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Quote by: nm420 What's with this? Quote: |
YES, I certify that I do not believe in or advocate the initiation of force as a means of achieving political or social goals.
| Does the LP not want me if I don't ascribe to this belief? I left it unchecked as the jury is still out on this one for me. But it seems a little odd on any party's website, let alone the Libertarian's. |
What's the question here?
Yes, the Libertarian Party expects you to ascribe to this belief. Notice it doesn't say anything about "using" force but "initiating" force. It doesn't expect you to be a pacifist who refuses to use force in any situation, just to be able to justify TO YOURSELF that any force used is in response to another's initiation of that force.
Other than esoteric philisophical discussions no libertarian is going to expect you to justify the use of force to anyone but yourself. Now, if you believe that "private property is theft" you probably won't believe in much of anything else the LP stands for. However, if you believe that "taxation is theft" you will find much to agree with in the LP and, if you support the use of force to oppose taxation, as an initiation of force, you will find extensive support of that in the LP.
Ultimately, the entire philosophy of libertarianism revolves around the principle of opposition to the initiation of force. Unlike
any other political party, the Libertarian Party is based on clearly defined principle. The principle that individuals have the right to ownership of their own lives. The way that ownership is threatened is through the initiation of force.
I could go on but this really is a topic for another thread, one that has probably been done already.
Keith