The Radical Caucus believes these four points are key strategic principles in furthering the work of the Libertarian Party toward, as our National Party platform describes it, "a world set free in our lifetime". The LPRC endorses the Libertarian Party's Statement of Principles and the Non-Aggression Principle in its fundamental ideology.
Natural Rights Are Utilitarian - The central commitment of the Libertarian Party should be to individual liberty. Our goal should be to illustrate convincingly that there is no essential separation between natural rights and utilitarianism - that is, the morally correct choice yields the most benefit for the greatest number of people.
Radical Abolitionism - As the word radical means "going to the root" of something, radical Libertarians should not merely propose small changes to the status quo and debate the fine points of government policy with the opponents of freedom. Instead, Libertarians must always make clear that the outright removal of the injustice and interference of the State is our ultimate goal. Speaking from our basic principles avoids the quagmire of self-imposed, obligatory gradualism. Rather than offering compromise, we should demand what we really seek -- a free society -- and let our opponents offer the compromises.
Principled Populism - The Libertarian Party should be a mass-participation party operating in the electoral arena and elsewhere, devoted to consistent libertarian principle, and committed to liberty and justice for all. The Libertarian Party should trust in and rely on individuals to welcome a program of liberty and justice and should always aim to convince people of the soundness of libertarian principles. Simply repeating our basic principles and not proposing transition measures is ineffective in the short run because only a small part of the populace is interested in liberty in the abstract, and hiding or abandoning our principled positions is ineffective in the long run because it fails to sustain us as a movement and attract and retain new Libertarians.
No Particular Order - The removal of one harmful government policy should never be held hostage for the removal of another, as this throws self-imposed barriers in the path of liberty and removes potential pressures for change. For example, saying that borders may be opened only after welfare is eliminated is unacceptable; the proper position is to push for both changes. Should we succeed in achieving open borders only to find that welfare burdens are increased, this should be used as an additional argument to abolish welfare.
SUMMARY:
The LP Radical Caucus Believes:
The Libertarian Party should support individual liberty because it's the right thing to do, and because it's the best way to benefit the greatest number of people.
The Libertarian Party is the only political party that traditionally advocates for real freedom from government interference. We should emphasize this revolutionary approach rather than watering it down with uninspiring language that is a de facto endorsement of the status quo.
Our language should inspire by reflecting our goals, not the compromises we may have to accept on the way to gaining them. The Libertarian Party should be active in all areas of the political sphere with the expectation that individuals who hear and understand our message of freedom and the steps we can take today to increase liberty will choose to join enthusiastically in our journey.
The Libertarian Party should always steadfastly oppose harmful government policies, regardless of any promise that supporting one bad policy will ensure that another is abolished.
MISSION OF THE RADICAL CAUCUS
The LPRC seeks to support the re-radicalization of the U.S. Libertarian Party (LP); and further to promote a clear, radical vision of libertarianism through education and electoral advocacy both within the LP and outside of it.
