Movimento Libertario

The Libertarian Movement (Movimento Libertario commonly known as the ML) is a political and cultural movement based in Italy.

It is characterized by a libertarian cultural and political platform: minimal regulation of Italian society, liberism of the markets, strong defense of natural rights of liberty and property, non-interventionism in foreign policy, and laissez-faire freedom of trade and travel to all foreign countries.

History

Foundation

The Movimento Libertario was originally an Italian cultural association for the dissemination of libertarianism.

As a cultural association, the Movimento Libertario began on September 24, 2005, in Treviglio with the writing of the "Manifesto and Constitution of the Movimento Libertario" by Leonardo Facco.

The Movimento Libertario became an Italian political subject when it was officially founded in September 2007 by Leonardo Facco, Giorgio Fidenato and Marcello Mazzilli, in order to defend life, liberty and property of each individual within a strong liberist system of free market, against any kind of aggression and/or coercion.

The Association has its registered office in the Municipality of Pordenone.

Symbol

The Movimento Libertario has as its symbol a round disk with a yellow-gold background in reference to the gold standard and are also a reference to its membership in the anarcho-capitalist movement.

Inside the top are the words in Italian (in black color) "Proprietà" and "Libertà", and are references to natural rights believed essential by libertarians.

In the center of the disk, the symbol of the movement, is a stylized image of a black crossbow.

The weapon is an homage to nearby Switzerland and in particular to legendary William Tell, as a symbol of fiscal rebellion for federalist political autonomy and independence of people.

Below the image appears the written "Movimento Libertario"; the terms are used in reference to political entity but also to define the nature of individual human action (Movimento) and to define, in broad sense, those theories which give primacy to individual choice before the claims of any political power (Libertario).

The symbol is part of the assets of the Association.

Inspiration

The Movimento Libertario is politically inspired by the classical liberalism of John Locke and the Founding Fathers of the United States conjugated to nineteenth-century American individualist anarchist strand of Benjamin Tucker, Henry David Thoreau and Lysander Spooner.

In economy it is inspired on lessons of the Austrian school and in particular to the theoric formulation of the philosopher and economist libertarian anarcho-capitalist Murray N. Rothbard.

It is also inspired from the American model of liberty by the minarchism theorized by Robert Nozick and the Objectivism described in novels by Ayn Rand.

The Movimento Libertario refers to freedom of association of the anarchic federalism, anarcho-capitalist free market society, and to the Jeffersonian limited government of classical liberalism.

The term "federalism" as it is used by the Movimento Libertario, in a sense to be in favor of a political of decentralization and for a real local fiscality against the centralism of the national Italian State.

It is not used to mean the increase of central power.

The Movimento Libertario is an anti-federalist organization about the Europe, it is against the federal European Union government, preferring the voluntary accession and the unanimity of a Confederation.

Historians Italian thinkers of reference for the Movimento Libertario in economy and policy include Cesare Beccaria, Filippo Mazzei, Carlo Cattaneo, Luigi Einaudi, Bruno Leoni, Gianfranco Miglio and Sergio Ricossa.

Organization

The Movimento Libertario is organized by a system of free participation of shareholders, registered members, and sympathizers on the Italian territory.

Any adult who registers and pays a participation fee becomes a shareholder member of the movement and therefore acquired the right to vote and actively participate to the meetings of internal bodies. Minors, even if authorized by a single parent, may be enrolled only as members sympathizers with no rights to vote.

The bodies of internal administration include the Managing Director, Board of Directors (B.o. D.), Assembly of Members (Meeting of Shareholders), Groups of Territorial Association (clans) , Board of Auditors, and the Enclave of Essays.

The Statute of the Movimento Libertario describes and regulates all bodies of internal administration and their function.

Leonardo Facco co-founder of the Association, represents from 2007 till 2011 in according to the statute and to the internal democracy of members of Association, the role of Managing Director of the Movimento Libertario.

He represents the Movimento Libertario in their official activity.

Cultural diffusion

The Movimento Libertario, as cultural association intends to be an Italian promoter of the spread of classical liberalism vision in economy (free market) and in policy (libertarianism).

The motto is: "Everyone is free to do what he thinks is right for himself, without attacking anyone, and without attacking the property rights of others".

The Movement's members believe that policy is especially spread of freedom culture: meetings, debates, on the web, and with conferences and publications

Publications

Leonardo Facco, thanks to the encounter with the most important Italian libertarian thinkers (Carlo Lottieri, Alberto Mingardi, Carlo Stagnaro, Guglielmo Piombini, Nicola Iannello) founded in 1996 in Treviglio the Leonardo Facco Editore an independent publishing house.

