The California Secretary of State released the not-yet-certified candidate list for the June 3, 2014 statewide primary election today. Copy here.
I’m pleased to be on the list, but unhappy to be the sole Libertarian candidate on the ballot this year.
Congratulations to the Green Party, which managed to field five (5) candidates. And to the Peace and Freedom Party, which fielded three (3). Perhaps that is appropriate for parties that unabashedly condone the exercise of state power; after all, many libertarians are ambivalent about electoral politics, or despise it altogether. Or perhaps these parties are just better organized than the California Libertarian Party. The Americans Elect Party also has one candidate on the ballot.
Based on voter registrations, the largest third party in California is the American Independent Party, with 2.66% of registrations, based on the Secretary of State’s latest count. Voter registrations do not equate to fielding candidates, necessarily. The next largest party based on registrations is the Libertarian Party, at 0.66%, followed closely by the Greens at 0.64%. The Peace & Freedom Party, which more truthfully should call itself the Socialist Worker’s Party or Communist Party, follows at 0.43%.
The Libertarian Party platform is far more radical, inclusive, and forward looking than any other party. For example, the American Independent Party platform resembles a more conservative version of the Republican Party platform. This party hardly needs to run candidates to promote their views; they need only look to the past. The political society that the Libertarian Party would peacefully bring into being is radically different than anything that exists or has been tried in the modern world, and from anything proposed by competing political parties, including the Democrats, Republicans, Greens, and Communists/Socialists. All of these other parties believe in the forcible exercise of state power over peaceful, voluntary behavior. They all believe that the ends justify the means, effectively. Libertarians renounce the initiation of force for political or social ends, unlike all other parties.
Spreading radical new ideas requires persistent, principled, and energetic marketing. No social change that opposes violent oppression can happen without principled believers willing to make sacrifices.
Participating in electoral politics should be part of that principled opposition — even if inconsistent with our underlying beliefs. We need not be concerned about winning elections; we do not seek power or authority over anyone. This frees us to spread our principles truthfully. By running, we must seek to teach those who are ignorant of our platform, and persuade those who reject it. We must enter the debate, listen to the criticism of our fellows, and respond persuasively. We must help create space for Liberty to exist in our increasingly authoritarian society, by presenting the electorate with compelling alternatives based in non-aggression.
By neglecting to field statewide candidates, we are missing a large opportunity to do those very things. Let’s turn that around.