The Libertarian Party of LA County is going through the exercise of developing a strategic plan. Part of that exercise includes adopting a vision statement. Inspired by an earlier draft, I've put together my own vision. It could be shorter, but is serviceable.
LPLAC Succeeds When:
The sum total of public discussion in LA County includes divergent views and dynamic cross-fertilization of ideas, but a clear majority of both the electorate and general population insists that all of these divergent views fit within a political framework that minimizes compulsory forms of government in favor of maximizing voluntary solutions, personal autonomy, and economic freedom. Los Angeles County and its environs develops a reputation as one of the leading libertarian-influenced and politically innovative regions in the world. Liberty and peace-loving people from all over the world desire to visit and reside here, including notable public opinion leaders who advocate for freedom-oriented policies and the end of government-sanctioned aggression locally and around the world.
Along the way, Libertarian Party candidates and are included on virtually every ballot in the county, are routinely included in debates, sought out for interviews, and covered in stories by both alternative and mainstream media. Candidates of other parties become substantially libertarian-leaning in key aspects. Libertarian Party candidates win offices and appointments while expressing views consistent with the non-aggression principle. Many Libertarians holding public office are supported by teams of activists and advisers, and are widely recognized as principled and effective leaders. Aided by their teams and motivated by the passion for liberty, these leaders grow in political influence and exploit every good opportunity to implement and expand liberty and non-aggression in public policy and legislation locally, regionally, in Sacramento and in Washington D.C. LPLAC and its members are seen as valuable members of the community, actively engaged in resolving issues of the day and effectively advocating for innovative solutions that expand personal liberty, prosperity, and justice.
We seek no dogmatic, static ideological endpoint and seek only to apply the non-aggression principle in the political sphere to the maximum extent possible given the constraints of the day. It is impossible to predict every social benefit that will be realized by the freed people of LA County, once they have learned to abhor the initiation of force for achieving political or social goals, and prefer to implement voluntary solutions to social problems. We nonetheless expect that fruits of our activism will include, in the long term, the widespread condemnation of wars of aggression, and strong public preferences for peace and voluntary exchange with people locally and around the world. Our residents will enjoy increased prosperity, privacy, security and justice. Equal opportunities to benefit from the fruits of their own labor will expand, while government-sanctioned monopolies, free riding on the labor of others, and economic stagnation will diminish. No person will be punished for conduct that does not harm or threaten an actual victim, and victimless crimes will become relics of the past. The rule of just laws will prevail, and justice will be administered by officers and service providers who are not above the laws they enforce. As general prosperity increases, the need for tax-funded welfare will diminish and care for the indigent and poor will gradually be transferred to volunteers and voluntary organizations. Corporate welfare and undue influence will diminish. Our environment will become cleaner and our food and water healthier by operation of just laws, vibrant free markets and public forums where truth is vigorously debated and authority questioned. Taxes will become more like fees for services rendered or reputation-enhancing donations, and less like compulsory payments made under threat of force. Authority will become more decentralized, wealth more evenly distributed, and collective social projects more voluntary in nature.
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