Welcome to the Libertarian Party Mises Caucus (LPMC) Steemit page! We are a group of libertarians who hope to shake up the party this year by bringing back the principles that the party was founded on, as laid out by Austrian economists such as Ludwig Von Mises. We also have a passion for cryptocurrency and agorism, and hope to bring these elements into the party platform.
This Caucus was founded by Caucus Chair Michael Heise
The LPMC Committee consists of Michael Heise, J.d. Holton, Sterling Reece, Luke Ensor, and David Hynes.
Please keep reading for our Platform, Code of Conduct, and Media Links and feel free to reach out to us with any questions you may have!
If you want more Ron Paul and less Gary Johnson, more Tom Woods and less Bill Weld, and more Mises and the Mises Institute in your Libertarian Party, then this is the Caucus for you! Now let's get our message out there and #takehumanaction!
Libertarian Party Mises Caucus Platform
Statement of Purpose: To promote Austrian economics within the Libertarian Party, to stress the importance of sound economics as critical to the Libertarian Party message, and to advocate applying the science of human action—praxeology—in Libertarian Party efforts to counter the statism of both Democrats and Republicans.
Plank 1 - Property Rights: We recognize the right to property as natural and self-evident, and advocate private property rights from both an ontological and utilitarian perspective. Private property rights naturally extend from the central libertarian principle of self-ownership. Accordingly, we condemn all initiatory violence towards a person’s life, liberty, and property, adhering to the Non-Aggression Principle as the fundamental moral axiom informing all political decisions.
From a utilitarian perspective, we also contend that private property is the best way to avoid conflict between individuals. It is the prohibition, theft, infringement on and regulation of private property that creates conflict in the world. Private property rights in scarce resources must be established and defended. We therefore pursue privatization and decentralization wherever possible.
Plank 2 - Self-Determination: The Mises Caucus recognizes that freedom of association manifests itself politically in the form of absolute right of self-determination. The Austro-libertarian tradition favors decentralization - subsidiarity, secession, nullification, localism - and reduction of government wherever possible as a means of expanding choice and competition in governance for all individuals. Mises wrote, “If it were in any way possible to grant this right of self-determination to every individual person, it would have to be done.” To this end, the Mises Caucus favors radical decentralization of, and secession from, all government and political units.
Plank 3 - Economics: The Mises Caucus believes economics is not a self-contained discipline. It is the study of human action and, specifically, the efforts of acting human beings in dealing with the reality of scarcity. As students of praxeology, we believe all actors have purpose, and thus respond to incentives.
Our position is that government interference in the market skews natural incentives, creating unintended consequences that breed inefficiency, conflict, and unnecessary costs. As such, we adhere to the Austrian theory of economics and, further, take an unapologetic free market approach to any and all economic issues. We advocate coupling deregulation and privatization with tax reduction and abolition to achieve truly free enterprise.
Plank 4 - Money: The Mises Caucus vehemently condemns all forms of government monopoly and centralization as coercive and harmful. This is especially true regarding money, the cornerstone of a market economy. Sound money serves as both a medium of exchange and store of value. Currency should never be held captive by the harmful effects of state monopolies. We reject central banking, in favor of decentralization and free market solutions. Accordingly, we advocate abolishing the Federal Reserve System. In a market banking system, private forms of money - from precious metals to cryptocurrencies - will flourish.
Plank 5 - Decorum: The discussion surrounding the proper role of government in society is one of ideas. As Mises himself pointed out, “Everything that happens in the social world in our time is the result of ideas. Good things and bad things. What is needed is to fight bad ideas.” Ludwig von Mises was a brilliant moral philosopher and an accomplished economist, but above all, he was a gentleman. We intend to conduct ourselves in a way that honors his tradition, while exhibiting the utmost decorum in the battle of hearts and minds.
Plank 6 - Lifestyle Choices: The Mises Caucus takes no stance on personal, cultural, and social preferences. One’s lifestyle is merely an extension of their self-ownership. Thus, no individual can rightfully claim jurisdiction over the lifestyle of another. We assert only that any and all lifestyle choices must accord with the Non-Aggression Principle.
As Murray Rothbard once wrote, “Libertarianism does not offer a way of life; it offers liberty, so that each person is free to adopt and act upon his own values and moral principles.”
Plank 7 - Identity Politics: The Mises Caucus categorically rejects all forms of identity politics as nothing more than weaponized tribal collectivism that is antithetical to individualism.
LPMC Code of Conduct
- Promotion of entities other than the caucus and its approved events and candidates is not allowed.
If anyone has a political campaign, business, etc. and wants to use it to contribute to the caucus efforts somehow, please direct message one of the mods or committee members.
Keep posts related to libertarian topics and activity related to the caucus. Do not bash the LP, re-hash old news, or whip up ally-oop threads for this purpose. We are here to join the LP and change it. Everyone in this group is here precisely because they are aware of the problems. Posting about current events in the LP is fine. There are people in this group who are knowledgeable about how the party works who will be able to help. Don't be afraid to ask questions! Many of us are new to the LP. We all have plenty to learn about how the party works.
Healthy, respectful discussion among caucus members on libertarian political theory and Austrian economics is fine. Keep the decorum plank of our Platform in mind when engaging with other caucus members, and remember that we are all working for the same goal: Better candidates, better bylaws, a more principled position for the party, local victories, and principled national candidates that represent our ideas well.
Rude behavior including ad hominem attacks involving insults, flaming, calling out other caucus members for ideological duels, passive-aggressively insulting other members, repeatedly having a disrespectful tone, escalating conflict, stoking culture war infighting, lobbying for your brand of thick libertarianism, saying people are evil or "not a libertarian" because of a specific issue you disagree on, etc will not be tolerated. This list is by no means exhaustive.
Everyone here is an ally and should be treated as such. If a member can't participate in a coalition in this group where we mostly agree, they won't be of any use to the cause when we have to deal with caucuses other than ours at Libertarian Party convention or state meetings, not to mention other political parties in the statehouse with whom we disagree greatly.
Concerns or issues regarding a member or anything else should be directed to a Moderator via private message. Even in the face of rude behavior, do your best to exercise forbearance rather than escalating and reducing yourself to someone else's level of discourse, per our decorum standards.
- Work is the currency of this caucus. Do actual work- be a national member in good standing, change your registration, be a state member in good standing and attend meetings, be a leader of your fellow LPMC members in your state, run for office, be a delegate, or help someone become a delegate- doing these things is what gives you "pull" in this caucus. Talk on Facebook is like fiat currency; cheap and easy to print endlessly. Getting things done in the real world is solid gold (or crypto- your choice!).
See our interview with Tom Woods for more information:
Contact: lpmisescaucus@gmail.com
Twitter: @LPMisesCaucus