Jan 29, 2008
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Liberty and Power
Say What!?
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Gus diZerega - 1/30/2008
Hard to imagine libertarians NOT being of one mind on this issue if they are genuinely libertarians. But then I once thought the same about libertarians and aggressive war.
What is a libertarian any nmore? I know what an anarcho-capitalist is. It's a consistent position with intellectual coherence, even if I now disagree.
But I'm not so sure the same holds for libertarians. Reason identified Instapundit as a libertarian (or at least as a self-identified one without challenging him) in an article a year or so ago.
In my naivete I thought that if libertarians had much to add they - some at least - would engage in debate with the Kossacks since on some issues they are a hell of a lot more libertarian than any conservative you are likely to know.
Back when I called myself a libertarian I consistently heard libertarians - quite justifiably - complain they were ignored.
Now they don't want to dirty themselves with contact with those who agree with them only some of the time.
I think libertarians lost their soul when they so identified with the right that they thought defending liberty was a right wing trait. It never has been. Not often enough on the left to be sure - but far more than on the right.
Roderick T. Long - 1/29/2008
The Cato Institute is seldom of just one mind on these issues -- something its critics tend to forget. (Ditto of course for the Mises Institute, the Objectivist Center, etc.) Always worth remembering.
Steven Horwitz - 1/29/2008
http://juliansanchez.com/notes/archives/2008/01/rogering_the_constitution.php
Mr. Pilon is getting piled-on.
Steven Horwitz - 1/29/2008
Timothy Lee responds to Pilon:
http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2008/01/29/the-need-for-judicial-oversight-of-domestic-intelligence-gathering/
Cato is not of one mind here it would appear, and that's probably good.