THE GOVERNMENT SAYS IT'S NECESSARY. WE'D LIKE TO SEE THE WARRANT.

There is a special American ritual in which an office announces a new rule, insists it is absolutely necessary, and then directs everyone with questions to a phone number that has been disconnected since the Obama administration. Libertarians have a fairly straightforward request: show us the law, explain the harm, identify the least coercive remedy, and tell us how a person can challenge the decision without selling a kidney to pay an attorney.

We are the liberty-and-limits caucus of Mugwumps. We question compulsory rules, intrusive surveillance, punishment for peaceful conduct, restrictions on expression and legal privileges purchased by the powerful. Some of us also challenge broad taxation and economic regulation. Others emphasize how corporate concentration, private property arrangements and economic dependence can interfere with meaningful freedom. We do not agree on every answer. We do insist that coercion requires a justification.

Mugwumps is the movement. American Proletariat is a framework for examining labor, wealth, rights and public obligation. Libertarians is one of its thirteen caucuses—not a compulsory philosophy for every member, and not a claim of affiliation with the separate U.S. Libertarian Party.

LIBERTARIANS | LT

Our starting question is: Who has the authority to compel this person, under what law, for what documented reason, subject to what limits and with what remedy if the authority is abused? We bring the same suspicion to government demands for personal data, corporate attempts to suppress competition and vague claims that sacrificing liberty is the price of safety.

The answer is not always 'abolish the rule.' Protection from fraud, violence, pollution, discrimination and exploitation can require institutions capable of acting. The test is whether the rule addresses an actual harm without creating a larger, unaccountable power. Freedom is not helped when the only people free to do anything are the ones who can afford lawyers.

ROOTS · THE LABEL HAS CHANGED HANDS MORE THAN A CAMPAIGN DONOR'S CHECKBOOK

Libertarian thought is not one American invention. It draws on older debates about self-ownership, property, voluntary association, limits on the state and freedom from coercion. Classical liberal thinkers, nineteenth-century individualist anarchists, anti-authoritarian socialists and later free-market philosophers approached those questions from different directions. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy explains that libertarianism comprises a family of sometimes sharply conflicting views rather than a single doctrine. (Source 01)

The word 'libertarian' was used politically in nineteenth-century France by anarchist communists, including Joseph Déjacque. American individualist anarchists such as Benjamin Tucker also criticized monopoly and state privilege. Mid-twentieth-century advocates of markets and limited government later adopted the term. Its history therefore cannot be reduced to a modern tax slogan, nor can today's right- and left-libertarians be presumed to agree about property ownership. (Source 01)

LOCKE, NOZICK AND THE PROPERTY QUESTION

John Locke's writings influenced later defenses of individual rights and property, although his political world and theory are not identical to contemporary libertarianism. Robert Nozick's 1974 book Anarchy, State, and Utopia became a major modern account of rights and a minimal state. Critics of that approach question whether historically unequal holdings, access to resources and labor-market power can be considered genuinely voluntary. These are philosophical disputes, not proof that one modern caucus must adopt an entire historical treatise. (Sources 01, 02)

Some left-libertarian arguments regard unowned natural resources as belonging equally to everyone, so exclusive appropriation may require compensation. More market-oriented libertarians tend to place greater emphasis on private property and voluntary transactions. Both ask questions about coercion, but often reach different conclusions about redistribution. We are borrowing a tradition of inquiry, not printing a loyalty oath.

FUN FACT · A PARTY WAS FOUNDED IN COLORADO. THE PHILOSOPHY WASN'T.

The modern U.S. Libertarian Party was organized on December 11, 1971, following meetings associated with David Nolan in Colorado. Its first national convention took place in Denver in June 1972. The party nominated John Hospers and Tonie Nathan for the 1972 presidential ticket, and Nathan became the first woman to receive an Electoral College vote for vice president—cast by an elector who departed from the expected ticket. The party's own history and its 1972 platform document that early emphasis on individual rights and constraints on state power. (Sources 03, 04, 05)

Colorado is an amusing birthplace for a party suspicious of government regulation, especially when one remembers that even a convention must comply with fire codes. The distinction is serious, however: this Mugwumps caucus is not the Libertarian Party, does not automatically adopt its platform and should not use its name to imply organizational approval.

