Written by To say things have been tempestuous amongst libertarians as of late might be a bit of an understatement. It seems like all the recent headlines have been about issues libertarians disagree vehemently with one another on. Race, gender, gay marriage, abortion, use of force, discrimination, it’s been quite a year. With Donald Trump and the invasion of Europe thrusting immigration to the forefront of political discussion – followed by a deadly terrorist attack in Paris, raids throughout Europe, and escalating military conflict in Syria – unity amongst libertarians is nowhere on the radar.
Try as one might to dismiss the opinions of those he disagrees with as wholly illegitimate, the fact of the matter is, there exists plenty of room for reasoned debate on all these issues. It doesn’t usually pan out that way, but it is theoretically possible, at least.
Unfortunately, there runs throughout these and other discussions a very unreasonable notion. Particularly on the left, there exists an attempt to apply pristine libertarian philosophy to State action, and a willingness to accept mass death and destruction amongst the innocent as some kind of just punishment for prior State action.