It works to spread the concepts about the defense of liberty, property and people's lives that they are threatened daily by the actions of states, governments and public authorities.

The published books dealing history, sociology, political science and issues related the ecology of the market.

The Movimento Libertario through to the Leonardo Facco Editore periodically publish two magazines: The Sheets of Enclave and the magazine Enclave which give space to various political issues, cultural, social and economic libertarians Italian and international.

The Sheets of Enclave is a free bimonthly publication, while the magazine Enclave is a quarterly magazine founded in March 1998, available by subscription.

The Movimento Libertario is actively working through the magazine Enclave with members of Bruno Leoni Institute[2] (an Italian free market institute): Alberto Mingardi (co-editor), Carlo Stagnaro (co-director) and Carlo Lottieri (Scientific Committee).

In Scientific Committee of Enclave magazine belong also: Walter Block, David Friedman, Raimondo Cubeddu, Romano Bracalini, Hans Hermann Hoppe, John Hospers, Antonio Martino, Nicola Jannello, David B. Kopel, Pierre Lemieux, Tibor R. Machan, Jan Narveson, Wendy McElroy, Guglielmo Piombini, Ralph Raico, Alberto Pasolini Zanelli, Sergio Ricossa, Robert Sirico, Thomas S. Szasz, Alessandro Vitale.

In January 2010, Leonardo Facco, announced the intention to delegate ownership of his publishing company to the Movimento Libertario, in order to promote the continuity in the future of the activities of the movement by ensuring private self-financing through the sale of books and content published.

Policy movement

The Nolan Chart, with the traditional left-right political spectrum, as seen by David Nolan, on the dashed diagonal

Respecting the historical definition of libertarian, unlike to the Libertarian Party (United States), the Movimento Libertario want bring in Italy the same contents of a Libertarian Party but with the practice of non-voting, thus not directly participating in political Italian elections with the symbol of the Movimento Libertario .

The Movimento Libertario as anti-statism movement disclaims the State legality and its political elections.

As a political entity it may decide to participate in the Italian political competition (at different levels) supporting from the outside its candidates through civic lists, or support the claims of parties close to its cultural vision in order to make its voice and disseminate ideas .

The Movimento Libertario is not classifiable in the political-ideologic traditions of the twentieth century present in Italy.

Like other libertarian entities in the world, the subject respects the political spectrum of Nolan Chart.

One of its slogans said: "Neither right nor left, nor centrist. Simply free is better".

Principles

The Movimento Libertario in its founding act declares and acknowledges libertarian principles as internals to its Statute:

• The Freedom, understood as the absence of constraint is a natural right of the individual, which nobody (private or public organization) must threaten;
• The Government, in its various variants, forces people to obey blindly and accept legislation invasive and oppressive monopoly;
• Everyone has the right to seek their own happiness and that of his loved ones, taking responsibility for their actions;
• Each individual is entitled organize in freedom themselves to protect their lives and their belongings, particularly given the enormous difficulties posed by the power of politicians at all levels;
• The need to eliminate and reduce the state, politicians and bureaucracies in the everyday life, increasingly recognizing the dignity of all people working really, producing their own resources and possessions.
• The Property is a natural and inalienable right of man, is primarily the property of themselves, of the own bodies and of one's life.

It can not be granted or denied by any social system, whether democratic or authoritarian.

Property also means all that belongs to the person and that is not the result of an act of violence, but by the work of the person, the acquisition and transformation of the state of nature and with free interaction of individuals.

Purpose

The Movimento Libertario, as political movement, is founded with the aim of reducing government to its lowest terms, in order to provide space for free interaction between individuals, or community consensus of individuals, who seek redress of their market needs .

Every member is said to have a moral duty to liberate the forces of civil society and free trade, eliminating any form of intervention in defense of individual liberties .

The Movimento Libertario Statute considers necessary for Italy:

• The return to full and effective sovereignty of the individual over their lives and their belongings, which belongs to the natural right to govern themselves through non-violent methods of coercion or by exercising the right to self-determination is that the sacred principles of resistance and opposition to any kind of tax;
• The rights of the individual nature of a right of ownership of their bodies and their belongings held lawfully, in fulfillment of the Non-aggression axiom of libertarian philosopher Murray Newton Rothbard expressed in Society and State:

"I define anarchist society as one where there is no legal possibility for coercive aggression against the person or property of any individual. Anarchists oppose the State because it has its very being in such aggression, namely, the expropriation of private property through taxation, the coercive exclusion of other providers of defense service from its territory, and all of the other depredations and coercions that are built upon these twin foci of invasions of individual rights."

