Libertarian Hawk v. Dove

Over at the Volokh Conspiracy, Randy Barnett raises the issue of the relationship between libertarian principles and foreign policy, and more specifically the connection between libertarianism and war policy. (He also lavishes great praise on Liberty and Power’s intellectual caliber, which as guest blogger I can second without unseemliness!)

Barnett notes that although most of the L&P bloggers are anti-war, other libertarians have been more hawkish without wavering in their libertarianism, and that therefore one’s views on the war (or war generally) aren’t strictly a function of being a libertarian. As it happens, I gave a paper at the APA this past December making just that point. It was an interesting symposium: L&P regular Roderick Long presented the anti-war argument that regular readers of his will be familiar with, and I defended a more hawkish view. Perhaps a thread on this will emerge here over the next few days, but the reason I mention the APA symposium is that the papers will be published in a special issue of Reason Papers, due out around the end of the year, guest edited by Irfan Khawaja, devoted to just the subject Randy Barnett was raising. Just thought I’d mention it!