The United States Of America

The Constitution And Democracy

Libertarian Party
Libertarian Party, a Political Party in the United States that seeks a reaffirmation of the principles set forth in the Bill Of Rights, stressing individual rights and arguing for massive reductions in the powers of government at all levels. It opposes censorship, calls for termination of the welfare system, promotes free trade, and seeks the eventual elimination of taxation. It was founded in Colorado in 1971 and held its first national convention in Denver the following year.

The party seeks to achieve its mission by running candidates for public office at all levels of government. In 1976 the Libertarian party fielded its first nationwide campaign, nominating Roger MacBride for president and David P. Bergland for vice president. The ticket appeared on the ballot in 31 states and the District of Columbia, and write-in votes were recorded in 9 other states. The total MacBride-Bergland vote was 173,019, making the Libertarian party the third largest in the nation. The party continued to enter candidates in succeeding campaigns, garnering as many as 431,000 votes in the 1988 presidential election. The persistence of the party and its ability to attract sizable numbers of votes indicate its appeal to a significant segment of the population. However, its success in placing issues on the national political agenda has also prevented the party from becoming a strong counterforce to the traditional political parties, because the latter have adapted their platforms to absorb the issues that drew followers to the Libertarian party.

Murray N. Rothbard
Polytechnic Institute of New York