Libertarian Party Radical Caucus (sometimes abbreviated as "LPRadicals") is a
caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures.
The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...
formed in 2006 within the
United States Libertarian Party
The Libertarian Party (LP) is a political party in the United States that promotes civil liberties, non-interventionism, ''laissez-faire'' capitalism, and limiting the size and scope of government. The party was conceived in August 1971 at m ...
by Susan Hogarth and other party members who opposed removal of much of the material in the party platform during the
2006 national party convention. The caucus generally subscribes to an ideology of
anarcho-capitalism
Anarcho-capitalism (or, colloquially, ancap) is an anti-statist, libertarian, and anti-political philosophy and economic theory that seeks to abolish centralized states in favor of stateless societies with systems of private property enforce ...
. The caucus was active at the
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
and
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
Libertarian National Conventions. The radical caucus was revived and was extraordinarily active during the
2016 Libertarian National Convention
The 2016 Libertarian National Convention was the gathering at which delegates of the Libertarian Party chose the party's nominees for president and vice president in the 2016 national election. The party selected Gary Johnson, a former Governor o ...
.
History
The LPRadicals remained informally organized from 2006 through 2016 at which time it organized with bylaws and a new website under the Libertarian Party Radical Caucus moniker--the term LPRadicals being used interchangeably. The founding caucus members are Susan Hogarth and Marc Montoni.
Earlier iterations
The first iteration of the LP Radical Caucus was active from 1972 to 1974. The creator of the caucus,
Samuel Edward Konkin III
Samuel Edward Konkin III (8 July 1947 – 23 February 2004), also known as SEK3, was an American libertarian philosopher and Austrian school economist. As the author of the publication '' New Libertarian Manifesto'', he was a proponent of a polit ...
, used it in a brief attempt to steer the fledgling movement away from participating in the political process. While some members of the recent iterations of the caucus, including
left-wing market anarchists and
agorists, identify with the views of Konkin, the present membership requirements include participation in the state and national libertarian parties and emphasize political involvement as a purpose of the Caucus.
The second and best known Radical Caucus was founded by
anarcho-capitalist
Anarcho-capitalism (or, colloquially, ancap) is an anti-statist, libertarian, and anti-political philosophy and economic theory that seeks to abolish centralized states in favor of stateless societies with systems of private property enforce ...
paleolibertarians
Paleolibertarianism (also known as the "Paleo strategy") is a libertarian political activism strategy aimed at uniting libertarians and paleoconservatives. It was developed by American anarcho-capitalist theorists Murray Rothbard and Lew Rockw ...
Justin Raimondo
Justin Raimondo (born Dennis Raimondo; November 18, 1951 – June 27, 2019) was an American author and the editorial director of Antiwar.com. He described himself as a "conservative- paleo-libertarian."
Early life
Born in White Plains, New Y ...
,
Eric Garris
Eric Garris (born December 24, 1953) is an activist in the libertarian movement in the United States, reaching back to the Vietnam War. He is the founder and webmaster of a daily nonpartisan, news source Antiwar.com which was launched in 1995.
B ...
and
Bob Costello in 1979 in order "to unify the party around radical and hardcore libertarian programs." Raimondo led the caucus from inception until he abandoned the Libertarian Party in 1983, returning to the
Republican Party. That Radical Caucus was dissolved in 1984.
[Justin Raimondo]
''An enemy of the state: the life of Murray N. Rothbard''
Prometheus Books, p. 266, 2000 ,
See also
References
External links
Defunct LPRadicals websiteLibertarian Party Radical Caucus website
{{U.S. Libertarian Party
Libertarian Party (United States) organizations
Libertarian organizations based in the United States
Libertarian Party (United States) caucuses