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O Libertarian, Where Is Thy Sting?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 April 2009

Jennifer Burns
Jennifer Burns
Affiliation:
University of Virginia
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Extract

With the 2008 Democratic National Convention slated for Denver, the libertarian concerns of Western voters, denizens of the so-called purple states, are suddenly of high interest. Pundits and commentators see in the “live and let live” ethos of the West a chance for the Democracy to reshape its faltering coalition and enter the twenty-first century rejuvenated and strong. Ryan Sager, a critic from the right, notes that from the Democratic perspective, “the West looks abundant with opportunities. And the same might be said of a long-neglected, long-suffering political demographic: libertarians.” This optimism in part underlay the party's choice of Denver over the traditional Democratic bastion of New York. Colorado is often identified as a libertarian-leaning state, and it was where the Libertarian Party was founded. But what exactly is libertarianism?

Type
Critical Perspectives
Information
Journal of Policy History , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , October 2007 , pp. 452 - 470
Copyright
Copyright © The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. 2007

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References

Notes

1. Sager, Ryan, The Elephant in the Room: Evangelicals, Libertarians, and the Battle to Control the Republican Party (New York, 2006), 167Google Scholar.

2. Hofstadter, Richard, The Age of Reform: From Bryan to FDR (New York, 1955), 97Google Scholar.

3. Scholars generally note a shift from the nineteenth century, when third parties “functioned as complete political organizations,” to the twentieth century, when third parties are often “more accurately labeled independent campaigns than political parties.” Rosenstone, Steven J., Behr, Roy L., and Lazarus, Edward H., Third Parties in America, 2nd ed. (Princeton, 1984;1986), 48, 81Google Scholar. Third parties, also called minor parties, are the subject of a robust political science literature. Analysts disagree as to whether third parties indicate systemic decay or are a sign of democratic health, but there is a general consensus as to their origins, roles, and the structural constraints they face. Third parties are seen to perform an array of vital functions beyond the winning of elections, including formulating issues and reforms, generating ideas for major parties, serving as an avenue of protest or a safety valve for discontent, and indicating potential electoral realignments. For summaries of the major interpretations, see Gillespie, David, Politics at the Periphery: Third Parties in Two-Party America (Columbia, S.C., 1993), esp. chap. 1Google Scholar, and Rosenstone et al., Third Parties in America, in Hazlett, Joseph, The Libertarian Party and Other Minor Political Parties (Jefferson, N.C., 1992)Google Scholar, analyzes the Libertarian Party with reference to this literature, arguing that its primary function has been as an issue innovator and issue educator. The Libertarian Party can be labeled a “continuing doctrinal party” according to V. O. Key's classic dichotomy, and it fits Clinton Rossiter's definition of a “minor Political Party,” one of six third-party types he identifies (others are one-issue obsessionists, one-state party, personality parties, major party factions, and left-wing splinter groups). Key, V. O. Jr., Politics, Parties, and Pressure Groups (New York, 1964), 281Google Scholar; Rossiter, Clinton, Parties and Politics in America (Ithaca, 1960), 5Google Scholar.

4. It is worth noting, however, that libertarianism and anarchism have deeper indigenous roots than socialism, which was often imported by European immigrants. On the forerunners of modern libertarianism, see Loomis, Mildred J., Alternative Americas (New York, 1982)Google Scholar; Martin, James J., Men Against the State: The Expositors of Individualist Anarchism in America, 1827–1908 (Colorado Springs, 1970; 1953)Google Scholar; and DeLeon, David, The American as Anarchist: Reflections on Indigenous Radicalism (Baltimore, 1978)Google Scholar.

5. Although the libertarian movement predates the Libertarian Party by decades, the two largely overlapped throughout the 1970s. The libertarian movement has been covered by historians as part of twentieth-century conservatism, but only recently has it received exclusive attention, in Doherty's, BrianRadicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement (New York, 2007)Google Scholar, a comprehensive and lively insider history written from a sympathetic perspective.

