Libertarian party in Australia!

[rxcoup]

I just came accross this political party in Australia. It seems to be promoting libertarian values. As I am forced to vote in Australia or pay a fine a libertarian party may be the best bet. But is there any hope for libertarianism through the voting process or does the revoluion have to be bigger than that - outside of politics.

 

The LDP's philosophy is broadly described as classical liberal or libertarian, although those are not necessarily precise labels.

 

Libertarianism can be based on two very different philosophical starting points. Some libertarians believe that free markets and individual freedom should be preferred because they are more moral political systems. Such people argue that it is immoral to take money from people by force and to tell people how to live their lives.

 

Utilitarian libertarians believe that a small government will lead to better outcomes than a big government. Such people argue that libertarian solutions will lead to greater wealth, less poverty, more diversity and will generally make people happier.

 

The first philosophical position is concerned with process, while the second is concerned with outcomes. In reality, most libertarians (and most people) care about both.

Acceptance by libertarians of the rights of individuals to pursue their activities, subject to non-coercion of others, does not indicate endorsement of those activities.

 

 

Their website - http://www.ldp.org.au/index.php/philosophy

[TheSchoolofAthens]

I had absolutely no idea that voting was compulsory in Australia for federal elections! How backwards and scary - you are forced to be free to vote. Yikes! 

Seeing as you are forced to vote, I do apologize that you are not given a choice, you should cast the vote that seems best to you. I know nothing of Australian politics so if the LDP is the most libertarian or the only libertarian party then you should support it. Anything else you could share about Australian politics that might shock an American? (Though I wouldn't be surprised if one day the American government introduces compulsory voting)

[tropicalmonsoon122]

I had absolutely no idea that voting was compulsory in Australia for federal elections! How backwards and scary - you are forced to be free to vote. Yikes! 

 

Seeing as you are forced to vote, I do apologize that you are not given a choice, you should cast the vote that seems best to you. I know nothing of Australian politics so if the LDP is the most libertarian or the only libertarian party then you should support it. Anything else you could share about Australian politics that might shock an American? (Though I wouldn't be surprised if one day the American government introduces compulsory voting)

 

Even though the voting is mandatory, 19% of registers voters still do not vote. And out of those that do vote, 5% of the ballots cast are invalid compared to only 1% in New Zealand. Fortunately as a NZ citizen I cannot vote in Australia, which people tell me I'm lucky 

[Alan C.]

There is no hope for libertarianism through the political process. The best you can do (and since you're compelled to participate) is to use it as a vehicle for disseminating libertarian ideas.

[TheSchoolofAthens]

There is no hope for libertarianism through the political process. The best you can do (and since you're compelled to participate) is to use it as a vehicle for disseminating libertarian ideas.

Well said. I wholeheartedly agree. If you are going to do anything more than vote, like attend rallies, then just explain the logic of voluntaryism. 

[rxcoup]

I didn't vote for a while so they fined me. When i didn't pay they cancelled my drivers license. I was not aware as i had moved and don't drive anyway as I am saving funds to start a business. So they chased me for ages and i had to pay eventually. The following year i voted. Stefan mentioned on a call with another Australian that if forced you could just scribble on the form to invalidate your vote. This party seems like a better option to wasting the vote as It's as close to my views as possible within mainstream politics. I might go along to one of their local meetings and see what they are about and post further info.

[TheSchoolofAthens]

I didn't vote for a while so they fined me. When i didn't pay they cancelled my drivers license. I was not aware as i had moved and don't drive anyway as I am saving funds to start a business. So they chased me for ages and i had to pay eventually. The following year i voted. Stefan mentioned on a call with another Australian that if forced you could just scribble on the form to invalidate your vote. This party seems like a better option to wasting the vote as It's as close to my views as possible within mainstream politics. I might go along to one of their local meetings and see what they are about and post further info.

Who knows, you might find some people who share values and interests with. Just be aware that politics will not change the system of violence (but I think you may already be aware of that.)

[Heimdall]

Casting invalid votes is what I've been doing for a while now (also Australian) if none of the candidates are appropriate to my own values (which is most of the time).

[ribuck]

If you're going to cast an invalid vote to avoid being fined, you may as well write your own name on the ballot paper to show that you would prefer self-determination.

[chrisdjmorgan]

Invalid votes are potentially destructive too. If you are one if only ten people who are solely responsible for voting, and at least 7 of those people are voting opposite to what you want, if you choose to rebel by not voting or casting an invalid vote you are increasing the bad votes from 7/10 (70%) to 7/9 (78%), thus increasing the power of the bad votes.

 

Voting for a lesser evil is probably better than providing more power the the greater evil... IF you can work out which is which. Amongst the culture of lies and deception it's practically impossible to determine the outcomes of one party or the other, but I know that giving all the power to only a few groups is more likely to be more destructive than a little power to many groups. So I aim to even the scales a bit in parliament, give as many different parties a chance to have their say rather than letting the Libs and Labs (and the lesser major parties, the Greens and Nationals) dominate the "conversation".

 

I think having as many different opinions and perspectives involved as possible, even if we know none of those are truly what we want, is surely better than single-minded power, and is the best use we can make of out forced participation (given that non-participation is detrimental). Also having more conflict and dissent amongst politicians slows down the process, so that less crazy decisions are made without discussion... Theoretically.

 

 

P.S. Australia is pretty cool.

P.P.S. Australia sucks.

[Hamish]

A little late to the party here...

 

There is another interesting sounding political group that sounds interesting, the Australian Sovereignty Party:

http://www.sovereigntyparty.org.au/

 

I echo chrisdjmorgan's sentiment that voting for the lesser evil is probably the better way to go. Having said that, distinguishing the lesser evil from the greater evil isn't always an easy task.

[Hamish]

Incidentally, thanks for the heads up on the LDP, I hadn't heard of them.