A LIBERTARIAN SOCIALIST MANIFESTO IN BULLET POINTS

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I generally subscribe to the old political truism that “the government which governs best governs least”. That being said given human nature there are certain things that we must ask our government to do if we are to safeguard our civil rights, create sustainability in our economy, lifestyle and ecosystems, and we must also guarantee equal access to the law and promote a true system of justice as well as provide for the common defense.

Here in the United States we have enjoyed for over 230 years a high degree of personal liberties. In recent years the Far Right and even the Far Left in this country have promoted polices and ideas that threaten the foundation of civil liberties that our nation was founded upon. However, at some point the emerging crisis being brought about global warming and the overconsumption of fossil fuels will require us to ask at what point does the greater good and survival of the species trump personal liberties.

We are currently at a crossroads. I don’t think this is being too dramatic. We have difficult choices that must be made now. If we don’t then the generations that follow may be forced to make more non humane choices to ensure the survival of the species.

To that end we believe the following items are necessary to ensure that such decisions will be unnecessary in the future and in so doing we can protect the fundamental principals of civil liberty that our nation was founded for the enjoyment of all.


Civil Liberties

• The government should not censor speech, press or internet
• Military service should be voluntary - no draft[1]
• There should be no laws regarding sex between legally consenting adults
• Same sex couples should have the legal right to be married and receive the same benefits as heterosexual couples
• Same sex couples should be allowed to adopt children and raise families providing that they pass the same standards that heterosexual couples do
• There should be no national ID card
• The United States must remain a secular democratic republic. Separation of church and state is the only way to guarantee freedom for all citizens.
• Religious organizations should not be tax exempt. If they participate in the political process of this country they should be pay the same taxes as every one else. The same should be the case for secular political organizations[2]
• Roe v. Wade should never be repealed. This is a personal health and moral decision for the individual(s) involved. The government has no business interfering in the lives of its private citizens in this manner.

Economic

• Free Enterprise is generally the best economic model in creating sustainability for the population. But, Laissez Faire capitalism creates abuses that need to be guarded against.
• Regulations for the banking industries and Wall Street are necessary.
• However, too much regulation can be as disastrous as too little. This is a precarious balancing act.
• End corporate welfare. The taxpayers should not have to bail out private industries who have failed.
• The federal government’s job is not to “save people from themselves.” Individuals must be held to high standards of personal accountability just as the government should be. In the event of civil disputes that is what the legal system is for.
• NAFTA and other unbalanced so-called free trade agreements need to be either renegotiated to our advantage or abolished. We need to bring back jobs that corporate America has shipped over seas.
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• Corporations should be given incentives to create jobs and opportunities on American soil vs. being punished for going off shore.

Social Insurance

• Some level of social insurance is necessary (i.e. Social Security and Medicare)

• Medicare and Social Security are funded partly by FICA contributions and should be left alone by the government. They should also never be privatized. This is meant to be “insurance.” It is not the end all to be all of an individuals financial planning. It was never intended to be. Private investors need to keep their hands off this money. This is a system we have paid into and we deserve to have it available when we need it.

• A national health care system is a necessary part of this social insurance program. Medicare provides a good model for a successful and sustainable single payer system. That being said, comparative policy analysis needs to be conducted for comparable countries in the free world so we can determine what is working and what is not. [3]

• Welfare as we know it should be ended.[4]  If individual states and communities want to create programs in their area that is fine. But, overall these programs create an unfair tax burden and have little to no actual access in empowering others to improve the quality of their lives. These programs tend to punish those who are attempting to lift themselves up while creating scenarios for those who wish to cheat the system to do so. In fact, welfare programs over the past several decades have unintentionally created a welfare class. We have people who have been born into the system and this is where they seem to stay.

• Social Insurance as mentioned above is not welfare, it is *insurance* funded by individual payroll taxes (i.e. FICA) and other sources.