6. This distinction is from Roy Childs, interviewed by Tom Palmer, 28 June 1984. In “Interviews with Libertarian Party members, 1984,” Box 11, Libertarian Party Papers, University of Virginia, Charlottesville. Further citations from this collection will be cited as “LPP.”

7. Secondary literature on the Libertarian Party is scarce. It is discussed most often in connection with other third parties: See Hazlett, The Libertarian Party, and Gillespie, Politics at the Periphery, Ness, Immanuel and Ciment, James, Encyclopedia of Third Parties in America (Armonk, N.Y., 2000), 339–343Google Scholar. The party is also treated in Doherty, Radicals for Capitalism and Raimondo, Justin, An Enemy of the State: The Life of Murray Rothbard (Amherst, N.Y.: 2000)Google Scholar, although neither treatment is extensive.

8. Jonathon Schoenwald connects the Libertarian Party to the student libertarian movement of the late 1960s, but curiously suggests the party represented the “death blow” to the movement. My own research suggests that the Libertarian Party grew out of a thriving subculture in which students and recent graduates played a key role; the party ought to be considered the peak of that subculture, rather than its end. See Schoenwald, Jonathan, “No War, No Welfare, and No Damn Taxation: The Student Libertarian Movement, 1968–1972,” in Gilbert, Mark Jason, ed., The Vietnam War on Campus: Other Voices, More Distant Drums (Westport, Conn., 2001), 20–53Google Scholar.

9. Interview with Childs, LPP, and Edward Crane III, interview conducted by Tom G. Palmer on 28 June 1984, in “Interviews with Libertarian Party members, 1984,” LPP.

10. “There is no Middle Ground,” LP pamphlet, in “Campaign Literature 1972–1981,” Box 1, LPP.

11. See Rothbard, Murray, “The Party,” Libertarian Forum, 03 1972, 1Google Scholar, and Royce, Scott E., “America's Third Largest Party: Failure!” Reason, 08 1977, 14, 19–23Google Scholar.

12. For early figures, see “Libertarian Party: Background Information,” in “Libertarian Party Literature,” Box 2, LPP. “Watching Libertarians in Convention,” Review of the News, 10 September 1975, 33, put 1975 membership at 10,000, while the Christian Science Monitor listed 5,000. Moneyhun, George, “Third Parties Gear Up for Election,” Christian Science Monitor, 28 08 1975, NPGoogle Scholar.

13. A Kansas newspaper quoted a libertarian giving an unlikely membership total of 400,000, and noted the party had not been on the ballot until 1982. Heaberlin, Julie, “Libertarians View First Election as Victory in Disguise,” Lawrence University Daily Kansan, 10 11 1982, NPGoogle Scholar.

14. Interview with David Nolan by Palmer, 1 July 1984, LPP. A poll of activists found 36 percent identified as Objectivists, while 75 percent were former Republicans. Doherty, Radicals for Capitalism, 391.

15. Colorado Libertarian, February 1977, 2.

16. “You Are What You Read: Survey of CA Libertarian Party Members,” Colorado Liberty, 23 May 1979.

17. On the Libertarian Party sign, see Freeman Fox to John Hospers, 17 October 1973, in “1972 Campaign Literature: JH for President,” Box 2, LPP.

18. Campaign figures are from Crane, oral history, and vote total from “Editorial Research Report: Libertarian's Alaskan Warm-up,” Congressional Quarterly, 17 August 1982.

19. MacBride interview by Norma Lee Browing, “Correspondence of Roger Lea MacBride,” Box 1, LPP.

20. Although the term “anarchist” wasn't used until the 1960s, Doherty finds evidence of a similar divide in the 1950s. Doherty, Radicals for Capitalism, 178–81.

21. Ed Clark interviewed by Palmer, 2 August 1984, LPP

22. Crane, interview with Palmer, LPP.

23. Ibid.

24. “Libertarian Party's Radical Capitalist,” Santa Barbara News and Review, 18 October 1974. Ballot restrictions are further detailed in Hazlett, The Libertarian Party, 38–40, 125–26.

25. Anderson's lawsuit, settled by the Supreme Court in Anderson v. Celebrezze (1983), overturned prohibitively early ballot deadlines for presidential candidates but left untouched regulations affecting state offices.