→ Explore the Vault

TODAY · FIRST SHOW US THE AUTHORITY

PRIVACY ISN'T A GOVERNMENT FAVOR

The ability to speak, read, communicate, associate and move without unjustified surveillance is central to civil liberty. Libertarians scrutinize government collection of personal information, warrants, data brokers, facial recognition, digital searches and secrecy rules. They also examine private companies that amass data capable of being handed to authorities. An effective privacy framework requires specific limits, courts, audits and remedies—not the promise that the database will be used only by nice people.

DUE PROCESS IS FOR THE PEOPLE WE DISLIKE TOO

Property seizure, detention, civil penalties, occupational discipline and immigration enforcement all raise questions about notice, evidence, hearings and appeal. Constitutional protections vary by context, but the burden cannot simply disappear because someone is unpopular. A policy that treats suspicion as a conviction is not made lawful by a dramatic press conference.

YOUR BODY IS NOT A LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE

Adult autonomy in healthcare, consensual relationships, reproductive decisions and peaceful personal conduct raises difficult questions about criminal law and public-health regulation. Many libertarian traditions oppose punishment for private conduct that does not violate others' rights. Critics point to risks involving children, addiction, exploitation and external harms. A serious proposal distinguishes informed adult choice from coercion, abuse and genuine public danger.

STOP RENTING LICENSES TO THE WELL-CONNECTED

Occupational licensing may protect consumers when competence is essential, such as in medicine, electrical work or aviation. It can also impose unnecessary costs and restrict entry. Libertarians ask whether a requirement is evidence-based, portable across states and proportionate to risk. The goal is to distinguish preventing harm from protecting an incumbent profession against competition.

MARKETS NEED FREEDOM FROM FAVORITISM

Corporate subsidies, special tax provisions, exclusive permits, regulatory barriers and procurement rules can channel privilege to entrenched firms. Market-oriented libertarians emphasize competition and freedom of contract. Others warn that concentrated private ownership can produce coercion even without a government official issuing orders. The practical test examines actual choices, barriers to exit and the distribution of market power.

THE MILITARY HAS TO ANSWER THE SAME QUESTIONS

Libertarian arguments have long included opposition to compulsory military service, concern about indefinite war and scrutiny of national-security surveillance. The state has legitimate security duties, but emergency claims should not become permanent exemptions from fiscal and constitutional review. Skepticism about overseas intervention is not indifference to civilians facing violence; it is a demand for clear authority, defined objectives and accountability.

WHEN FREEDOM COLLIDES WITH FREEDOM

One person's use of property can impose pollution, noise or other harms on neighbors. One person's freedom of contract can coexist with another's lack of realistic alternatives. Religious liberty cannot automatically erase the legal rights of employees or customers. Libertarians debate these boundaries, and this caucus should face the tradeoffs directly instead of using 'freedom' as a word that ends discussion.

POLICY TAGS · YES, WE READ THE FINE PRINT

Civil Liberties · Due Process · Privacy · Digital Surveillance · Freedom of Expression · Freedom of Association · Bodily Autonomy · Religious Liberty · Occupational Licensing · Property Rights · Market Competition · Corporate Privilege · Civil Asset Forfeiture · Criminal Justice · Drug Policy · Government Transparency · Military Oversight · Consumer Choice · Consent · Local Autonomy

These tags open relevant Justice and Vault issues. They are prompts for evidence and debate, not claims that everyone in the caucus supports identical tax rates, healthcare arrangements or immigration rules.