• Immigration should not be curtailed. This tends to lead to bigotry and scape-goating. There should be no “benefits” or “economic advantages” for immigrants other than those enjoyed by the other citizens of this country. In other words, no welfare. If we create a sustainable economy this will go a long way to solving the woes we try to band-aid over with welfare programs.

• Despite our somewhat rigid stance on welfare we do recognize that there is a human cost and that there will always be a percentage of the population that cannot sustain themselves for various reasons, i.e. mental health, developmental issues or illness/jury etc. Our commonly shared humanity demands that this cost not be ignored. Solutions must always factor in those who cannot advocate form themselves. This cannot be negotiable.

Environment / Global Warming

• This is one area that we need government interaction and involvement in if we are to respond sanely to the emerging problem of global warming and overconsumption of fossil fuels.
• Human beings and our lifestyle are dramatically increasing Global Warming.
• Globalization is temporary made possible only by a platform of cheap fossil fuels. Once these are depleted the so-called global economy will collapse. People will find themselves living more regionally within their own countries.
• As competition for oil increases between us, China and India (perhaps the last true industrial societies to emerge) global conflict will increase.
• Global warming is a concern not only from a fuel / energy problem, but also have a dramatic impact on the quality of air and potable water supplies
• Modern agriculture contributes more too green house emissions that automobiles due in some cases.
• Modern Agriculture practices are unsustainable and will eventually lead to dramatic worldwide food shortages. Combined with global warming the impact will be a true threat to national security and to the survival of our species at large.
• Free Enterprise and creating a sustainable green economy do not have to be mutually exclusive
• The Free Markets cannot necessarily be relied upon to create viable and affordable technologies needed to reduce our impact on climate change. The market requires demand and demand will be felt too late in this case as we still have oil, coal and natural gas available to us. The market satisfies demand only when profitability can be realized.
• While there is still a great deal of debate about “peak production” in oil and about how long dwindling supplies will last, we should expect by mid century to feel the pressure of a “point of no return.”
• The Oceans need to be protected at all costs. The nitrogen “dead zones” are not only increasing, but they are becoming larger.
• Not only is glacial melting a problem for rising sea levels, the thawing permafrost will release larger levels of methane currently trapped underneath potentially rendering much of our air unbreatheable
• Global warming will create health issues such as asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, hunger, allergies and others.
• New viral and bacterial threats will emerge from a warmer earth with poorer air and water supplies
• Nuclear energy is a cleaner alternative to coal despite issues around waste disposal. It may not be the long term solution, but is the best short-term solution we have. Proliferation of nuclear energy will force technological advancements in waste disposal and perhaps leading to ways to recycle etc.
• Wind Power is unreliable - while it has its place in a sustainable power grid it should not be the majority source.
• There is no such thing as “clean” coal
• Not to mention the environmental devastation wrought by strip mining operations.

International Space Program

• A viable international space program is needed between NASA and European agencies. The attempt to get off planet and colonize the moon and Mars can lead to the development of new energy and agriculture technologies we desperately need here on earth
• An international space program will not only foster cooperation between nations, it will help reduce the potential for conflict between nations, increase educational opportunities and further create industries that will create sustainable peace time employment that will benefit our species as a whole.

[1] It’s a lot harder to start wars when you can’t legally force people to serve. As for the defense of this country - if we are legitimately at risk there is usually no shortage of people who are willing to serve. History demonstrates that after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor even those who were stubbornly against US involvement in the second World War made beelines to their nearest recruiting office.

[2] On this point I would further add that removing the tax exempt status of churches and other religious organizations is not really an issue of the first amendment. Churches and religious groups have always participated in our countries democratic process. Everyone should pay taxes

[3] Contrary to popular belief the Obama Administration’s landmark health care bill is not true reform. It cuts funds and diverts the money which does not address the issues of affordability and sustainability.

[4] A recent Florida study of Medicaid demonstrates that those on public assistance health care are no better off than those who have no insurance at all. A lot of money is used to sustain a program that is not providing any real health care to its members.