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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.[1]
As of 2024, notable caucuses within the party include the hardline and paleolibertarian Mises Caucus, 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 Caucus.[2]
A broad coalition of classical liberals, minarchists, and anarcho-capitalists 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 to exist.[3][4][5]
Over the years, anarcho-capitalists continued to debate and clash with minarchists in the party.[6] The former faction has seen an upswing with the re-formalization of the LPRadicals. When the anarchist-aligned[7] Ron Paul sought the 1988 Libertarian Party nomination for president, many saw him as too radical and supported Native American activist Russell Means to run against him.[8][9][10] Nevertheless, Paul won the nomination and ran a Libertarian presidential campaign.[11]
After the Ron Paul 1988 presidential campaign, Paul supporters like Murray Rothbard and Lew Rockwell labeled themselves "paleolibertarians" because of their culturally conservative views.[12] They soon left the party and later abandoned the term.[13] Following the formation of the paleolibertarian faction, some American conservatives left the Republican Party to join the Libertarian Party.[14] After the September 11th attacks, some conservative libertarians supported the war in Afghanistan and the Iraq War.[15]
Over the years, the number of anarcho-capitalists in the party dropped by about half.[5][16] 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."[17] Some took this as meaning the Dallas Accord was dead.[5] Many anarcho-capitalists in the party left and started the Boston Tea Party 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.[18] In 2022, the paleolibertarian Mises Caucus swept control of all positions in the Libertarian National Committee.[19] In response to the paleolibertarians' control over the party, numerous state parties disaffiliated from the Libertarian Party and others suffered splits and separations.
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Classical Liberal Caucus
The Classical Liberal Caucus promotes classical liberalism and has been described as traditionalist and more left-leaning.[20][21][2] It was founded in 2022 by Jonathan Casey, with the stated goal of promoting a professional and policy-based message within the Libertarian Party.[22][23] The Caucus argues that the Libertarian Party should adopt a classical liberal message of individualism to appeal to Americans in the political center disillusioned with the Democratic and Republican parties.[23][non-primary source needed] It is associated with the Chase Oliver 2024 presidential campaign.[20]
Mises Caucus
The Mises Caucus promotes paleolibertarianism,[24] Fusionism,[25][26] as well as a more conservative version of American libertarianism associated with the presidential campaigns of former U.S. congressman Ron Paul.[26][25] It was founded in 2017 by Michael Heise, mainly in opposition to Nicholas Sarwark's position as party chairman and the influence of the Pragmatist Caucus. It is named after economist Ludwig von Mises.
The caucus has the support of some prominent libertarians, such as comedian Dave Smith, political commentator Tom Woods, and radio host Scott Horton.[27][28] The caucus has also been highly controversial, and has been accused by their critics of harboring bigotry or being plants of the Republican Party, which the Mises Caucus denies.[29]
The Mises Caucus has shifted the Libertarian Party further toward the right ever since their party’s national convention in May 2022.[29] As of 2024, the Mises Caucus controls the positions of Secretary and Chair on the Libertarian National Committee, as well as a majority of state affiliates.[25]
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.[2][30][31] The caucus was created in 2006 by members of the party unhappy with that year's party platform.[30] It opposed Gary Johnson in the 2016 Libertarian Party presidential primaries.[32]
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Pragmatist Caucus
The Pragmatist Caucus was a moderate faction long influential within the Libertarian Party. It was associated with the 2012 and 2016 presidential campaigns of Gary Johnson. It dissolved in 2022 due to a controversy caused by the Mises Caucus-controlled Libertarian Party of New Hampshire, which posted offensive messages on social media.[33][34][35]
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