 1995) Libertarian groups have sprouted on college campuses across the country, attempting to gain converts from the politically partyless youth of America. A USA Today report stated that "many of the 41 million members of Generation X are turning to an old philosophy that suddenly seems new: Libertarianism". Libertarians contend that they blend the best of the major parties, while adding portions of their own ideology to create a party that caters to all individuals. It has been noted that 60 percent of the registered Libertarian followers are in the computer industry. The reason for such a large number of followers in one particular industry is unknown, however, the philosophy is proving to be very attractive to this vast niche of the public. Many computer professionals hold Libertarian ideals of entrepreneuriship and individualism as near-sacred values. In 1994, a Gallup Poll marked 22 percent of the American public essentially Libertarian. This is a large number of people that conform to a political party that has been essentially unheard of in the past. In 1972, the first year the Libertarian party had a presidential candidate, they were only included on the ballots of two states. With each election, their strength grew. Currently, the Libertarians have their party established on the ballots in each of the 50 states. Still, the showing is rather small for this party, but if trends are any indication of how things will be in the future, Libertarians may control the country in the next 30 to 50 years.

Current American politics is changing with each election. We have seen in the more recent national presidential races that the American public has become distrustful of the current establishment. Democrats and Republicans alike have created a type of status quo. There has been little significant political or social change in recent years. Many Americans are ready for a fresh approach to problems that plague us. This is why in contemporary times, there have been more oppositional parties established. The confidence in government has been declining, however, the strength and size of the government has been on the rise. Each political race, whether it be for city mayor or president of the United States, is split along lines of the political parties. Each party believes that their message is more important than the rest.

American politics, in my mind, is a business. Each of the players has a role in their group. The establishment of the government was a necessity in the creation of our nation. During the birth of our nation, disarray and uncertainty was very apparent. There were a number of individuals who stepped up as leaders, established their democratic government, and ruled the land with these principles firmly in hand. As our nation gets older, there has been a mutation of the government. As technology and communications expand, the American government has played a pivotal role in the operations of the entire planet. With this type of responsibility, I do not believe it is possible for our government to take a laissez-faire approach to world affairs. On the other hand, however, I do not believe that it is our government’s responsibility to be keeper of all the countries in the world. There is a fine line between a strong national government and a strong international government. The United States has been a world power for many years. It is difficult to have a government with this type of power and still expect them to keep their hands out of individual affairs.

In conclusion, it has been shown that although the Libertarians have a sound message that a large majority of the American public agrees with, their power is still quite limited. With the political ideology being adopted by more and more people, the message will gain strength. It has been noted by individuals in all camps that this party will be a major force in American politics in the very near future, and with that, a true force to be reckoned with. The resurgence of alternate political parties just portrays the vast differences in views on everything from abortion to welfare. As the alternate parties surge into the mainstream, existing powers will have to skew their stance on many issues in an attempt to appease those who are members of the emerging political parties. Whatever the outcome, the political game will be an interesting one to watch.

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Gillespie, Nick. "Uncompromising Position, Is Libertarian Politics an Oxymoron", Reason, Vol. 28, Issue 3, July 1996, pp 26-31

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