26. Woodward, Kenneth L., “Every Man for Himself,” Newsweek, 11 11 1974, 91Google Scholar, Lehr, Stan and Rossetto, Louis, “The New Right Credo: Libertarianism,” New York Times Magazine, 10 01 1971, 24Google Scholar. Also adding to the discourse was the success of Nozick's, RobertAnarchy, State, and Utopia (New York, 1974)Google Scholar, winner of the 1975 National Book Award. Nozick was a member of the LP in the 1970s and attended several conventions.

27. California Libertarian Report, March 1973–May 1974, and Hospers for Governor Press Release, 28 September 1974, both in “Campaign Literature: John Hospers for Governor of California,” Box 2, LPP.

28. “An interview with Edward H. Crane III, National Chairman, LP,” in The Sandy-Cohen Political Nitty-Gritty Libertarian Newsletter, ND, NP, “Libertarian Party Literature,” Box 2, LPP. The Libertarian Party's educational function and its members' historic discomfort with voting raise the issue of whether it should be considered a true Political Party. In Party Government (New York, 1942), E. E. Schattschneider contends that minor parties based on principle are not truly seeking power through the electoral system, but rather use politics as a point of departure for other agitation. Therefore, they should not be considered real political parties (35, 61, 63). Similarly, William Goodman argues that many minor political parties should be more accurately considered agitational associations, debating societies, or educational organizations. See Goodman, , The Two-Party System in the United States (New York, 1956), 49Google Scholar. Although at times the Libertarian Party has resembled the quasi-party organizations that Goodman and Schattschneider describe, in the years 1975–80, the party's strong emphasis on fielding viable candidates and building a national organization made it function as a Political Party.

29. Details on MacBride's VP decision are given in Doherty, Radicals for Capitalism, 397. MacBride was wealthy from real estate investments and his ownership of rights to The Little House on the Prairie books and television series, bequeathed to him by his libertarian godmother, Rose Wilder Lane, the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

30. Crane Interview. Crane, Memo to Execom, State Chairs, VIPs and LP Activists, in “Circular Letters, Libertarian Party Headquarters, 1975,” Box 11, LPP Papers.

31. Halloran, Richard, “Libertarian Leading 3d Party Candidates,” New York Times, 26 10 1976, 23Google Scholar.

32. Charles and David were sons of Fred Koch, an early financial supporter of the John Birch Society. The family made its fortune through Koch Industries, an oil-refining business based in Wichita, Kansas. Charles was also a major donor to the libertarian educational organization, Institute for Humane Studies. Details on the publicity-shy Koch family can be found in Doherty, Radicals for Capitalism, 406–9.

33. Details on Cato's founding are from Doherty, Radicals for Capitalism, 411–13. An alternative account crediting Murray Rothbard is given in Raimondo's celebratory biography of Rothbard, An Enemy of the State, chap. 5. Cato's strategy of direct policy intervention and advocacy represented a new direction for think tanks that was increasingly popular in the 1970s. Rich, Andrew describes this transformation as one from expertise to advocacy in Think Tanks, Public Policy, and the Politics of Expertise (New York, 2004)CrossRefGoogle Scholar. According to Rich's data, Cato was considered the fifth most influential think tank in 1993, and the third most influential in 1997 (81).

34. Quoted in Doherty, Radicals for Capitalism, 415. For the Kennedy image, see Nolan, “Clark for President: A Campaign Critique,” Box 11, LPP.

35. Justin Raimondo, interview by Tom Palmer, LPP.

36. Neville, Anne, “Libertarian Accepts Defeat with Grace and Humor,” Gazette (Chillicothe, Ohio), 5 11 1987, NPGoogle Scholar.

37. Raimondo interview, Nolan interview.

38. Crane interview, LPP.

39. In 1981 Norton dropped out of the race for national director. Doherty, Radicals for Capitalism, 419. Norton's career as a libertarian is briefly covered in Flanders, Laura, Bushwomen: Tales of a Cynical Species (New York, 2004)Google Scholar.

