Andrew Davis' latest blog posting:
http://www.lp.org/blogs/andrew-davis/governments-role-in-the-economy
takes the platform phrase "The only proper role of government in the
economic realm is to protect property rights..." and makes of it the
sentence "Government has a necessary and proper role in our society to
protect property rights...".
The word *necessary* does *not* appear in the LP platform for a good
reason, and Andrew's adding it and then using it to draw the
conclusion that "[Libertarians] do believe government has a function
in the economy" is a grave error. 'Necessary' and 'proper' are two
entirely different concepts, and a staff member does not need to be
rewriting the platform for the members of the LP. I assume this is a
simple logical error on Andrew's part, and combined with his evident
personal belief that government *is* necessary, led him to this
mistake. Now that it has been brought to your - and his - attention, I
look forward to its speedy correction or removal form the LP's
website.
I do formally request that the posting be corrected or removed quickly
as it is misleading to the public, and offensive to those of us in the
LP who believe that the free market can easily - if allowed -
outperform government in this most vital function (property rights
protection) as it can in all others. As a body, the delegates in
Denver recognized in the Platform that if government does indeed have
any role, the only one proper to it is rights protection, but we
carefully avoided saying that government is *necessary*. It is a shame
that such careful consideration for both the small-government position
and the no-state position within the LP can be so easily overwritten
by a staff member.
--
Susan Hogarth | Outreach Director
Libertarian Party of NC
http://www.lpnc.org
