In my experience, Ron Paul style libertarians tend to believe that the US should not engage in any war at all unless it is only for protecting America directly. They say that America should not be involved because "we shouldn't be the policeman of the world". While there may be some scenarios where this philosophy is justified, libertarians tend to apply this philosophy with a blanket approach to any war abroad. They tend to take a categorical stance which seems rather simplistic.
If this philosophy was applied consistently, then no other country should engage in helping other countries with their struggles as well. Therefore, taken to it's logical conclusions, the French should not have aided the Americans in the Revolutionary war. There was little in it for the French. The war damaged France's relations with Austria and other countries. It was very detrimental to France's financial situation. They gained back some territories, but in the end, it is my understanding that they spent more on helping America than they gained.
On this Independence Day, I am grateful that the French were not libertarians.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
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1 comments:
Speaking of Libertarians, this cartoon, though meant to be funny, has a ring of truth. I think it helps explaing the inability of Libertarians to coalesce into a coherent political force:
http://www.leftycartoons.com/the-24-types-of-libertarian/
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