→ Explore Limit Unaccountable Surveillance

→ Explore Modern Worker Voice & Bargaining

→ Explore Policing & Public Safety

→ Explore Civil Rights & Racial Equality

→ Explore Antitrust, Market Concentration & Worker Ownership

→ Explore Independent Police Oversight & Civilian Response

SIMILAR TO · FOUR OTHER CAUCUSES WITH QUESTIONS

MUGWUMPS | MW

The movement itself values independent judgment and resistance to automatic loyalty. Libertarians put sharper emphasis on coercion and individual rights, while Mugwumps does not require a shared position on the size of government.

ANTI-EPSTEINS | AE

Both scrutinize concentrated power, secrecy and special access. Anti-Epsteins emphasize evidence of conflicts and misconduct; Libertarians examine the legal mechanisms that permit intrusive authority and privileged deals.

BOURBONS | BO

Both ask what government programs cost, what law authorizes them and whether they duplicate other functions. Bourbons begin with institutional audit; Libertarians begin with the rights burden imposed on the individual.

BLUE DOGS | BD

Both may emphasize due process, practical oversight and limits on poorly designed reforms. Blue Dogs often accept a larger enforcement or safety role for government than some Libertarians would prefer.

LESS LIKE · WE'LL DISAGREE ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE TOOLBOX

Different starting points are not grounds for exclusion. Every caucus belongs to Mugwumps, and a serious argument leaves room to concede when the other side has identified a real harm.

FEDERALISTS | FD

Federalists start with coordinated national capacity and common standards. Libertarians begin by asking how much centralized power is justified and what legal restraints will prevent abuse.

NEW DEALERS | ND

New Dealers begin with public institutions capable of guaranteeing material security. Libertarians focus on consent, financing, choice and whether the same outcomes could be achieved with fewer coercive requirements.

DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS | DS

Democratic Socialists question private control over workplaces and essential resources and often support collective ownership. Many Libertarians defend private property and voluntary exchange; left-libertarians complicate the contrast by also challenging concentrated economic domination.

PROGRESSIVES | PG

Progressives generally favor reform through evidence-based institutions and enforceable regulation. Libertarians ask whether a new requirement is necessary, constitutional and less restrictive than feasible alternatives. Both have reasons to demand a real evaluation.

FIFTY HYPOTHETICAL LIBERTARIANS · THE COMMITTEE HAS VOTED TO ABOLISH THE COMMITTEE

Ten politicians, ten celebrities, ten television characters, ten book characters and ten wildcards. These people and fictional figures illustrate a particular instinct about autonomy, coercion, privacy or market power. They are not members, supporters, endorsers or official representatives of this caucus. Some examples show why liberty matters; others show how liberty rhetoric can go badly wrong.

01 · TEN POLITICIANS · PLEASE POINT TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL CLAUSE

TEN THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS. ZERO ENDORSEMENTS. Each comparison isolates an instinct, contradiction or caution, not a verified party affiliation or complete judgment about a person.

RON PAUL

Campaigns and congressional arguments emphasized restrained foreign policy, monetary reform and limits on federal authority. Other parts of his record remain separately debatable. (Source 03)

GARY JOHNSON

The former New Mexico governor and 2012 and 2016 Libertarian presidential nominee framed drug policy, spending and personal liberty as questions of choice and state power.

JUSTIN AMASH

As a congressman emphasized constitutional limits and voted to restrict some surveillance authorities. His independence demonstrates that a party label is not a guarantee of agreement.

RAND PAUL

Has challenged some surveillance programs and federal spending proposals. Particular votes and rights questions still require separate assessment.

MIKE GRAVEL

The former Alaska senator opposed the military draft and publicized the Pentagon Papers. His politics were broader than contemporary free-market libertarianism.

BARBARA JORDAN

Defended constitutional accountability during the Nixon impeachment inquiry. Not a libertarian party figure: the comparison concerns principled limits on executive power.

