GOAL: Studies indicate there are more than 33 million libertarians in America. We’re conducting a census to locate them and hopefully activate them.
Paul Krugman once published an article arguing that, for practical purposes, there are no libertarians in America. Nate Silver rebutted Krugman, asserting that while only 11% of Americans self-describe as libertarians, many more hold views that can be described as libertarian. Please notice...
11% amounts to a whopping 33 million Americans!
Just imagine what the libertarian movement could achieve if we could locate those people, and activate some of them to do libertarian work.
But the story gets better. Nate Silver dug deeper...
Many more than 11% of Americans take positions on major issues that are consistent with a libertarian worldview. Silver used support or opposition to gay marriage and income redistribution to arrive at the following breakdown...
- Left (liberal) -- 34%
- Right (conservative) -- 28%
- Libertarian -- 22%
- Hardhat (populist?) -- 20%
By this measure the number of libertarians in America would amount to 66 million people!
A previous study by Reason magazine arrived at a similar conclusion back in 2011. They reported the following breakdown...
- Left (liberal) -- 28%
- Right (conservative) -- 28%
- Libertarian -- 24%
- Communitarian (populist?) -- 20%
By that measure the number of libertarians in America would amount to 72 million people!
Still other studies confirm these numbers...
A Reuters study found that 1-in-5 Americans currently self-identify as libertarian and have a fairly good understanding of what the word means. That amounts to roughly 64 million people.
Other studies show fewer libertarians, some more. For instance, a study by the Public Religion Research Institute found that 7% of the population is “hardcore libertarian” while another 15% lean libertarian. That amounts to about 22 million people who are “strong libertarians,” and another 48 million with libertarian tendencies.
Please notice that 22 + 48 = 70. That's consistent with the 64 to 72 million identified by the other studies. Decades of experience with people taking Nolan Chart quizzes, such as the World’s Smallest Political Quiz and the Political Conscience Test, further supports the above numbers. Finally...
Gallup has been tracking partisan affiliations for years. The latest numbers show...
- Independents -- 45% -- 110 million people
- Democrats -- 29% -- 71 million people
- Republicans -- 24% -- 59 million people
Please notice, the number of libertarians found in the various studies is greater than the number of people identified as Republicans, and almost as large as the number identified as Democrats. But unfortunately, the libertarians are buried in all of these other groups, the Ds, the Rs, and the independents. So ask yourself...
What could we achieve if we could identify all those libertarians and organize them as a separate force? The libertarian census is the first step toward making that happen. And your decision to participate in the census is a crucial part of that process.
We think the 64 million includes three types of libertarians...
- A sector libertarian is anyone who agrees with enough libertarian positions on enough issues to land in the libertarian sector of a Nolan Chart quiz (like the World's Smallest Political Quiz or the Nolan Chart). Rand Paul and Gary Johnson are examples of sector libertarians. This category probably makes up the vast majority of the libertarians we will try to locate as part of our census.
- Limited-state libertarians believe that The State and tax-funding should be limited to police, courts, and national defense.
- A voluntaryist libertarian believes that all governmental functions can be more morally and effectively provided without a State or taxation.
All of these types of libertarians have something to contribute toward moving America in a more libertarian direction. Your decision to participate in the libertarian census is part of that process.
Most of the 64 million libertarians are completely inactive and/or voting defensively between the two statist candidates. We intend to change that. But that can't happen unless we know who and where these dormant libertarians are.
We will use the information we collect to expose these mostly embryonic libertarians to libertarian ideas and organizations. We will try to...
Deepen their understanding and commitment to libertarian principles.
Sell them on a strategy for libertarian success
Organize them to do libertarian work.
Do you want to see these things happen? Your decision to participate in the libertarian census is a part of the process.
The libertarian census is the brainchild of Jim Babka and Perry Willis. Babka and Willis are also the co-creators of Downsize DC and the Zero Aggression Project. They have held numerous movement and Libertarian Party management positions. They were also close associates of Harry Browne. Perry Willis managed Harry Browne's presidential campaign in 2000, and Jim Babka was the press secretary on that campaign.
Jim and Perry hope you decide to participate in the libertarian census.
Our method is simplicity itself. We will...
- Use various kinds of advertising (mostly Facebook at the start) to bring people to this website.
- Use phone banks (the same way Reuters and the other public opinion firms did) to call people and ask them "Do you consider yourself a libertarian?"
This will cost money, but not a lot of money when you consider the potential results. Please make a contribution or start a monthly pledge to help us find the 64 million libertarians.