Sunday, April 18, 2010
Are Libertarians Anti-Government
David Boaz posts a great article over at Cato about Libertarian views on government. Contrary to popular opinion, libertarianism is not anarchism. Now, don't get me wrong. I don't necessarily have a problem with anarchism as an intellectual ideology, particularly when it reflects an outlook like this (No, the Charles Johnson in the discussion isn't the guy from Little Green Footballs.), rather than the cult of teenage rebellion we too often see. It's just not an ideology I share. At the end of the day, there are some evil people in the world. And game theory makes clear that the abandonment of the state as a set of institutions will only sacrifice the rest of society to them. And that is why libertarianism isn't anti-government. The protection of individual rights from private thuggery or outside actors is an absolute necessity. And even if men were angels, there are disputes within society where the rights of individual actors need to be sorted through. The problem is that the role of the state has wildly expanded beyond that role (and probably always has exceeded that role) and people are all too willing to define their personal wishes and needs as rights. A limited government of defined responsibilities and powers can accomplish this. And those limits are what define libertarianism.
Sadly, all too many libertarians seem to forget this. It's all too common to hear libertarians speak out against all government and all too common to hear libertarians refer to the police and soldiers defending their liberties in derisive terms. Yes, I've no doubt that there are police officers and soldiers who behave atrociously. The inevitable fact is that to effectively prohibit private or external thuggery, we need to assign these state actors power. And power will always attract both the best and worst in man. But, it must be borne in mind that there are no shortage of people in these professions doing a dirty, miserable job with low pay and little thanks in an honorable and creditable manner. It doesn't make sense to put them on the block for the excesses of the growth of state power.
David Boaz posts a great article over at Cato about Libertarian views on government. Contrary to popular opinion, libertarianism is not anarchism. Now, don't get me wrong. I don't necessarily have a problem with anarchism as an intellectual ideology, particularly when it reflects an outlook like this (No, the Charles Johnson in the discussion isn't the guy from Little Green Footballs.), rather than the cult of teenage rebellion we too often see. It's just not an ideology I share. At the end of the day, there are some evil people in the world. And game theory makes clear that the abandonment of the state as a set of institutions will only sacrifice the rest of society to them. And that is why libertarianism isn't anti-government. The protection of individual rights from private thuggery or outside actors is an absolute necessity. And even if men were angels, there are disputes within society where the rights of individual actors need to be sorted through. The problem is that the role of the state has wildly expanded beyond that role (and probably always has exceeded that role) and people are all too willing to define their personal wishes and needs as rights. A limited government of defined responsibilities and powers can accomplish this. And those limits are what define libertarianism.
Sadly, all too many libertarians seem to forget this. It's all too common to hear libertarians speak out against all government and all too common to hear libertarians refer to the police and soldiers defending their liberties in derisive terms. Yes, I've no doubt that there are police officers and soldiers who behave atrociously. The inevitable fact is that to effectively prohibit private or external thuggery, we need to assign these state actors power. And power will always attract both the best and worst in man. But, it must be borne in mind that there are no shortage of people in these professions doing a dirty, miserable job with low pay and little thanks in an honorable and creditable manner. It doesn't make sense to put them on the block for the excesses of the growth of state power.