JEANNETTE RANKIN

Voted against U.S. entry into both world wars. Her antiwar conviction illustrates how dissent can carry political costs without settling every other policy issue.

BARRY GOLDWATER

Advocated limited government in economic affairs and voiced concerns about religious influence on politics. His civil-rights voting record also illustrates why 'small government' is not a sufficient civil-rights analysis.

SHIRLEY CHISHOLM

Challenged party gatekeepers and defended political independence. Her broad social-policy agenda differs from many libertarian approaches; only the independence is the analogy.

THOMAS MASSIE

Has taken positions questioning federal spending and surveillance powers. Those examples invite rights-based scrutiny, not blanket approval of his entire political record.

02 · TEN CELEBRITIES · THE PUBLICIST HAS FILED A FREEDOM-OF-INFORMATION REQUEST

TEN THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS. ZERO ENDORSEMENTS. Each comparison isolates an instinct, contradiction or caution, not a verified party affiliation or complete judgment about a person.

PRINCE

Fought publicly over music contracts and rights to his creative work. Ownership and the power to walk away from an arrangement matter even when the work sells millions.

TAYLOR SWIFT

Re-recorded albums during a masters dispute and later bought the original recordings. The analogy is bargaining leverage and control over intellectual property, not a statement about her ideology.

BRITNEY SPEARS

Her conservatorship ended in 2021. The lesson concerns legal oversight of decisions made for another adult, not assumptions about her health or politics.

DAVE CHAPPELLE

Has defended his creative expression amid public controversy. Free speech and artistic choices remain subject to criticism; neither side gains a monopoly on speaking.

MADONNA

Repeatedly challenged expectations about sexuality, performance and religion. Artistic autonomy is meaningful even when audiences strongly disagree with the work.

SNOOP DOGG

Built entertainment businesses after a career shaped by drug enforcement and changing cannabis laws. Legal reform requires more than celebrity success in a once-criminalized market.

MUHAMMAD ALI

Refused military induction and faced legal and professional penalties before his conviction was overturned. Conscience can impose a steep price under state compulsion.

JANE FONDA

Has publicly dissented from U.S. military policy and faced major backlash. Agreement with her arguments is not required to study the liberties involved in protest.

RUPAUL

Built a major commercial enterprise from a once-marginalized performance art. The relevant questions concern creative choice, licensing and workers' contractual rights.

DOLLY PARTON

Created enduring businesses and philanthropic programs. Her example raises questions about private initiative, public services and whether charity can substitute for enforceable rights.

03 · TEN TV CHARACTERS · SOMEONE HAS REPEALED THE STAFF MEETING

TEN THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS. ZERO ENDORSEMENTS. Each comparison isolates an instinct, contradiction or caution, not a verified party affiliation or complete judgment about a person.

RON SWANSON · PARKS AND RECREATION

A government employee convinced many functions of government should not exist. A fine reminder to ask what a department does before choosing whether to close it.

LESLIE KNOPE · PARKS AND RECREATION

Believes public institutions can do wonderful things. A Libertarian needs someone like her to show what would be lost if every service were abolished.

SAMANTHA JONES · SEX AND THE CITY

Rejects other people's claims to regulate her private relationships. Bodily autonomy and social respect are not identical, but both matter.

DOROTHY ZBORNAK · THE GOLDEN GIRLS

Has limited patience for authority without explanation. A rights notice written in incomprehensible legalese would not survive her first question.

LISA SIMPSON · THE SIMPSONS

Can challenge a majority view through research and conviction. Her evidence-based approach is useful, even when her policy instincts are not libertarian.

JEAN-LUC PICARD · STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION

Questions unlawful commands despite respect for institutions. Discipline and liberty need not be opposites when legitimate authority has limits.

OLIVIA POPE · SCANDAL

Knows how much influence hides from public view. Also demonstrates why private fixers and informal power need oversight as much as official agencies.

WEDNESDAY ADDAMS · WEDNESDAY

Refuses compulsory cheerfulness and social conformity. Freedom of expression includes the right not to join the pep rally.

