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Dallas Accord: Difference between revisions
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The '''Dallas Accord''' comprised both formal and informal agreements made at the 1974 [[Libertarian National Convention]] to compromise between the larger minarchist and smaller anarchist factions in order to avoid a Party fracture by amending the [[Platform]] and the [[Statement of Principles]] to refrain from explicitly stating whether it was desirable for the state to exist.<ref>Mike Hihn, "The Dallas Accord, Minarchists, and why our members sign a pledge", Washington State Libertarian Party, August 2009.</ref><ref>Paul Gottfried, ''The conservative movement: Social movements past and present '', Twayne Publishers, 1993, p. 46.</ref><ref name=Antman>Less Antman, [http://archive.lewrockwell.com/orig9/antman1.html The Dallas Accord is Dead], [[Lew Rockwell.com]], May 12, 2008.</ref><ref>Caryn Ann Harlos, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPWT9Jb05V8 "Through Which Liberty Shall Prevail: The [[Statement of Principles]] of the Libertarian Party"], live at the 2017 Arizona Libertarian Party Convention.</ref> | The '''Dallas Accord''' comprised both formal and informal agreements made at the 1974 [[Libertarian National Convention]] to compromise between the larger minarchist and smaller anarchist factions in order to avoid a Party fracture by amending the [[Platform]] and the [[Statement of Principles]] to refrain from explicitly stating whether it was desirable for the state to exist.<ref>Mike Hihn, "The Dallas Accord, Minarchists, and why our members sign a pledge", Washington State Libertarian Party, August 2009.</ref><ref>Paul Gottfried, ''The conservative movement: Social movements past and present '', Twayne Publishers, 1993, p. 46.</ref><ref name=Antman>Less Antman, [http://archive.lewrockwell.com/orig9/antman1.html The Dallas Accord is Dead], [[Lew Rockwell.com]], May 12, 2008.</ref><ref>Caryn Ann Harlos, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPWT9Jb05V8 "Through Which Liberty Shall Prevail: The [[Statement of Principles]] of the Libertarian Party"], live at the 2017 Arizona Libertarian Party Convention.</ref> | ||
The formal agreement involved amending the [[Statement of Principles]] in order to expressly allow for anarchist thought within the Party and changing the role of any existing state from a positive duty to a negative one and officially adopting a position of agnosticism on the ultimate existence of the state by using such language as "where governments exist, they must not violate the rights of any individual" and "Since governments, when instituted, must not violate individual rights."<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/statementofprinciples/photos/pb.540241642806441.-2207520000.1486498090./708512759312661/?type=3&theater Mark-Up of Changes Between 1972 and 1974 Statement of Principles]</ref> The informal agreement included an agreement for the [[Platform]] planks to follow suit and that all official debates and statements as to whether or not a state must or must not exist as an "end game" would be tabled until such time as a minimal state might be achieved.<ref name="Antman"/><ref>Carl Watner and Paul Bilzi, [http://voluntaryist.com/backissues/011.pdf "What's Next in the Pursuit of Liberty"], "The Voluntaryist", November 1984; see also [[Murray Rothbard]] [http://www.wendymcelroy.com/print.php?news.2520 reply letter] posted by then-The Voluntaryist editor [[Wendy McElroy]] at her web site.</ref> | The formal agreement involved amending the [[Statement of Principles]] in order to expressly allow for anarchist thought within the Party and changing the role of any existing state from a positive duty to a negative one and officially adopting a position of agnosticism on the ultimate existence of the state by using such language as "where governments exist, they must not violate the rights of any individual" and "Since governments, when instituted, must not violate individual rights."<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/statementofprinciples/photos/pb.540241642806441.-2207520000.1486498090./708512759312661/?type=3&theater Mark-Up of Changes Between 1972 and 1974 Statement of Principles]</ref> The informal agreement included an agreement for the [[Platform]] planks to follow suit and that all official debates and statements as to whether or not a state must or must not exist as an "end game" would be tabled until such time as a minimal state might be achieved.<ref name="Antman"/><ref>Carl Watner and Paul Bilzi, [http://voluntaryist.com/backissues/011.pdf "What's Next in the Pursuit of Liberty"], "The Voluntaryist", November 1984; see also [[Murray Rothbard]] [http://www.wendymcelroy.com/print.php?news.2520 reply letter] posted by then-The Voluntaryist editor [[Wendy McElroy]] at her web site.</ref> | ||
During the following years the number of anarchists in the party dropped by about half | The purpose of the Dallas Accord was to make the Libertarian Party a "[[big tent]]" that would welcome more ideologically diverse groups of people interested in reducing the size of government. At that time, the [[Platform]] underwent several related changes which deleted the phrase "The protection of individual rights is the only proper purpose of government" from Individual Rights and Civil Order and added the word "existing" to the Trade and Economy plank as follows: "The only proper role of existing governments in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate disputes, and provide a legal frame- work in which voluntary trade is protected. All efforts by government to redistribute wealth, or to control or manage trade, are improper in a free society." <ref>[http://lpedia.org/wiki/1974_Libertarian_Party_Platform 1974 Libertarian Party Platform ]</ref> Whether or not any portion of the informal agreement was ever binding, or remains in effect as the wording of the [[Platform]] planks changed, remains disputed, and Party members and candidates have certainly felt free to argue for their perspectives on the debate.<ref>Judge Gray, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWbQg0Y0wJA Anarchism v. Libertarianism]</ref><ref>Caryn Ann Harlos, [https://jrlp.podbean.com/e/johnny-rocket-launch-pad-episode-102-caryn-ann-harlos/ "Party-Archy," Johnny Rocket Launchpad]</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEutQklrkcE Anarchy v. Minarchy Debate at 2016 Libertarian Party Convention ]</ref> The official Libertarian Party website follows the [[Statement of Principles]] in stating, "We believe that government’s only responsibility, if any, should be protecting people from force and fraud."<ref>[https://www.lp.org/about/ "About the Libertarian Party"]</ref> Further, the [[Statement of Principles]] is a permanent part of the [[Platform]] and contains the edits made in 1974 and thus any apparent stepping back of those statements in the planks must be considered as transient statements or practical positions given the current fact of the state. | ||
