National Convention 1976

1976 Libertarian National Convention
Convention
Dates:	September 23—26, 1976
Location:	Washington, D.C.
← 1975 1977 →

The 1976 Libertarian Party National Convention was held 23-26 September 1976 in Washington, DC. It had more than 600 attendees.

Speakers and Panelists

• Kay Augustin, US congressional candidate and Michigan LP secretary
• Alan Bock, head of Libertarian Advocate
• Nancy Borman
• Walter Block, Austrian economist, author, and 1972 candidate
• Nathaniel Brandon, Objectivist leader
• Bob Brauer, aide to Ron Dellums
• Peter Breggin, director of the Center for the Study of Psychiatry and opponent of compulsory psychosurgery
• Cindy Cisler
• Ed Crane, national party chair
• John Egger, Austrian economist
• David Friedman author, Machinery of Freedom and economist at Virginia Polytechnic Institute
• Jenny Graf
• Walter Grinder, Austrian economist
• John Hagel, president, Center for Libertarian Studies
• Steve Halbrook, author
• Morton Halperin, ALCU and CFR
• John Hospers, philosophy professor at USC, 1972 presidential nominee
• Leonard Liggio, professor of History
• Roger MacBride, presidential nominee
• Tibor Machan, philosophy professor at SUNY in Fredonia
• Eric Mack, contributing editor for Reason and professor of Philosophy at Tulane University
• William Marina, Institute for Humane Studies and author of The American Revolution as a People's War
• Scooch Pankonin, aide to Steve Symms
• Sharon Presley
• Ralph Raico, professor of History at SUNY in Buffalo
• Earl Ravenal, former Asian Division Director in the DoD
• Murray Rothbard, Austrian economist

This list is known to be incomplete.

Presentations and Panels

Banquet Address

Roger MacBride gave a talk about his campaign and the growth of libertarianism.

How to Communicate Political Ideas

By Nathaniel Brandon

Welcome Address

With Ed Crane and Roger MacBride

History of the Modern Libertarian Movement

Ralph Raico gave a tarlk about the libertarian movement's place in history and criticises the political status quo.

The CIA-FBI Threat to Privacy

Morton Halperin covered the frightening practices of the FBI, CIA, NSA, and other government agencies.

A Non-Interventionist Foreign Policy

Earl Ravenal gave a talk about how we could reduce the threat of war.

Natural Rights

Eric Mack

The Logic of International Diplomacy

David Friedman called our interventionist foreign policy extremely dangerous and called for an alternative.

The Middle East

The panelists were John Hagel, Steve Halbrook, and Leonard Liggio.

Libertarianism and Feminism

The panelists were Kay Augustin, Nancy Borman, Cindy Cisler, Jenny Graf, and Sharon Presley.

Libertarianism and Social Philosophy

Tibor Machan argued that human decency required that the Libertarian Party take a stand on a broad range of social issues.

Libertarian Morality

John Hospers talked about individual sovereignty and personal rights.

Lobbying for Libertarianism

The panelists were Alan Bock, Bob Brauer, and Scooch Pankonin.

Defending the Undefendable

Walter Block gave a presentation based on his the controversial book.

Austrian Economics

The panelists were John Egger, Walter Grinder, and Murray Rothbard.

Integrating Psychology and Politics

Peter Breggin talked about the problem of the unwillingness to break free of oppression (voluntary servitude), noting that children treated as captives rather than equals usually vote for oppressive laws when they are adults. "When children are punished for asserting themselves, they stop asserting themselves. Typically, they then try to stop others from the same thing."

A Libertarian View of the American Revolution

William Marina gave an analysis of the fundamental issues of the American Revolution.

Benediction

Given by Murray Rothbard

References

• Audio-Forum ad, inside cover of Against The Wall, Volume 5 number 10, 1977