40. Nolan, “Clark for President.” Murray Rothbard, “The Clark Campaign: Never Again,” Libertarian Forum, September–December 1980. Interview with Raimondo,.

41. Interview with Raimondo, LPP.

42. Childs interview, LPP.

43. Richman to Rothbard, 22 September 1983, “Correpondence of the LP, 1981–1984,” Box 1, LPP.

44. Raimondo interview.

45. Crane interview. Ron Courtney to Eric O'Keefe, National Director, 22 February 1982.

46. In 1984, David Bergland won 228, 705 votes, a sharp comedown from Clark. In 1998, the presence of Congressman Ron Paul on the ticket brought in 431, 750 votes. The party's totals in years since have been within this range. Electoral figures can be found in Encyclopedia of Third Parties, 341.

47. Feldman, Claudia, “A Plunge into Politics at Age 94,” Houston Chronicle, 23 01 1983, NPGoogle Scholar.

48. Details on Stern's campaign are in Doherty, Radicals for Capitalism, 516–17.

49. Indeed, major works on third parties take failure as a given. In Third Parties in America, Rosenstone et al. begin their discussion with an explication of constraints on third parties, which “are so formidable that only the most serious breakdowns of the two major parties produce significant levels of third party support” (11). Mazmanian, Daniel reaches similar conclusions in his Third Parties in Presidential Elections (Washington, D.C., 1974)Google Scholar, while Hazlett lists fifteen factors leading to third-party failure (20). Constraints cited by the literature include factors outlined in this article and others, such as political socialization, the singlemember-district system, amount and type of media exposure, low resource base, lack of committed workers, extensive membership criteria, regional or sectional base, and fusion/co-optation by a major party.

50. Duncan Scott to David Nolan, 10 May 1984, “Correspondence of Roger Lea MacBride,” Box 1, LPP.

51. Dionne, E. J., Why Americans Hate Politics (New York, 1991), 282Google Scholar.

52. Boaz, David and Kirby, David, “The Libertarian Vote,” Policy Analysis, no. 580, 18 10 2006 (Washington, D.C., 2006)Google Scholar. The report declared: “The libertarian vote is in play” (1).

53. Nolan interview. Essentially, Nolan claims the party has been an “issue formulator” for the other two parties. The issue formulator function of third parties is controversial; see Mazmanian, Third Parties in Presidential Elections, 81–82. But at least one analyst, Joseph Hazlett, agrees with Nolan (Hazlett, The Libertarian Party, 91).

54. Lindsey, Brink, “Libertarians in an Unlibertarian World,” 8 03 2007, Cato Unbound, http://www.cato-unbound.org/issues/libertarianism-past-and-prospects/ (accessed 26 March 2007)Google Scholar.

55. See Rich, Think Tanks, Public Policy, and the Politics of Experts.

56. For example, Andrew Kirk finds libertarian ideas connected to consumption through the Patagonia catalog and the Whole Earth Catalog. Kirk, Andrew G., Counterculture Green: The Whole Earth Catalog and American Environmentalism (Lawrence, Kans., forthcoming 2007), esp. chap. 6.Google Scholar

57. Quoted in Sager, The Elephant in the Room, 182.

58. Wills, Garry, Nixon Agonistes: The Crisis of the Self-Made Man (Boston, 1970), 556Google Scholar. “Inside Ronald Reagan: A Reason Interview,” Reason, May 1978, 47.

59. I borrow this distinction from Postel, Virginia, “An 18th Century Brain in a 21st Century Head,” Cato Unbound, 18 03 2007Google Scholar.

60. Beyond Sager's book, see Lindsey, Brink, “Liberaltarians,” The New Republic, 4 12 2006Google Scholar, Bartlett, Bruce, Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy (New York, 2006)Google Scholar; Slivinski, Stephen, Buck Wild: How Republicans Broke the Bank and Became the Party of Big Government (Nashville, 2006)Google Scholar.

61. A recent spectrum of debate can be seen in the March 2007 “Libertarianism: Past and Prospects” issue of the online magazine Cato Unbound, available at: http://www.cato-unbound.org/issues/libertarianism-past-and-prospects/ (accessed 26 March 2007).