🚀 go-pugleaf

 geoff@maui.cs.ucla.edu (Geoffrey Kuenning) writes:
That he thought the diamond quiz too short.  Here's a sample platform:

........................................forwarded..........

Many people today seem concerned with advocating what they feel are
non-violent government policies. Usually these people focus on the readily
apparent violence of war. Many of these same people also propose that the
federal government should be spending more money, and enacting more laws to
solve social problems in this country. Although they may have good intentions,
these people seem to be unaware of the nature  of government. They are
effectively proposing to use force to achieve their own ends.  If people
understand this and feel that force is necessary, I may disagree, but I can
accept that as their opinion. However, I object to people who claim to be
non-violent and do not truly acknowledge the implications of the policies they
endorse. Libertarians feel  the only valid use of force is to ensure human
rights, to protect people from force and fraud. The law represents the
collective right of self defense.

The following text is a flyer from the Boulder County Libertarian Party:

 				A Peaceful Government

 We reject the idea that the aggressive use of force, whether by criminals or
government, is either a moral or practical means for achieving positive ends.
Libertarians seek a world in which voluntary cooperation replaces force in
human relationships. Libertarians believe that individuals, families,
associations, and businesses have the right and the ability to deal with their
own problems by working with other people in a peaceful and honest way.

A comparison of WAR with our current approach to GOVERNMENT:

A hostile takeover of another country: A group of people with guns violently
imposes its will on another group of people.  Even if the other country gives
in peacefully, it is doing so under the threat of force. Often the war is
rationalized:  "We know better than they do what is good for them. We need
to convert them to our religion,  our idealogy, our form of government. We
need to civilize them. We are a poor country, we need the resource of the
rich country we invaded. Most of the people will be better off in the long
run, the ends justify the means."

A government which attempts to solve social problems: A group of people
with guns violently imposes its will on another group of people.  Even if the
minority gives in peacefully, it is doing so under the threat of force. Often
the social program is rationalized:  "We know better than they do what is
good for the country. Left to themselves they wouldn't do the right thing, we
need to force them to our way of thinking, our idealogy, we need to civilize
them and make them behave charitably. We are a poor group, we need the
resources of the people we enslaved. Most of the country will be better off in
the long run, the ends justify the means."

Skeptical?

  Then consider why the government is enlisted to solve social problems
instead of entrusting them to voluntary private organizations. There are two
basic reasons:

   1. The feeling that people will only do something if the law tells them to.
What this means is that the threat of a gun is required to force people to
conform to what some feel is the right way of acting.

  2. The large financial resources of the government are desired to
accomplish a task. What this means is that people are forced at gunpoint to
give money to a cause that the government considers worthy. If they wish to
give money to a homeless shelter instead of letting the government waste it,
they are not allowed to.

The government uses force to collect taxes. If you don't pay taxes
voluntarily, your property may be seized and you may be imprisoned. Our
earnings and property are taken by force if we don't cooperate. If any
organization or persons other than the government tried this, we would call it
stealing. If it is wrong for private citizens to take others' property, it is
wrong when government does it. Private citizens and companies would be
called criminals for using such methods, so it must be criminal for our
government to do it. One of the Libertarian Party's goals is to replace
taxation with voluntary methods for financing government services.

  There are millions of people who would not pay taxes voluntarily if they
had a choice. These people feel they work for a third of the year as slaves to
pay off the government mob. It is not politically correct to think of these
people as human. They are just sources of revenue who can afford to part with
some money. Their rights don't matter.

:End of flyer

 The fact that someone may in good conscience feel that their money is
better spent in a private charity does not matter to the government. The
people who make laws feel strongly enough that they are absolutely right in
how the money should be spent, and that the person who earned the money
is wrong, that they are willing to back up their feeling and their monopoly of
decision making, with a gun.  How often are you sure enough about your
ideas that you are willing to put a gun to someone's head to make them
obey? Whether they realize it or not, many social activists are proposing just
this action. Even if you are sure that a goal needs to be achieved, how often
are you sure that you have the best, or only, way of acheiving that goal?

 It is possible to dispute whether some level of government force may in
practice be required, and what that level is. However, I don't currently see
how it is possible to dispute the nature of solving a problem with
government forced coercion versus voluntary cooperation.

  Some may raise the objection that a government social program may exist
which is voluntarily funded and is non-coercive. In this case I would
question why the program couldn't have been run privately.

One good source of information about the nature of government is a book
called "The Law" by Frederic Bastiat. Anyone on the internet can use
anonymous ftp to retrieve an online copy of the book from think.com in
the file: /pub/libernet/misc/frederic-bastiat-the-law

For more information about the Libertarian Party call 800-682-1776

		Bryan Griffin
		bwg@csn.org


Here is a copy of a flyer about the LP presidential ticket:

Andre Marrou and Nancy Lord
1992 Libertarian Presidential Ticket

The Libertarian Party
is the Party of the future. The LP is America's third largest and fastest
growing party. It has elected over one hundred candidates, and in 1990
polled over four million votes.

A Party of Principle

The LP has always stood for personal freedom and self responsibility. No
Libertarian has ever raised your taxes or increased government spending. In
fact, Libertarians have stopped or repealed taxes, including the Alaska
income tax.

Libertarian Ideas are American Ideas

The Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights are libertarian
documents. We believe, as the Founders did, that people must be left free to
live their own lives, must be reponsible for their own actions, and must not
harm others. The only just role for government is to defend us against force
and fraud. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights limited government to that
role, but the politicians have gone beyond those limits.

The LP Challenges Us to Fight Back

A 3% tax led The Founders to rebel against England. Now our taxes are
nearly 50%. This money is wasted. The government gives billions to foreign
governments, millions more to farmers who grow no food, and thousands to
cover Congressional bounced checks. They've even given millions to both
tobacco farmers and campaigns against smoking.

THE LP HAS A BETTER WAY

The Libertarian Way

Let's stop giving billions to foreign governments, millions to farmers who
grow no food, thousands for Congressional privilege, and millions more to
tobacco companies. Let's make government do its real job - keep our streets
safe and our land defended.

What if your bill for government went from 50% of earnings to 10% or less?
What if your spendable income nearly doubled? What would your life be
like? What causes would you support? What could you do for you children?

Nothing is free. The government's supposed free services cost dearly. You
pay for waste and political favors. Get more for your money. Confine
government to the protection of your safety and both your safety and wealth
will grow. We'll have safe streets, a strong economy, and the money we need
to give our children the education they deserve.

That's the Libertarian Way - you choose - government waste and
inefficiency, or safety and abundance for you and your family?

To help build this responsible alternative to the older parties, call or write...

         The Marrou/Lord Campaign
	  P.O. Box 12417
         Las Vegas, NV 89112
            702-434-6362

Libertarian Party: 800-682-1776


About Andre Marrou...

Andre Marrou is a graduate of MIT and has worked as a chemical engineer.
Marrou was elected in 1985 to the Alaska State Legislature where he
introduced legislation to limit the size of government and reduce taxes. In
1988 Marrou was the LP vice-presidential nominee and running mate of
Congressmen Ron Paul.

About Nancy Lord...

Nancy Lord has degrees in medicine and law and is an attorney specializing
in medical-legal and constitutional issues. As a businesswoman Lord could
see first-hand how taxation and bureaucratic regulation were stifling
entrepreneurship; this sparked her decision to run for mayor of Washington,
D.C. in 1990


--
David Honig

"Don't you believe half of what you see, and none of what you hear." ---Lou
Reed