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A different
paradigm for "service" Service is not about servitude. Giving from your heart, for something you believe in, is not sacrifice. Generosity should flow from your abundance, not your lack of resources. If in the process of helping someone else, you render yourself to be one who is now in need of assistance, what has been gained? So why is it that for over thirty years, the Libertarian Party has operated on the premise that the only thing that really matters is how much money you can donate to the cause -- and oh, by the way, we also need you to attend this meeting next week, and help with petitioning, and show up for the tax rally, and … Discuss this
article at We claim to be a party that is about, among other things, "rational self interest." (Yes, I know, the Randian influence is only supposed to be acknowledged in private, and all that. However, I still go back to her speech in the 70s at Ford Hall Forum, when she denigrated the Libertarians as using "half-baked and/or borrowed -- and I won't say from whom -- ideas" … Those "ideas" were still acknowledged as having validity.) Yet we are seemingly unable to consider ways in which working for Liberty can become something where "market forces" have some participation in the process. For example, let's consider the time-honored tradition of "walking around money," which has been part of conventional politics for centuries. Giving campaign workers enough to grab a sandwich or a couple pizza slices, in appreciation for their efforts at canvassing, leafleting, petitioning or whatever the function, is not only accepted practice but "only fair" given the effort being expended in such cases. And most Libertarians I know who have run for office, and gotten their friends and allies to come out campaign with them, have honored this tradition. Sometimes it's been about springing for pizzas in the middle of the stint; sometimes it's a party later that night; once in a while it's reimbursing folks after the fact for what they reasonably had to spend to get through the day. (Anyone who has spent even four hours petitioning in Texas in the heat of summer can probably vouch for this one; I often thank Spirit that my own petitioning days thus far have mostly been confined to late winter/early spring in or near Boston.) Now let's look at what happens when that concept is expanded just a little, into specialization of skills: Suppose someone within the Libertarian ranks has a certain set of valuable (and marketable) skills -- writing, editing, website maintenance, graphics and design, etc. -- and wants to donate them on behalf of Liberty. Is there any rule written anywhere that says there can't be at least SOME compensation for that donation? What if this good Libertarian were to donate only a portion of the time spent (in writing, editing, website maintenance, etc.) while another, somewhat smaller portion of that time was compensated, in some form or other, by the party or campaign receiving the services? Let's say, for example, someone with website skills has both the flexibility of schedule and the desire to keep an LP affiliate's website up-to-date and vital, but is also using those same skills to make a living. There may well be times when the party needs web updating, ASAP, while that designated person is engaged in a profit-making venture designed to put food on her/his table. If the only thing coming in from doing the party website is the good feeling of deeds well done, the priority would have to be the paying gig, out of pure rational self-interest. Nobody could fault a mere volunteer for thus putting maintenance of livelihood over a donation of services. However, if that webmaster were being compensated, however slightly, for a portion of the services rendered, isn't it more likely that the website work for the party would get done, in the timeframe needed? Whatever other considerations are involved the fact remains: both are "jobs" that need doing: both are "what you're getting paid for." The party site could not automatically be relegated to second-place, if it were also a paying gig, however low-paying it was. But even more to the point, what is wrong with honoring someone for having attained the skill in question, and being willing to provide such service, at well below market rates? (Note: I consider "working conditions" to be an integral part of the "benefits package" in a job. If I am permitted by an employer to do all or part of my work from home, electronically, rather than going into an office, I consider that a positive benefit, and am willing to work for a bit less money than I would otherwise.) Similarly, if you are doing something that ceteris paribus (and having an independent income?) you'd do for FREE (because the objective is considered to be of value in itself?), it should not be necessary to pay "market rates" for your performance in that capacity. I would maintain that someone who is strongly motivated by the quest for Liberty would consider the chance to work for it, and make a living at the same time, as a "job perk" comparable to pretty much no other!) Other examples of how libertarians could be rewarding the willingness to give service with more than the usual gold watch: In some state LP affiliates, the State Chair has an expense fund, designed to cover the necessary costs of both visiting other parts of the state from his own, making necessary phone calls, etc. The discretion over how this money is to be spent varies; in some places the Chair is deemed worthy on unconditional trust, at least by a roster of contributors for this purpose, and how (s)he spends the loot is of nobody's concern; in other states, there may be a careful process of receipts and reimbursements, since the money all comes from the State Treasury. The possibilities are pretty limitless, actually; as long as any funding is set up via direct contribution to that intention, such a policy could even extend to compensation for attending the annual Conference of State Chairs. I know of a few states that covered the airfare at very least, and in some cases the hotel and meals costs, in order that their State Chair could get to and from Houston a few weeks ago. I happen to speak from personal experience in all of this, since over the past several years, I have been the beneficiary of this kind of trust and faith, on several occasions. From 2000 until this past March, I was the official Webmaster for the Libertarian Party of Tennessee's website. I was pretty much on call for whatever needed doing; sometimes that meant several