MICHAEL SCOFIELD · PRISON BREAK

Challenges a punitive institution to rescue someone he believes was wrongly convicted. Real reform requires due process, not ingenious lawbreaking.

BOBBY AXELROD · BILLIONS

A warning: aggressive market success and personal preference do not prove fair dealing. Private power can be coercive and corrupt too.

04 · TEN BOOK CHARACTERS · THE LIBRARY'S OVERDUE FINES HAVE BEEN RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL

TEN THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS. ZERO ENDORSEMENTS. Each comparison isolates an instinct, contradiction or caution, not a verified party affiliation or complete judgment about a person.

HUCKLEBERRY FINN · ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN

Questions society's racist teachings and develops a conscience at odds with accepted rules. Independence matters most when the official answer is wrong.

JANE EYRE · JANE EYRE

Insists on personal dignity despite inequalities of class and gender. A freely chosen relationship requires meaningful freedom to leave.

ELIZABETH BENNET · PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Refuses to equate property, wealth and social rank with personal judgment. Voluntary choice is more than a signature on a marriage contract.

JO MARCH · LITTLE WOMEN

Challenges the career and domestic expectations applied to women writers. Freedom includes the ability to negotiate the use of one's own work.

KATNISS EVERDEEN · THE HUNGER GAMES

Distrusts a state that turns coercion into entertainment. Her story also warns that a revolution can reproduce the rulers it displaces.

WINSTON SMITH · NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR

Attempts to retain independent thought under surveillance and official control of truth. His tragedy is a reminder of how hard private resistance becomes without protections.

ALICE · ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND

Asks why nonsensical rules should count as authority. Before complying with an absurd demand, she would like the Queen to identify the statute.

HERMIONE GRANGER · HARRY POTTER

Challenges arbitrary authority through evidence and organization. She could remind Libertarians that some collective action protects rather than diminishes liberty.

ATTICUS FINCH · TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

Defends an accused man despite racial hostility. Due process matters especially when the crowd is already certain of guilt.

ROBINSON CRUSOE · ROBINSON CRUSOE

A famous self-reliance story that also contains colonial hierarchy and domination. Autonomy for one person is not freedom if another is subordinated.

05 · TEN WILDCARDS · THE STATE HAS REQUESTED A SEPARATE PERMIT FOR EACH OPINION

TEN THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS. ZERO ENDORSEMENTS. Each comparison isolates an instinct, contradiction or caution, not a verified party affiliation or complete judgment about a person.

BENJAMIN TUCKER · INDIVIDUALIST ANARCHIST

Criticized state-backed monopoly and defended voluntary cooperation. His approach challenges anyone who assumes the libertarian tradition began with corporate tax cuts. (Source 01)

JOSEPH DÉJACQUE · ANARCHIST WRITER

Used 'libertarian' in nineteenth-century political writing from a radically anti-authoritarian socialist perspective. The label has had more than one ideological owner. (Source 01)

ROBERT NOZICK · PHILOSOPHER

Defended rights and the minimal state in his influential 1974 book. Critics press him on distribution, property and unequal historical starting conditions. (Source 02)

F. A. HAYEK · ECONOMIST

Warned about central planning and emphasized dispersed knowledge. The challenge for any application is distinguishing a helpful general principle from evidence about a particular rule.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS · ABOLITIONIST

Escaped slavery and defended freedom and equal citizenship. His life's work is a reminder that freedom requires protection against domination, not simply fewer statutes.

HENRY DAVID THOREAU · WRITER

Made civil disobedience a lasting subject of political argument. A conscientious objection may merit respect even when a society rejects its particular conclusion.

HARRIET TUBMAN · ABOLITIONIST

Defied a system that legally treated people as property. A property-rights theory that would preserve human ownership has failed the most basic liberty test.

