Marketing

This series of essays is about marketing liberty, not selling. Marketing is about identifying customers and determining what they want. It is about finding a niche where a company can produce a product that better serves that group than is done by competitors. Once these things are done, marketing blurs into actual selling.

(See Selling area under Theory for actual essays on selling liberty. Selling is important, even if it cannot make up for poor marketing decisions.)

Moderation as a Marketing Strategy

The obvious way to improve our market position is to move toward the center. Most people are not radical libertarians. Actually, they aren't radical anything. Here are some articles on gains to be made by moving toward the center, and about how much we should move toward the center (in at least the short term).

Rothbard vs. Real Politics by Carl Milsted. Murray Rothbard advocated that Libertarians should never advocate compromise or incremental measures, that to do so is to legitimize the other side. The LP has tried his approach; it has been a disasterous experiment. Here is why. (Originally published at libertyforall.net)

Atomic Libertarianism by Carl Milsted. Some government cuts have some serious side-effects. Others can be done to near term benefit. We ought to concentrate on the latter. (Originally published at libertyforall.net.)

Moderate or Radical? by Bill Woolsey. Just how moderate is "moderate libertarian" anyway?

Incremental Freedom by S. Michael Moore. Not being incremental carries a large price. Compares sound political strategy with sound investment strategy.

Positioning

There is more to market positioning than simply moving toward the center. We also need to triangulate if we are to avoid being too much like either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. Otherwise, we fall prey to the Lesser of Two Evils Dilemma.

The Neolibertarian Movement by Lance Kennedy. Let's investigate Neo-libertarianism.

Models, Maps and Visions of Tomorrow by David Brin. Most libertarians know - far better than others - that the hoary old left-right political spectrum is worse than useless. Alas, some of the “better alternatives” only serve to muddy the waters. Here, scientist and science fiction author David Brin suggests a few new models that may be helpful... if taken with a grain of salt.

This is part 1 of “Political Totemism and the Danger of Metaphors.”

Why disaffected Democrats may help us grow by A.R. Post. Believe it or not, a great source of potential libertarians can be found in the Democratic Party. The answer is to look for disaffected Dems, those unhappy with the modern party's autoritarian policies and poorly performing candidates.

What it Takes to Win by Carl S. Milsted Jr.. Looks at why third parties usually fail in the United States, and then points out an inviting loophole. This article was originally published in the February 2005 issue of LP News.

Is it Time for the LP to Take a Moderate, Populist Approach? by Robert Capozzi. Argues that our market position should not only be more moderate, but also be more populist.

Marketing to the Left

We need to "steal" votes from the Left as well as the Right if we want to do more than spoil elections. So how do we do it? Do we come out as the party of peace, pot, and prostitution? Or should we do more?

There are no essays yet, in this section, but there are plenty of ideas in the red button essays at HolisticPolitics.org. Note that these essays are aimed at leftists, showing them ways in which economic freedom can be applied to further their aims. The vocabulary may be off-putting to those who come from the Right.

See also, The Free Liberal to see an excellent example of left-libertarian outreach.

Science fiction author David Brin has written in the libertarian press on the importance of realizing that the socialists are not the only enemy of liberty. Historically, aristocrats have been the bigger enemy. While he doesn't appear to have these essays up on his site, his reviews of the movie series Lord of the Rings and Star Wars hit this theme as well. Quite procative reading.

Marketing to Environmentalists

If you want to be the party of the future, you have to be an environmental party. The younger generation is already sold on hardcore environmentalism. Deal with it. Fortunately, libertarianism has much to offer, far more than the tired "government is the biggest polluter" line.

No articles here yet, but there are ideas in the green button essays at HolisticPolitics.org. Note that these essays are aimed at environmentalists, showing them ways in which freedom can work for them. The vocabulary may be off-putting to some libertarians.

Marketing to Moralists

If we go after the Left by being the party of peace, pot, and prostitution, how do appeal to patriotic, upstanding pillars of society? And how do we take our message to the churches? (Note to Objectivists: as long as the death rate stands at 100%, most people will be religious.)

The Power of Mercy by Carl Milsted. The case for liberty can be found in this country's best-selling book—a book that sells even better than Atlas Shrugged.

The Law of Liberty by Carl Milsted. Many libertarians who come from Objectivism or from the Left write off Christian fundamentalists as hopelessly authoritarian. This is a huge mistake. Christianity is fundamentally libertarian. In this essay the case for more liberty is made using the Old Testament.

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