LIBERTARIANS STRESS LIMITED GOVERNMENT, INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM

The Libertarian Party is the largest alternative political party in
the United States. We currently have over 550 office holders
nationwide, and we're adding to that every year. As a member of the
national and campus group, the most important thing I can do is send
citizens a clear message as to where our party stands. While there is
not enough space to address every issue, the basics are simple enough.

Individual liberty: what you do to your own body and your own
property is nobody's business so long as you do not directly harm
others. This includes deciding what food to eat, what beverages to
drink, what medicine to use and what substances to take. You also
decide what books to read, what television shows to watch and what
music to listen to. You have the inherent right of free expression.
The choice of where and how to worship (or not) whichever god or
goddess you want is entirely up to you. Whom you love and live with
are only for you to decide.

You make the decisions concerning your home, car and finances. The
amount of money you wish to spend on food, clothing, recreation and
savings is your call. You also have the right to defend your life and
property by the necessary means.

We believe in individuals, not bureaucracies.

Personal responsibility: one cannot have liberty without
responsibility. In exercising your liberties, you have the duty to
make informed choices. For example, if you drive while taking
mind-altering drugs, you should be held accountable for endangering
others. If you make poor financial decisions, you must be prepared to
accept the consequences.

If you build something on your property that is a clear health hazard
to others (a large smokestack pumping out tons and tons of sulfur
dioxide, for example) you must correct the problem and pay
retribution to those you have harmed. This includes executives of
large corporations who too often hide behind limited liability
statutes to avoid personal responsibility for their actions.

Limited government: this by far is the most important, for unless
government is kept on a very tight leash, there will be no individual
freedom. All too often the ruling parties have used government to
solve social ills, with very little success. Government has not been
able to eliminate drug use, poverty, divorce, pollution, over-sized
waistlines, etc. What government has done, however, is to waste
enormous sums of taxpayer dollars in creating huge bureaucracies that
end up working more for their own existence than to solve the actual
problem. For example: the cost of the drug war since the mid-1970s
has been $25 billion, but the reduction of drug use has been
virtually none. The cost of the war on poverty since 1964 has been
over $4 trillion, but the percentage of Americans below the poverty
line is the same as in 1964.

Libertarians understand that these and others are legitimate problems
that society needs to address. We also acknowledge that the
government has a lousy track record. We want to get the government
out of the business of solving social ills and put that
responsibility back where it should be, in the hands of the people.
Caring individuals, community groups, churches (and other religious
organizations) and a plethora of non-government charities have helped
far more people in need than the government ever will. And they do it
without wasting taxpayer dollars on bloated bureaucracy. The Red
Cross, United Way, Habitat for Humanity, Catholic Charities,
Alcoholics Anonymous and Gamblers Anonymous are just a few examples
of benevolent, non-government organizations that help people every day.

Do Libertarians believe there is a legitimate role for government? Certainly.

When someone steals from you, the government should attempt to get
your property back. When someone physically harms you, the government
should apprehend and punish the wrongdoers. This is why we have
police. When someone (or a group of people) defrauds you, you should
have legal recourse. This is why we have the courts.

Government is like fire. When kept in its place, it serves a very
useful purpose. The instant it steps beyond those bounds, it does
more harm than good. Libertarians recognize that there is no perfect
solution, but we also believe that more government is never the answer.

I invite you to check out our website at www.libertarian.org.vt.edu
to find out more.