hours of work on new pages (e.g., the 2000 candidate summary, with photos, links and other accessories, as well as the text needed). Sometimes it was just a few minutes, but the story needed to get posted quickly. Normal charges for someone to do this professionally were somewhere in the range of $500-750 per month; I asked for $100. After two years, I felt it necessary to ask a little more, and sought a raise to $125; after some discussion, my fellow Tennesseans voted to make it $150. (Note: During the past year, there have been multiple problems with the website, including an abortive attempt to switch ISPs and rely on a new site design and format, as well as the loss of the lptn.org site designation to a notorious domain collector. We have, however, come out on top of it, with an entirely NEW design and format, which is essentially as accessible to the average subscribed user as it is to me. (I have now given up that position, in favor of someone much better qualified to do the work: Jonathan Wright, the guy who took over rebuilding and hosting the site last fall!) I have also had some experience with this on a larger level, as the Libertarian National Committee Representative for Region Seven. This position (which until about May of 2002 I had NO intention of seeking!) requires fairly extensive travel about the country, at least four times a year, as well as hotel and meals costs in a variety of cities. Had things turned out the way they were intended to (at least by us humanoid spirits?) I would have only been reading about most of these meetings, based on the fine work of Dr. Richard Pearl, Sr., who was being put forth as the regional rep. candidate, at least from this end of the realm. Instead, with his untimely passing, I agreed to take on the assignment, and much to my surprise got enough support elsewhere and from own delegation to get elected! The condition I had was the same one Richard did. As an adjunct professor in a local college, with a supplemental income derived from a rather unique form of employment (scoring standardized tests), Dr. Pearl was living in a state of limited comfort, but by no means one of extravagance. This condition afforded him both the time and the flexibility to devote to Libertarian Party activities, which he did so ably -- as State Chair of the LPTN, as the vanguard of the anti-income tax protestors at the State Capitol, as an advocate for gun rights and as a local activist in his own county. It did not, however, give him much in the way of "fun money," and so the added expense of getting him to and from LNC meetings was going to be a challenge. At the 2002 State Convention, I rose to remedy that, moving that the LPTN set aside a sum of money from the Treasury to contribute to travel and lodging costs for the regional rep (whether or not it was Richard Pearl), and offered $250 as a good place to start. It was also planned to present this idea to the other seven states in the region, to solicit their own participation. The motion was debated a bit, but there was essentially no opposition when the vote came in. (Little did I know I was paving my own path.) At the time, it looked like we would probably get support for this from at least a couple other states, but nothing further was done to ensure this at the time. Skip ahead about a month, not much more. Richard lies dying in the hospital, and it occurs to our Acting State Chair that someone needs to take over some of the duties Richard had been so good at carrying out. He asks me two questions: (1) Will you act in my stead as Tennessee Delegation Chair at the convention in Indy; and (2) Will you run for LNC regional representative? I swallowed very hard, and agreed to pursue both tasks. Once I got elected, I knew that there was enough funding allocated from Tennessee to cover at least my first road trip. I also was informed by a fellow Tennessean with ample occasion for business travel, that any meeting Southwest Airlines flew to, I had a Frequent Flyer ticket for. Suddenly, the whole prospect became much more feasible. And thus far, I have been able to get to and from Chicago, Washington, D.C., Houston (for the State Chairs meeting) and Atlanta (I drove that one!), covering the first half of my travel commitments for the term. Meanwhile, I got on the horn with the other states in the region, and am happy to say that I've managed to convince three other states to join the effort so far, with the others still deliberating. If all goes according to plan, and the others can kick in even a token amount, this should end up being enough to get me to the remaining meetings, and perhaps even leave a little in the kitty to start the next LNC rep from this region along the way (whether or not it's me). There is also another way of which I am now aware, of providing a livable income for a full-time activist, at least at the statewide level. Jeremy Kiel, formerly of LPHQ in the Watergate, was until recently the paid Executive Director of the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin. His deal with the party was very simple: An agreed-upon maximum salary each month, with his job primarily including fundraising. He was entitled to that maximum sum out of the funds he raises; his incentive was to raise much, much more for party purposes, so that each month became less a matter of ensuring personal subsistence than one of prosperity and full attention on the party's health and happiness. For the first few months he raised funds like crazy, while spearheading a number of efforts across the state. He built off both the Ed Thompson gubernatorial showing in November, and the recent election (probably at least somewhat related?) of seven out of 15 candidates for local office, who ran as Libertarians despite the "non-partisan" nature of their races. This was not an open-ended arrangement for "fundraising commissions" with no limit on how much can be taken, but a simple "raise your own salary" approach. And for a while, Jeremy was raising about 3-to-5 times the money anyone else had been able to find, and from "lapsed members" as well as the still-current ones. (Note: Mr. Kiel has now left this position for a more secure gig; however, he left the LPWI in far better shape than it had been.) In short, there are a lot of things we haven’t tried very often -- ways which both recognize the efforts of our volunteers, and compensate folks for bringing demonstrated skills to the table. We need to make a much better effort to show the world that FREEDOM WORKS! … and that it IS possible to have a WIN/WIN situation within the Libertarian Party. |
