Libertarian Party Advised: Forget About Being the Party of Principle

Both the post and the detailed comment thread well worth reading for those who enjoy worrying over the future of the Libertarian Party: Former Libertarian Reform Caucus man Carl Milsted calls on the LP to:

change the slogan. It is time to put an end to "The Party of Principle."

For the past few years I have been lambasted by purists and called "unprincipled." Very well. I accept the label, nay, wield it as a badge of honor. I am unprincipled. I do not shoehorn all my ethical and legal thinking into a single axiom. I reject the need to follow the Zero Aggression Principle to its ultimately ridiculous conclusions. I boldly proclaim that:

> Replacing an elected republic with warring "protection services" is woefully imprudent;
> Standing aside for genocide is contrary to the ideals of liberty;
> Defaulting on the national debt is a recipe of economic disaster;
> Defaulting on Social Security obligations is robbing the older generations;
> Selling the remaining wilderness to be raped by corporations is robbing future generations;
> Cutting government in random order without regard to other considerations is the height of incompetence.

I have had it with this monochrome principle. The Good is a nonlinear multidimensional function. Deal with it!

My article on the LP platform changes in 2006 that Milsted liked, but thought didn't go far enough.

For those who want to think about the long history of the libertarian movement that led to this declaration of frustration on Milsted's part, I can only suggest you read my new book, Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement and my site dedicated to it.