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Liberty and Power

  • Jul 26, 2007

    Another hypothesis about war-supporting libertarians

    by Liberty and Power

    I was going to put this in the comments on Gus's post, but it got too long. This is really a reply to Gus and it is probably something he's said himself somewhere.

    The libertarian camp has always contained some folks who see themselves as "on the right" and others who reject that, either by saying "my heart is more on the left" or rejecting the dichotomy altogether. Before 9/11, those two groups could largely co-exist, except perhaps on the very fringes.
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  • Jul 25, 2007

    Libertarians and Freedom - Two Kinds?

    by Liberty and Power

    I have been fascinated in a horrified sort of way with how many classical liberals and some libertarians supported Bush administration initiatives when it has trod heavily on every principle some had given their allegiance to for many years. Decades even.

    The reasons why are complex, and to some extent can only be answered by psychology and weakness of character. But I think there are ideological factors as well. I think libertarian and classical liberal ideology appeals to two v
  • Jul 24, 2007

    Splitter!

    by Liberty and Power

    Some of these comments on Barnett are starting to remind me of the Life of Brian bits about the conflict between the Judean People's Front and the People's Front of Judea.

    Reasonable people can disagree with the following, but here is my view:

    Libertarians should reach out, especially to the 25% or so of the population with some libertarian tendencies. Respect them, be open to learning from them, and try to present libertarian ideas, history, and sol

  • Jul 23, 2007

    Syllogism #2 (Revised)

    by Liberty and Power

    Randy Barnett identifies as a libertarian.
    Randy Barnett supports the war.
    Ergo, there are people who identify as libertarian who support the war.

    Perhaps we can all agree on this revision of Syllogism #2.
  • Jul 23, 2007

    Syllogism #2

    by Liberty and Power

    Randy Barnett is a libertarian.
    Randy Barnett supports the war.
    Ergo, there are libertarians who support the war.

    I have been consistently against this war, but efforts to excommunicate war supporters is fruitless. Rand and Rothbard wasted much effort effort on defining people in and out of their respective movements. Let's not go down that road.

    By the way, William S. Lind offers a thoughtful approach towards salvaging the Iraq mess in the current issue
  • Jul 23, 2007

    Syllogism

    by Liberty and Power

    The state by nature is a threat to life, liberty, and property;
    War is the health of the state (Bourne);
    War is thus by nature a threat to life, liberty, and property;
    No libertarian can consistently support what is by nature a threat to life, liberty, and property;
    Ergo, no libertarian can support war.

    Cross-posted at
  • Jul 22, 2007

    US Government Wars & the Like: Some General Thoughts

    by Liberty and Power

    Recently, American libertarians have been debating the libertarian justification or lack thereof, for the various wars & military adventures the US govt has conducted. These debates have examined the excuses or reasons that American politicians & officials have put forward. Thus the discussions remain within the American universe. Here, I should like to put forward some general c
  • Jul 21, 2007

    FDR's Witch-hunt Against Foreign Policy Critics

    by Liberty and Power

    As we debate the impact of foreign policy on domestic liberty, it might be a good time to remember FDR's efforts to silence his non-interventionist critics. Probably the most blatant example was a letter he wrote to the editor of the Yale Review in 1939 targeting one of the leading opponents of his foreign policy, journalist John T. Flynn:

    "I have watched John T. Flynn during these many years and the net anwer in my mind is that he has always, with practically no exception, been a

  • Jul 20, 2007

    Randy Barnett Responds

    by Liberty and Power

    For those who haven't seen it, Randy has responded to the general criticisms over at VC. He has also posted excerpts from Aeon's and Roderick's papers from the"War and Liberty" symposium in Reason Papers.

    Reply is here.

    Excerpts are here.
  • Jul 19, 2007

    Ahistorical "Libertarian" Warmongers

    by Liberty and Power

    Legal scholar Randy Barnett wrote in the Wall Street Journal yesterday that one can be a libertarian and also support the war in Iraq. (Judge for yourself: "Libertarians and the War.") Much could be said about this woeful article. But I'll touch on just one point for now.

    Nowhere in Barnett’

  • Jul 18, 2007

    A Partisan Office of National Drug Control Policy

    by Liberty and Power

    The House Oversight and Government and Reform Committee chaired by Henry Waxman has discovered documents which reveal an orchestrated partisan effort by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to aid vulnerable Republican candidates in the last election. Drug Czar John Walters and his deputies appeared at 20 events in the months prior to the 2006 contest.

    The evidence in

  • Jul 17, 2007

    Hear Robert A. Taft's Ron Paul Moment

    by Liberty and Power

    As media and political elites continue to demonize Ron Paul for his comments in the debates, it is remembering that another candidate, who said much the same thing, once came within a hair of winning the Republican presidential nomination.

    In 1950, Senator Robert A. Taft of Ohio firmly explained to dumbfounded interviewers on “Meet the Press” why he opposed s

  • Jul 17, 2007

    A Response to Randy Barnett on the Iraq War.

    by Liberty and Power

    My good friend Randy Barnett has a piece in the Wall Street Journal on libertarians and the Iraq War. He asks: “Does being a libertarian commit one to a particular stance toward the Iraq war? The simple answer is 'no.'....all libertarians accept the principle of self-defense, and most accept the role of the U.S. government in defending U.S. territory, libertarian first principles of individual rights an
  • Jul 16, 2007

    Lisa's False Choice

    by Liberty and Power

    Tom Batiuk creator of the comic strip Funky Winkerbean has won public service awards in the past, however, at the moment he is doing his readers and the general population, especially those who have or will face cancer, a grave disservice. One of his long running themes is the story of Lisa