Each share of the Movimento, which would achieve the above purposes, is based on the principle of non-violence: "no one can attack the person and the property of others".

Policy positions

Economy

Supports the abolition of taxation in all forms and is against regulation of free trade, including tariffs, price controls, coercive insurance, and production quotas.

An intermediate target on which to engage is the institutionalization of a flat tax whose rate is as low as possible (for example 22%) and one or more, no-tax area.

It is an Eurosceptic movement, critical of the Euro and the presence of a European common economic monetary policy represented and direct by the European Central Bank and the European Commission.

It is in favor of a return to the gold standard and to a free banking system.

Does not recognize the legality and legitimacy of the WTO, IMF, World Bank because they are statist organizations contrary to the principles of non-interference of governments in a free market economy.

The Movimento Libertario is against statism and protectionism, rejects public and private corporativism, opposed to the communism marxian, to corporativist fascism and to keynesians socialists interventions in economy by the State and politics.

Supports market liberalization and deregulation, it also supports privatization of State economy sector.

Believes work can not be regarded either as a right nor a duty, but only as a free choice of the individual, and as such, the work should not be subject to collective agreements or limited by rules.

The collective agreement is deemed unconstitutional.

It is in favor of the abolition of professional orders of state; is not contrary to private professional orders and supports their spontaneous formation, but feel the problem arises from the institutionalization of professional orders of state and the choice of these same associations to act as a single party monopoly.

Accession to the orders should not be imposed by law.

Supports the abolition of all business licenses; no price controls, balances, and no limitation in the initiation of new activities (such as limitations on the area or otherwise) may be exercised by the state and its territorial authorities.

The Movimento Libertario recognizes the need for an emphasis on clarity of information to the public on the free choice of consumers.

Foreign policy

The vision of the Movimento Libertario is an international foreign policy of nonintervention and non-violence like proposed by candidate for President of the United States in 2008, libertarian-republican Congressman Ron Paul.

The movement is against any increase in military spending or strengthening of armaments by the Italian State, even within the NATO (considered a military structure no longer necessary, and outside the context of the original defensive operations) and is against any form of war, violent conflict or international interventions on foreign soil by Italian troops in line with the Rothbardian axiom of nonaggression ;

The legality and legitimacy of the United Nations is questioned because it is contrary to the principle of a world without the presence of the State, and the European Union is considered a bureaucratic organization for the European Big Government, with the aim to reduce the free economy and the organization of the territory through central control.

The Lisbon Treaty adoption is not supported but the movement is not theoretically against the possible realization of a referendum for the free choice of Italians.

The movement supports individual and territorial separatism, the right of free self-determination of peoples, and recognizing areas (enclave) within a framework of regional political autonomy within a loose opening of trade between regions .

Switzerland is considered an important model of federalist system both for the good economy development that for balanced policy organization of the territory.

Security

The Movimento Libertario favors the reduction of telephone tapping and registration requirement for the list of suspects intercepted, localization of security forces (more power to the municipal police as opposed to a reduction of the national police), supports experiments in privatization of police in small towns, the strengthening the function of the justice of the peace and introduction of arbitration, and recognition and guarantee of the right to possess arms in defense of private property and life of each individual

Civil Rights

The Movimento Libertario favors the freedom of choice of individuals within the natural rights of property (negative rights) and liberty (negative liberty) and has the position to be free is to agree to recognize responsibility for personal actions and not to delegate to others their own choices, or do so in an informed way .

The movement supports a depenalization of light drugs (such as cannabis), legalization of prostitution, and supports the individual right to abortion.

The movement is contrary to any form of restriction of freedom, control or censorship by the state, the imposition of coercive state abortion, the financing of every kind of marriage by the state, and the prohibition of drugs, alcohol and smoking .

Education

The Movimento Libertario is favorable to the homeschooling and to freedom of teaching and choice.

Health

The Movimento Libertario is favorable to the creation of a pattern of private health care.

This is to avoid the justification for state control over private behavior motivated by the fact that the state spends money on health .

Science

The Movimento Libertario favors the free cultivation and the free marketing of seeds and GMO foods and no limits to GMOs in Italy, consumer freedom to choose their own products, and freedom of private scientific research as long as it respect the natural human rights and it does not use public money.

The Movimento Libertario does not support the theory of global warming.

Speech

The Movimento Libertario favors the right to freedom of speech and freedom of the networks and media .

The movement is against public funding of political parties, newspapers and denominational schools, and Italian public television paid for through taxes.