During the following years the number of anarchists in the party dropped by about half as more conservative-oriented members joined.<ref name=Antman/><ref name=Knapp>[[Thomas L. Knapp|Knapp, Thomas]], "[http://www.rationalreview.com/rationalreviewold/archive/tlknapp/tlknapp010303.html Time for a new Dallas Accord?]", ''Rational Review''.</ref> During the [[Libertarian National Convention#2006|2006 Libertarian National Convention]] delegates deleted a large portion of the very detailed [[Platform]]. They re-added the phrase "Government exists to protect the rights of every individual including life, liberty and property."<ref name=LPPlatform>[http://lp.org/platform Libertarian Party platform].</ref> This development has been described as the "Portland Massacre". Some took this as meaning the Dallas Accord was dead.<ref name=Antman/> Delegates tried in 2008 to restore the [[Platform]], without success. However, the only formal agreement from the Dallas Accord, that of the amended [[Statement of Principles]], remains in effect as required by the [[Bylaws of the National Libertarian Party]]<ref>[https://www.lp.org/bylaws-and-convention-rules/ Libertarian Party Bylaws]</ref> which further makes the [[Statement of Principles]] the ideological foundation of the Party. However, any implicit agreement that the [[Platform]] itself outside of the [[Statement of Principles]] would use the term "existing government(s)" was terminated/broken in the 2008 changes. The importance of the reversal of that language remains in dispute. | |||
The current Criminal Justice Plank states that "[t]he prescribed role of government is to protect the rights of every individual including the right to life, liberty and property” which is used as further argument that the Dallas Accord has been abrogated. Party anarchists assert that since the [[Platform]] may not contradict the [[Statement of Principles]] as amended in 1974, as well the [[Platform]]’s overtly stated transitory nature, such a statement does not entail the necessity of the state, merely the limitation of its role when it does exist. Others argue that the Party’s [[Statement of Principles]] gives support for "the prohibition of the initiation of physical force against others," and "the prohibition of robbery, trespass, fraud, and misrepresentation" with the implication that a state would be required; however, the original language of the [[Statement of Principles]] from 1972 in which those items would be enforced by “laws” was struck by the amendments made in 1974 so opponents of this view would say this is not a valid conclusion.<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/statementofprinciples/photos/pb.540241642806441.-2207520000.1486498090./708512759312661/?type=3&theater Mark-Up of Changes Between 1972 and 1974 Statement of Principles]</ref> The edits to the [[Statement of Principles]] made in conjunction with the [[1974 Libertarian National Convention]] remain unchanged. | The current Criminal Justice Plank states that "[t]he prescribed role of government is to protect the rights of every individual including the right to life, liberty and property” which is used as further argument that the Dallas Accord has been abrogated. Party anarchists assert that since the [[Platform]] may not contradict the [[Statement of Principles]] as amended in 1974, as well the [[Platform]]’s overtly stated transitory nature, such a statement does not entail the necessity of the state, merely the limitation of its role when it does exist. Others argue that the Party’s [[Statement of Principles]] gives support for "the prohibition of the initiation of physical force against others," and "the prohibition of robbery, trespass, fraud, and misrepresentation" with the implication that a state would be required; however, the original language of the [[Statement of Principles]] from 1972 in which those items would be enforced by “laws” was struck by the amendments made in 1974 so opponents of this view would say this is not a valid conclusion.<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/statementofprinciples/photos/pb.540241642806441.-2207520000.1486498090./708512759312661/?type=3&theater Mark-Up of Changes Between 1972 and 1974 Statement of Principles]</ref> The edits to the [[Statement of Principles]] made in conjunction with the [[1974 Libertarian National Convention]] remain unchanged. | ||
Anarchists do continue to work in the party and run for office,<ref name=Knapp/> and the activity of the anarchists in the Party is on the upswing with the | Anarchists do continue to work in the party and run for office,<ref name=Knapp/> and the activity of the anarchists in the Party is on the upswing with the re-establishment of the [[LPRadicals]]. [[anarchism|Anarchist]] philosophies of no government still are supported by planks of the party [[Platform]], one of which describes the "right to alter or abolish government" and another which states that "Our silence about any other particular government law, regulation, ordinance, directive, edict, control, regulatory agency, activity, or machination should not be construed to imply approval." <ref>[https://www.lp.org/platform/ 2016 Libertarian Party Platform]</ref> Further, a Preamble added to the Platform in 1984 paved the way for [[Platform]] planks to be transitory by explicitly stating with regards to the Platform planks that “These specific policies are not our goal, however. Our goal is nothing more nor less than a world set free in our lifetime, and it is to this end that we take these stands”, leaving the [[Statement of Principles]] to be the determinative statement of Party goals.<ref>[http://lpedia.org/wiki/1984_Libertarian_Party_Platform 1984 Libertarian Party Platform]</ref> | ||
Click here for full PDF of [[Media:Dallas Accord Statement of Principles.pdf|marked-up copy showing differences between the 1972 and 1974 Statement of Principles]] prepared by [[Caryn Ann Harlos]]. | Click here for full PDF of [[Media:Dallas Accord Statement of Principles.pdf|marked-up copy showing differences between the 1972 and 1974 Statement of Principles]] prepared by [[Caryn Ann Harlos]]. | ||