Document:LNC Resolution 2 October 1977 Regarding Party Purpose and Strategy

Resolved at the October 2, 1977 LNC Meeting:

57. PURPOSE : The purposes of the national Libertarian Party are :

I.  To Educate

(a)	To introduce the public to libertarian ideas and programs.

(b)	To attract to our movement the type of intelligent, energetic, dedicated individuals, who are capable of changing society.

II.  To provide Political Activity for Libertarians

(a)	To provide useful and important	political activity for libertarians to advance the real world.

(b)	To reinforce libertarians' commitment by libertarians in each area and helping them work together.

III.  To Roll Back the State

(a)	By influencing people, media, voters, opinion-molders.

(b)	By pressuring politicians and other parties in a libertarian direction.

(c)	By getting ourselves elected in order to be in a position to dismantle the State.

STRATEGY: Strategy for the national Libertarian Party:

I.   We must hold high the banner of pure principle, and never compromise our goal: a world embodying the Libertarian Party Statement of Principles.  We must work to achieve our pure goal. The moral imperative of libertarian principle demands that tyranny, injustice, the absence of full liberty, and violation of rights continue no longer. Any intermediate demand must be treated, as it is in the Libertarian Party platform, as pending achievement of the pure goal and inferior to it. Therefore, such demand should be presented as leading toward our ultimate goal, not as an end in itself. Holding high our principles means avoiding completely the quagmire of self-imposed, obligatory gradualism: we must avoid the view that, in the name of fairness, abating suffering, or fulfilling expectations, we must temporize and stall on the road to liberty. Achieving liberty must be our overriding goal.

II.  We must not commit ourselves to any particular order of destatization, for this would be construed as our endorsing the continuation of statism and the violation of rights. Since we must never be in the position of advocating the continuation of tyranny, we should accept any and all destatizing measures wherever and whenever we can.

III.  The goal of liberty must always be the important consideration, not organizations or activities themselves. In short, the means must never be allowed to become ends in themselves.

IV.  Since our goal and principles are radical enough, we should avoid any extra alienation of people by the form of our presentation or by our image. In short, our content should be embodied in an image appropriate to our status as a national party aiming to become a new majority. We must bear in mind, however, that we must always distinguish ourselves from the conservative movement and emphasize that we are not on the left-right political spectrum.

V.  There should be no endorsement of candidates who are not libertarian.

VI.  A detailed study should be made of setting up guidelines for Libertarian Party candidates who will be elected to administrative or legislative offices: Should they accept salaries, should they vote consistently on every measure, etc.?  

Notes

This was indexed in an official Resolution Index and identified as Resolution 57 therein.