Last updated on April 26, 2024
404: 50 labs of innovation not found
An Editorial from Casey Crowe
One of the best things about the United States is that ideally, it is supposed to be what we libertarians often call “50 labs of innovation.” Meaning, each state should be free to try new policies and ideas that promise to improve outcomes and efficiency compared to their neighbors. This “decentralization” (to steal a recent LP buzzword) offers the opportunity for 50 different experiments simultaneously.
Of course, the tendency of government is away from decentralization, and towards uniformity, centralized planning, and top-down, one-size-fits-all policies. This tremendously stifles innovation. It also significantly hamstrings states that have needs different than that of their neighbors. The federal minimum wage in Arkansas vs California being a common example.
Libertarians rightly criticize this centralization and push to break it up. Push the decision-making at least to the state levels, to counties if possible, and then down to individuals if we make it to Libertopia.
So why then do we not have what we call for in the Libertarian Party? What hamstrings our party, and our 50 labs of innovation isn’t coercion, but a lack of infrastructure needed to collaborate, and to share good ideas and bad.
Over the last few years of increasingly sharing spaces with fellow libertarians from other states, I’ve found our parties run the gamut of different configurations. Some with Judicial Committees, some without. Some with regional representatives across their state, some without. Some with paid staff, some without. Some using national’s provided CiviCRM, and some who don’t.
I tried to spur some conversations regarding a few different topics I thought all the states could find useful. What stores are you using to sell merch? How are you taking credit cards? Where is your email hosted? Are you using bulk mailers? Sadly I didn’t get much buy-in.
In the vein of “things that might improve the Libertarian Party,” I humbly submit that some sort of working group be established, and a representative from each state could participate, and collect local information to share with the group. I know I’d love to see other states’ bylaws that they feel have been key to success in certain areas. How about tips to maximize fundraising?
Teachers, body shops, electronics geeks, and all manner of collective groups with a shared interest have conferences where speakers talk best practices, where new products are demonstrated by vendors. I don’t think we need to do a conference, but simply a group that meets regularly to discuss these items to share from their state and bring things back could help all of us grow in ways we might never have thought on our own.
Let’s get experimenting!
