Last
night I found myself enthralled in a debate between different factions
of the liberty movement. Specifically about which view is the most
consistent with the goals of libertarianism and the Libertarian Party of
America. The debate an age old one between minarchists and
anarcho-capitalists. The clear winner with much head shaking, head
palming was the minarchist position. The position I myself hold, but, I
tend not to use the term itself as it just confuses things.
The
definition of a minarchist is someone whom wants the State to exist,
but, for it to be a Nightwatchman State. In other words it should catch
the crooks, fraudsters and perdition, but, leave peaceful people alone.
In other words a State which is enforcing the Zero-Aggression principle
more or less. A State which does nothing of which an-caps rail on about
and they have no reason to call statist. In my view taxation should not
exist as it is theft, but, neither should a stateless society.
For me
government is not a necessary evil, but, is in fact a symbol of human
goodness. A properly limited government; a nightwatchman state is the
only truly moral form of freedom we can have. As it is the only way to
defend individual rights and use if needed excessive retaliatory force
against evil people whom wish to harm others and their property.
Capitalism requires governance it requires rule of law. It requires due
process and for laws to be objectively obtained. It requires us to be
able to have guaranteed protection of our life, liberty and property
from harm. Thus it requires a state; a centralized power structure with
enforceable laws.
This does
not mean it needs to initiate force on anyone that is peaceful. It does
mean that those whom are not peaceful will face the full force of the
law; whether through a bullet or through the process of a trial. This is
required for us to maintain the peace for human nature is not all wine
and roses. There are genuine nutcases that do not care about others and
wish them harm. A government; a proper and true government, works on
behalf of protecting the innocent against the proven guilty. It works to
defend all of our rights and that is the reason it is an immense moral
good and sign of human progress.
A
properly limited government is a beacon on a hill of a sign of progress.
It is leaving the tribe and war of all against all towards a world of
voluntary interaction and coexistence. Properly limited and good
governance is an immense good because without it there would be chaos
and destruction. I am not being hyperbolic here we have a lot of
irrational and dangerous people in this world whom government protects
us from everyday. National defense and domestic defense requires a
government and sometimes a very powerful and highly centralized one to
work over an entire Nation.
This does
not mean this government should intervene in the economy in anyway. It
is there for one thing and one thing only to protect our rights. Getting
involved in the economic and personal lives of citizens is not its job.
To protect our life, liberty and property is its job and soul reason
for existing. This is why taxation is theft it says the government gets a
right to take the product of your own labor. In a high enough tax
bracket it becomes being a total surf like something from Feudalism.
Government is required, but, ideally all funding is voluntary. Acting as
dues or user fees for services rendered.
Minarchism
is voluntaryism as it was traditionally defined as a nation/government
that protects individual rights and the ability to have voluntary
cooperation. While being funded also on a voluntary means and existing
solely due to the consent of the governed. Anarchists stole the term
voluntaryism from a minarchism political philosophy which resembles
Objectivism and Classical Liberalism as opposed to statelessness. It was
another term for a radical for capitalism and for a member of the
logically consistent wing of the Classical Liberal tradition. A term
never meant to be used to mean anarchism at all.
The
an-caps in this debate just kept circling back and not answering the
question. Making claims that minarchists are not being logically
consistent for some reason. They kept claiming that human nature did not
have a dark side and it was somehow manufactured as if out of whole
cloth from their enemy the state. It reminded me of feminists claiming
everything evil comes from the patriarchy, but, replace that with state
in and of itself. At one point they even argued there was no right to an
attorney to defend you and basically that rule of law was bullshit. At
one point saying the only rule of law they needed was a gun in the face
of the accused. Basically, they denied the need for innocence until
proven guilty without wanting to admit it.
This was
barbarism and tribalism at its worst. This was not the good and positive
primal male and female defenders, but, the lynch mob. I am not saying
that primates are amazingly great, we are not and never have been
perfect. However, the good aspects of the primal I talk about getting
back have nothing to do with this horrid collectivist tribal gang
warfare mentality. I was shocked, stunned and frankly disgusted that
they were speaking about rolling back things which have made
civilization possible. It is one thing to privatize anything non-law
related that moves and everything non-law related that does not.
However, this was just insane. I am all for self-defense, but, there is a
difference between walking in on a rape in progress and killing the
fucker, and, doing away with rule of law for the accused of a crime.
An objectively determined rule of law
is needed in a civilized society. Even with the NAP you need to have
objectively defined laws and need to be able to essentialize actual laws
based on zero aggression. We do not have lynch mobs and we will not be
going back to the Crusades or Witch Hunts because of irrational fools
that are against government at all costs. It is folks like these that
make it hard to call myself a libertarian anymore. The idea that people just willy-nilly perpetuating vigilante justice is a moral ideal is sickening. I want in no way to be affiliated with such bile. The anarchic wing of the libertarian movement ruins everything. How are we to deal with Islamic Fascism without a state/government? Blank out as they always do. Excuse me as I go to the funeral of the Western World.