IDA B. WELLS · JOURNALIST

Investigated lynching and the misuse of official narratives. Liberty requires reliable evidence and rights enforceable against mob and state violence.

ROSA PARKS · ORGANIZER

Refused an unjust segregation demand and helped catalyze organized public resistance. Her example connects personal liberty with collective economic action.

BUGS BUNNY · LOONEY TUNES

Refuses intimidation and turns bullies' rules against them. A delightful fictional instinct; actual public administration is not improved by falling anvils.

OUR NO-LORD-OF-THE-FLIES CLAUSE · LIBERTY IS NOT A LICENSE TO HARM

A free society still has to respond to assault, fraud, pollution, exploitation and unequal legal treatment. The fact that government can abuse power does not prove that private actors cannot. The fact that a business agreement is signed does not settle every question about information, coercion, fraud or the possibility of exit. A Libertarian caucus should not let criticism of government become a permanent immunity card for employers, landlords or monopolies.

Nor does the cause of liberty justify depriving people of their own civil rights. Religious freedom is not a blanket authority to impose religious practice on others. Freedom of expression does not eliminate others' freedom to criticize. Property rights cannot be interpreted to restore slavery, segregation or coercive dependency. The precise legal boundaries are contested, but equal personhood and due process remain essential.

THE CHECKLIST · BEFORE YOU SAY THE WORD FREEDOM AGAIN

WHO IS COMPELLING WHOM?

Identify the public or private actor, the actual demand, the legal mechanism and whether consent or meaningful exit is possible. An unpopular suggestion is not always coercion.

WHAT HARM IS THE RULE ADDRESSING?

Document the problem with evidence rather than assuming every regulation is useless or every restriction is protective. Identify who is affected and the cost of doing nothing.

WHAT IS THE LEAST RESTRICTIVE WORKABLE OPTION?

Compare disclosure, competition, licensing, enforcement, public provision and other real alternatives. Evaluate who pays, who is protected and who may fall through the gaps.

WHAT RIGHTS AND REMEDIES SURVIVE?

Check equal protection, privacy, appeal rights, freedom of expression and the treatment of vulnerable people. A rule cannot be defended simply because it serves a popular majority.

HOW WOULD WE KNOW IF IT WORKED?

Measure safety, affordability, access, competition, fiscal costs and rights complaints. Publish enough information for critics to test the outcome. A liberty argument that refuses measurement is just another order to trust the speaker.

EXPLORE · WE PROMISE THE LINKS ARE VOLUNTARY

→ Explore Mugwumps

→ Explore All Thirteen Caucuses

→ Explore the Five Pillars of Justice

→ Explore the Vault

→ Explore Membership

SOURCES & HISTORICAL NOTES

01 · Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy — Libertarianism, revised August 7, 2023; historical traditions and left-right distinctions. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/libertarianism/

02 · Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy — Robert Nozick, philosophy and rights debates. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nozick/

03 · Libertarian Party — Our History, founding in December 1971 and early candidates. https://lp.org/our-history/

04 · American Presidency Project — Libertarian Party Platform of 1972, original statement of principles. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/libertarian-party-platform-1972

05 · Library of Congress Web Archive — Libertarian Party, summary of founding and principal themes. https://www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0001654/

06 · Libertarian Party — Platform, contemporary institutional positions; not the platform of this Mugwumps caucus. https://lp.org/platform-page/

07 · Cato Institute — Issues, civil liberties, property rights, government scope and foreign-policy research. https://www.cato.org/issues

08 · United States Supreme Court — Carpenter v. United States, 585 U.S. 296 (2018), historical ruling on cell-site location information. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/585/16-402/

09 · U.S. National Archives — Bill of Rights, constitutional protections and due process. https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights

10 · U.S. Federal Trade Commission — Antitrust Laws and Competitive Markets, competition enforcement overview. https://www.ftc.gov/advice-guidance/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/antitrust-laws

WE ARE ONE.  ·  E PLURIBUS UNUM.