It's Friday. Getaway day for the the 4th of July Weekend. And, despite it no longer being June, it's cloudy this morning.
See the bright white line off the coast? That's the break at Surfrider Beach and it's pretty high, so it was a crowd in the water waiting for waves that I saw as I took the bus into work today.
ANOTHER BRIEF LESSON IN LIBERTARIAN POLICY
It's slow this morning, so I have a minute to day to return to my occasional explanation of Libertarian policy since everybody is thinking about those kinds of things in the presidential election year.
Let's take foreign policy and waging war. To Libertarians, the ONLY REAL JOB of a government (other than maintaining a court system, but a free society could just as easily create a dispute resolution system) is to defend the nation from foreign aggression.
I think most Libertarians would agree that such defense does not extend to theoretical or presumptive threats. When you get down to it, Libertarians are basically peaceniks. We don't want to threaten anybody with force to get our way, and we don't want to be threatened. We want to live in peace and just cut deals as necessary and proper. But there are bad people out there who want to do bad things to us who may employ the use of force. So it's important that we have access to sufficient force to counter or dis-incent them. That's why Libertarians are adamant on having access to weapons. When threats appear, we'll band together in mutual defense in militias or an organized armed force.
But what draws aggression from other nations or groups? Generally, it's alliances with troublesome partners. Or because we're doing something aggressive ourselves where we have no business being. Right now we're most fearful of being attacked by ISIL and Al-Queda. Why do they even care about us? Who are we propping up and why? Are we pro-Shia? Or is it because we're pro-Israel? Or is it just perceptions thereof? Frankly, I'm not even sure these days.
A Libertarian country would not make any alliances nor render military aid or economic aid to any other; citizens would be free to deal individually or in organized groups with other nations or persons within those other nations, but there would be no national entity with resources to even deliver such levels of influence. A Libertarian executive branch would just start to pull out troops, advisors, aid programs, etc., out of all foreign countries.
But what if really bad people take over "that country" but for our being there and restraining them? Well, if we don't like them, then we just don't buy their ____________. But their internal problems are not our problems. When you start following all the objections, it takes us to the proposition that has led us to becoming "the World Police." And we know most people don't like police.
Anyway, if we had Libertarian executive, that's the direction I think we'd start to see ourselves go in--troop pullouts and cutting off of foreign aid for starters.
OK, that's it. Happy 4th of July to you all and have a great weekend.
Love,
Pops
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