Dallas Accord
Encyclopedia
The Dallas Accord was an implicit agreement made at the 1974 Libertarian National Convention
to compromise between the anarcho-capitalist and minarchist factions by adopting a platform that explicitly did not say whether it was desirable for the state
to exist.
The 1972 Statement of Principles, which said that "the sole function of government is the protection of the rights of each individual" and "government has only one legitimate function, the protection of individual rights," was protected in the original LP Constitution (now called the Bylaws) by requiring a 7/8 vote to change it. However, the rule provided a one-time exception, allowing a 2/3 vote to change the SoP at the 1974 convention.
The idea behind the Dallas Accord was to make the Libertarian Party of the United States a "big tent
" that would welcome more ideologically diverse group of people interested in reducing the size of government. Therefore, the 1974 platform focused on statements arguing for getting government out of various activities, and used phrases such as "where governments exist..." It was agreed that the topic of anarchism would not even be on the table for discussion until a limited government were achieved.
The compromise lasted until the 2006 Libertarian National Convention, when the platform was changed (at the behest of the Libertarian Reform Caucus
) to specifically state that government has a legitimate role in protecting rights. This convention also deleted 46 out of the 2004 platform's 61 planks, rather than just the 15 that the Reform Caucus had targeted -- a development described as the "Portland Massacre". It was superseded by the Denver Accord in which delegates to the 2008 convention in Denver decided by an unbroken series of greater than 90% supermajorities to adopt an explicitly minarchist platform and to delete the planks which had survived the Portland convention.
The number of anarchists in the Libertarian Party had fallen from 31% in 1988 to 13% in 1998.
Libertarian National Convention
The Libertarian National Convention is held every two years by the United States Libertarian Party to choose members of the Libertarian National Committee, and to conduct other party business...
to compromise between the anarcho-capitalist and minarchist factions by adopting a platform that explicitly did not say whether it was desirable for the state
State (polity)
A state is an organized political community, living under a government. States may be sovereign and may enjoy a monopoly on the legal initiation of force and are not dependent on, or subject to any other power or state. Many states are federated states which participate in a federal union...
to exist.
The 1972 Statement of Principles, which said that "the sole function of government is the protection of the rights of each individual" and "government has only one legitimate function, the protection of individual rights," was protected in the original LP Constitution (now called the Bylaws) by requiring a 7/8 vote to change it. However, the rule provided a one-time exception, allowing a 2/3 vote to change the SoP at the 1974 convention.
The idea behind the Dallas Accord was to make the Libertarian Party of the United States a "big tent
Big tent
In politics, a big tent party or catch-all party is a political party seeking to attract people with diverse viewpoints. The party does not require adherence to some ideology as a criterion for membership...
" that would welcome more ideologically diverse group of people interested in reducing the size of government. Therefore, the 1974 platform focused on statements arguing for getting government out of various activities, and used phrases such as "where governments exist..." It was agreed that the topic of anarchism would not even be on the table for discussion until a limited government were achieved.
The compromise lasted until the 2006 Libertarian National Convention, when the platform was changed (at the behest of the Libertarian Reform Caucus
Libertarian Reform Caucus
The Libertarian Reform Caucus is a coalition of American Libertarians operating as an internal caucus of the Libertarian party. Their aim is to gear the party toward winning elections in the near term, a goal they believe to be incompatible with preserving a rigid doctrinal purity...
) to specifically state that government has a legitimate role in protecting rights. This convention also deleted 46 out of the 2004 platform's 61 planks, rather than just the 15 that the Reform Caucus had targeted -- a development described as the "Portland Massacre". It was superseded by the Denver Accord in which delegates to the 2008 convention in Denver decided by an unbroken series of greater than 90% supermajorities to adopt an explicitly minarchist platform and to delete the planks which had survived the Portland convention.
The number of anarchists in the Libertarian Party had fallen from 31% in 1988 to 13% in 1998.