Are Libertarian Parties bad for Libertarianism?
Bruce Bartlett writes on why he thinks the (US) Libertarian Party is bad for the cause of libertarianism. He believes that libertarian-leaning activists have been drawn away from the Republican Party and the Democratic Party by the LP, leaving the major parties with fewer libertarians.
He also calls the Libertarian Party essentially a debating club where only one question is ever debated — who is the purest libertarian and what is the purest libertarian position?
His solution is to wind up the Libertarian Party and replace it with a lobby group, which would hire lobbyists, run advertisements and donate contributions to candidates supporting libertarian ideas
I know of quite a few US libertarians who would agree and don’t think having a Libertarian Party helps their cause. Likewise in the UK, the Libertarian Alliance has a long standing policy of not contesting elections but being a society where libertarians of all strands can discuss and promote ideas.
Something that would be useful in NZ (regardless of whether the Libertarianz stand or not – a decision purely up to them) would be a libertarian guide to candidates and parties, perhaps giving each of them an average libertarian score. Rodney would probably be 9/10, Don Brash 7/10 etc and at the other end Jim Anderton 0/10, Winston 1/10, Helen Clark 3/10 etc.
On an entirely selfish front I enjoy having the Libertarianz stand candidates. In Wellington Central hearing Bernard Darnton advocate for the total removal of the state from health in response to a question on how to reduce waiting lists was wonderful to hear the audience gasp. He got the best response in Aro Valley where the dozens of anarchists there were very supportive of some Libertarianz policies.
I’d be interested to hear views especially from Libertarianz members and candidates about whether they have recently debated whether they think they can achieve more by being a party or just being a lobby group, and what they see as the pros and cons.
Hat Tip: The Volokh Conspiracy