The Libertarian Party in the United States is composed of various factions, sometimes described as left and right, although many libertarians reject use of these terms to describe the political philosophy. As of 2024, notable

caucuses A caucus is a group or 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 ...

within the party include the hardline and

paleolibertarian Paleolibertarianism (also known as the "Paleo strategy") is a right-libertarian political activism strategy aimed at uniting libertarians and paleoconservatives. It was developed by American anarcho-capitalist theorists Murray Rothbard and Lew ...

Mises Caucus The Libertarian Party Mises Caucus (LPMC) is a caucus within the Libertarian Party (United States), Libertarian Party in the United States that promotes paleolibertarianism, fusionism, as well as a more conservative version of American libertar ...

, the traditionalist and more left-leaning Classical Liberal Caucus, and the Radical Caucus. There are also smaller groups such as the Pro Life Caucus and

Bitcoin Bitcoin (abbreviation: BTC; Currency symbol, sign: ₿) is the first Decentralized application, decentralized cryptocurrency. Based on a free-market ideology, bitcoin was invented in 2008 when an unknown entity published a white paper under ...

Caucus.

History

A broad coalition of classical liberals, minarchists, and

anarcho-capitalists Anarcho-capitalism (colloquially: ancap or an-cap) is a political philosophy and economic theory that advocates for the abolition of centralized states in favor of stateless societies, where systems of private property are enforced by pri ...

founded the Libertarian Party in 1971. In 1974, the larger minarchist and smaller anarcho-capitalist factions held the Libertarian National Convention in Dallas and made the " Dallas Accord". It is an implicit agreement to compromise between factions by adopting a platform that explicitly did not say whether it was desirable for the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

to exist.Less Antman
The Dallas Accord is Dead
Lew Rockwell.com, May 12, 2008. Over the years, anarcho-capitalists continued to debate and clash with minarchists in the party. The former faction has seen an upswing with the re-formalization of the LPRadicals. When the anarchist-aligned

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977, and again from 1979 to 1985, as well as for Texas' ...

sought the 1988 Libertarian Party nomination for president, many saw him as too radical and supported Native American activist

Russell Means Russell Charles Means (; November 10, 1939 – October 22, 2012) was an Oglala Lakota activist for the rights of Native Americans, libertarian political activist, actor, musician and writer. He became a prominent member of the American Indi ...

to run against him. Nevertheless, Paul won the nomination and ran a Libertarian presidential campaign. After the

Ron Paul 1988 presidential campaign The Ron Paul presidential campaign of 1988 began in early 1987 when former Congressman Ron Paul of Texas announced his candidacy for the 1988 presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party. He joined the third party after leaving the Repub ...

, Paul supporters like

Murray Rothbard Murray Newton Rothbard (; March 2, 1926 – January 7, 1995) was an American economist of the Austrian School,Ronald Hamowy, ed., 2008, The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism', Cato Institute, Sage, , p. 62: "a leading economist of the Austri ...

and

Lew Rockwell Llewellyn Harrison Rockwell Jr. (born July 1, 1944) is an American author, editor, and political consultant. A libertarian and a self-professed anarcho-capitalist, he founded and is the chairman of the Mises Institute, a non-profit promoting the ...

labeled themselves " paleolibertarians" because of their culturally conservative views. They soon left the party and later abandoned the term. Following the formation of the paleolibertarian faction, some American conservatives left the Republican Party to join the Libertarian Party. After the

September 11th attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, some conservative libertarians supported the

war in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

and the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

. Over the years, the number of anarcho-capitalists in the party dropped by about half. During the 2006 Libertarian National Convention, delegates deleted a large portion of the party's detailed platform. They added the phrase: "Government exists to protect the rights of every individual including life, liberty and property."Libertarian Party platform
Some took this as meaning the Dallas Accord was dead. Many anarcho-capitalists in the party left and started the

Boston Tea Party The Boston Tea Party was a seminal American protest, political and Mercantilism, mercantile protest on December 16, 1773, during the American Revolution. Initiated by Sons of Liberty activists in Boston in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colo ...

in 2006, which was disbanded six years later. In 2020, the Libertarian Party nominated Jeremy "Spike" Cohen for vice president, the first anarcho-capitalist to be featured on the party's presidential ticket. In 2022, the paleolibertarian

swept control of all positions in the

Libertarian National Committee The Libertarian National Committee (LNC) controls and manages the affairs, properties, and funds of the United States Libertarian Party. It is composed of the party officers, five at-large representatives elected every two years at the national co ...

. In response to the paleolibertarians' control over the party, numerous state parties disaffiliated from the Libertarian Party and others suffered splits and separations.

Current caucuses

Classical Liberal Caucus

The Classical Liberal Caucus promotes

classical liberalism Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics and civil liberties under the rule of law, with special emphasis on individual autonomy, limited governmen ...

and has been described as traditionalist and more left-leaning. It was founded in 2022 by Jonathan Casey, with the stated goal of promoting a professional and policy-based message within the Libertarian Party. The Caucus argues that the Libertarian Party should adopt a classical liberal message of

individualism Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote realizing one's goals and desires, valuing independence and self-reliance, and a ...

to appeal to Americans in the political center disillusioned with the Democratic and Republican parties. It was associated with the Chase Oliver 2024 presidential campaign.

