I decided to move some discussion from this post up to the top level here. Specifically, Watoosh wrote: "Well, if violence is defined as initiation of force (which, of course, presupposes certain property rights), then I think Rockwell is correct..." Well, if we define cats as elephants, then many people keep elephants in their house. More seriously, firstly, violence is not usually defined that way. It's defined as, you know, violence, so that, say, someone may respond violently or non-violently to someone who aggresses against them. Otherwise, it would make no sense to say, for instance, "He punched me, but I did not stoop to violence in response." And, secondly, the libertarian usage of "initiation of force" is very offbeat. If I wander onto someone's meadow, most people would not say I had "initiated force" -- I mean, sure, I used "force" against the earth to push off walking, but that's not force directed against...
No. I'm a LOT bothered.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but in an ancap land, a ceo of a private company would put hits out on civilians. So by your logic, its no biggie that Obama has that power.
ReplyDelete"So by your logic..."
ReplyDeleteI don't understand your use of the word "logic" here. I never proposed any syllogism of the form, "If A does X, then it's OK if B does X."
But, in any case, private organizations do that all the time, right now. Perhaps you've never heard of the Mafia, or drug cartels?
"But, in any case, private organizations do that all the time, right now. Perhaps you've never heard of the Mafia, or drug cartels?"
ReplyDeleteRight! Your blog has the same answer to every libertarian critique of the state. Just post some abuse in the private sector as the justification for an abuse in the public sector.
Steve, your complaint might make a wee bit of sense if, in the post you are commenting on, I was "justifying" "an abuse in the public sector."
ReplyDeleteBut Steve, you might notice I was protesting an abuse in the public sector, not justifying one. So your post makes no sense whatsoever.
Are you sure it's not you who has the same answer to every critique of libertarianism?