The Libertarian Party is a United States political party founded on December 11, 1971. In the 30 states where voters can register by party there are over 200,000 voters registered with the Libertarian Party, making it one of the largest of America’s alternative political parties. Hundreds of Libertarian candidates have been elected or appointed to public office, and thousands have run for office under the Libertarian banner.

The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects that group’s particular brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration across borders, and non-interventionism in foreign policy that respects freedom of trade and travel to all foreign countries.Libertarian views represent a generalized opposition to most government control of individual behavior, except for that which involves the use of force or fraud. Libertarians generally believe individuals acting voluntarily alone or with others should decide how to run their lives. Libertarians state that their platform follows from the consistent application of their guiding principle: “mutual respect for rights.” The Libertarian political platform is deeply supportive of the concept of individual liberty as a precondition for moral and stable societies.