Mises Caucus

The Mises Caucus promotes

paleolibertarianism Paleolibertarianism (also known as the "Paleo strategy") is a right-libertarian political activism strategy aimed at uniting libertarians and paleoconservatives. It was developed by American anarcho-capitalist theorists Murray Rothbard and L ...

Fusionism In American politics, fusionism is the philosophical and political combination or "fusion" of traditionalist and social conservatism with political and economic right-libertarianism. Fusionism combines "free markets, social conservatism, and a ...

, as well as a more conservative version of American libertarianism associated with the presidential campaigns of former U.S. congressman

. It was founded in 2017 by Michael Heise, mainly in opposition to Nicholas Sarwark's position as

party chairman In politics, a party chair (often party chairperson/-man/-woman or party president) is the presiding officer of a political party. The nature and importance of the position differs from country to country, and also between political parties. Th ...

and the influence of the Pragmatist Caucus. It is named after economist

Ludwig von Mises Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (; ; September 29, 1881 – October 10, 1973) was an Austrian-American political economist and philosopher of the Austrian school. Mises wrote and lectured extensively on the social contributions of classical l ...

. The caucus has the support of some prominent libertarians, such as comedian Dave Smith, political commentator

Tom Woods Thomas Ernest Woods Jr. (born August 1, 1972) is an American author, podcast host, and Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian commentator who is currently a senior fellow at the Mises Institute.Naji FilaliInterview with Thomas E. Woo ...

, and radio host Scott Horton. The caucus has also been highly controversial, and has been accused by their critics of harboring

bigotry Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived social group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classification of another person based on that pers ...

or being plants of the Republican Party, which the Mises Caucus denies. The Mises Caucus has shifted the Libertarian Party further toward the right ever since their party’s national convention in May 2022. After the 2024 Libertarian National Convention, the Mises Caucus controlled the positions of Secretary and Chair on the

, as well as a majority of state affiliates. However, the Secretary's affiliation with the Mises Caucus ended shortly thereafter because of the Mises-controlled Libertarian Party of Colorado's attempt to replace the properly selected Libertarian Presidential nominee,

Chase Oliver Chase Russell Oliver (born August 16, 1985) is an American political activist and politician who was the nominee of the Libertarian Party for the 2024 United States presidential election. Oliver finished fifth in the popular vote with 0.4% and 6 ...

, on the Colorado ballot.

Radical Caucus

The Radical Caucus (also known as LPRadicals) promotes more radical libertarian thought. It supports abolitionism of government functions and agencies instead of incremental changes to the status quo. The caucus was created in 2006 by members of the party unhappy with that year's

party platform A political party platform (American English), party program, or party manifesto (preferential term in British and often Commonwealth English) is a formal set of principal goals which are supported by a political party or individual candidate, t ...

. It opposed

Gary Johnson Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 29th List of governors of New Mexico, governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republica ...

in the

2016 Libertarian Party presidential primaries The 2016 Libertarian Party presidential primaries and caucuses allowed electors to indicate non-binding preferences for the Libertarian Party (United States), Libertarian Party's President of the United States, presidential candidate. These ...

Former caucuses

Pragmatist Caucus

The Pragmatist Caucus was a

moderate Moderate is an ideological category which entails centrist views on a liberal-conservative spectrum. It may also designate a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. Political position Canad ...

faction long influential within the Libertarian Party. It was associated with the 2012 and 2016 presidential campaigns of

. It dissolved in 2022 due to a controversy caused by the Mises Caucus–controlled

Libertarian Party of New Hampshire The Libertarian Party of New Hampshire (LPNH) is the New Hampshire affiliate of the national Libertarian Party (LP). Active since its foundation in 1972, it is the third-largest political party in the state having had multiple members elected t ...

, which posted offensive messages on

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

Ideological factions

Anarcho-capitalists Anarcho-capitalism (colloquially: ancap or an-cap) is a political philosophy and economic theory that advocates for the abolition of centralized states in favor of stateless societies, where systems of private property are enforced by pri ...

* Green libertarians *

Libertarian socialists Libertarian socialism is an anti-authoritarian and anti-capitalist political current that emphasises self-governance and workers' self-management. It is contrasted from other forms of socialism by its rejection of state ownership and from other ...

* Market anarchists * Minarchists *

Objectivists Objectivism is a philosophical system named and developed by Russian-American writer and philosopher Ayn Rand. She described it as "the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive a ...

* Paleolibertarians

References

External links

;Caucus websites
Classical Liberal CaucusMises CaucusRadical Caucus
{{Libertarian Party (United States) Libertarian Party (United States)

Libertarian Party (United States) The Libertarian Party (LP) is a Political parties in the United States, political party in the United States. It promotes civil liberties, non-interventionism, Laissez-faire capitalism, ''laissez-faire'' capitalism, and Limited government, limiti ...

Political party factions in the United States