Activity

As is registered in its name, the Movimento Libertario wants promote in the Italian civil society the natural rights to life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness.

The Movimento Libertario wants to create a critical mass of owners and tax payers to launch peacefully Italian protests against the government tax collectors, like the case of Tea party protests US .

From March 2010, the Movimento Libertario collaborates and participates actively in the initiative offered by Confcontribuenti, a Confederation of Italian taxpayers.

Confcontribuenti supports the Movimento Libertario and Giorgio Fidenato in his battle against witholding tax.

Selling our vote

In view of the ruling on the case of Giorgio Fidenato on withholding tax, the Movimento Libertario have presented in Pordenone (for the 2010 regional elections in Italy), an initiative entitled: "Selling our vote" .

The intent is for the candidates in the upcoming elections to sign a contract in which they undertake to support, in every way and publicly, the battle of Fidenato against the withholding tax.

The supporters and members of the Movimento Libertario will commit to supporting in public the political candidates signers, guaranteeing to them the participation of Italian libertarian voters to the regional vote.

This initiative builds on the initiatives of the Americans for Tax Reform by Grover Norquist.

Norquist and his association against taxes are committed to supporting the various candidates in American elections only after obtaining from them a substantial commitment to fight for tax cuts.

Confcontribuenti, as an indipendent association from the Movimento Libertario, create another very similar contract of commitment to political candidates in italian regional elections 2010, to support the tax cuts.

Seminary on Vivien Kellems

Between 25 and 27 June 2010, the Movimento Libertario will hold in Bergamasco (Province of Alessandria) a three days of seminar of study, theoretical learning and practical training on principles of libertarianism in economics, politics and culture in contemporary society.

This first seminar is entitled "Vivien Kellems. The rigor of the ideas, the power of action" and it is dedicated in honor of American entrepreneur Vivien Kellems and her battle over withholding tax in 1948 that she has described herself in her book Toil, Taxes and Trouble.

This historical fact became a model for the italian libertarian farmer Giorgio Fidenato to start his civil disobedience and Tax resistance against the italian withholding tax.

The Kellems case is presented also by Murray Newton Rothbard in his book For a New Liberty:

The withholding feature of the income tax is a still more clear-cut instance of involuntary servitude. For as the intrepid Connecticut industrialist Vivien Kellems argued years ago, the employer is forced to expend time, labor, and money in the business of deducting and transmitting his employees' taxes to the federal and state governments — yet the employer is not recompensed for this expenditure. What moral principle justifies the government's forcing employers to act as its unpaid tax collectors? The withholding principle, of course, is the linchpin of the whole federal income tax system. Without the steady and relatively painless process of deducting the tax from the worker's paycheck, the government could never hope to raise the high levels of tax from the workers in one lump sum. Few people remember that the withholding system was only instituted during World War II and was supposed to be a wartime expedient. Like so many other features of State despotism, however, the wartime emergency measure soon became a hallowed part of the American system. It is perhaps significant that the federal government, challenged by Vivien Kellems to test the constitutionality of the withholding system, failed to take up the challenge. In February 1948 Miss Kellems, a small manufacturer in Westport, Connecticut, announced that she was defying the withholding law and was refusing to deduct the tax from her employees. She demanded that the federal government indict her, so that the courts would be able to rule on the constitutionality of the withholding system. The government refused to do so, but instead seized the amount due from her bank account. Miss Kellems then sued in federal court for the government to return her funds. When the suit finally came to trial in February 1951, the jury ordered the government to refund her money. But the test of constitutionality never came.

The seminar is open to young people that having registered their participation and will see the presence of many Italian libertarian personalities of journalism, culture and communication, law, and austrian economy in the role of teachers for the participants.

In addition to the organizers Leonardo Facco, Giorgio Fidenato and Carmelo Miragliotta is expected to attend Piero Vernaglione, Francesco Carbone, Chiara Battistoni, Carlo Zucchi, Alessandro Vitale, Massimo Pongolini, Paolo Bernardini, Gaetano Elnekave.

See also

• Anti-Federalism
• Anti-statism
• Capitalism
• Classic Liberalism
• Free Market
• Individualism
• Lasseiz-faire
• Liberism
• Minarchism
• Non-interventionism
• Non-Violence
• Non-voting
• Objectivism

External links

• Official Italian website of the Movimento Libertario
• YouTube Channel of the ML
• ML Channel on Justin.tv Web Television channel of the ML for conferences, public activities and debates.
• Leonardo Facco Editore site of publishing house of the Movimento Libertario
• The Sheets of Enclave bimonthly free magazine of the ML

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