Monday, July 24, 2006

Libertarian Divisions Over the Iraq War

Here's some interesting thoughts on libertarian divisions over the Iraq War:

I do not as yet have a definitive explanation for the intra-libertarian split. One possibly theory is that this disagreement tracks the longstanding division between those who endorse an absolutist interpretation of libertarian principle versus those who take a maximizing approach. Wars clearly lead to violations of rights to life, liberty, and property. If you are a deontological absolutist who believes it is always (or almost always) wrong to violate such rights regardless of consequences, then that gives you a logical reason to oppose virtually any war, possibly excepting a strictly defensive one, with "defense" defined very narrowly. By contrast, if you take a maximizing approach, you will be more willing to accept some rights violations now in order to reduce the total incidence of violations in the long run.
Read the whole thing.

Here are two opposing views on the Iraq War from two of GMU's profs, Don Boudreaux and Russell Roberts.

Hattip Instapundit

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