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The '''Dallas Accord''' comprised both implicit and explicit agreements made at the 1974 [[Libertarian National Convention]] to compromise between the larger minarchist and smaller anarcho-capitalist 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 explicit 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.<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 implicit agreement is claimed to have included an agreement for the Platform to follow suit and that all debates as to whether or not a state must or must not exist 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 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 | The '''Dallas Accord''' comprised both implicit and explicit agreements made at the 1974 [[Libertarian National Convention]] to compromise between the larger minarchist and smaller anarcho-capitalist 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 explicit 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.<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 implicit agreement is claimed to have included an agreement for the Platform to follow suit and that all debates as to whether or not a state must or must not exist 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 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. <ref name="Antman"/><ref>Carl Watner and Paul Bilzi, [www.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>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 govemments 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 govemment 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 implicit 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. | ||
During the following years the number of anarchists in the party dropped by about half and more conservative-oriented and 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 explicit 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. | During the following years the number of anarchists in the party dropped by about half and more conservative-oriented and 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 explicit 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. | ||