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...
Gene, most liberals don't want to start a war with Russia - they think that Hillary's Russian reset, had it been successful, would have been a great thing. The problem liberals have with Trump's behavior toward Russia is not that he wants cooperation rather than war - it's that he seems to want capitulation, not just cooperation. He doesn't seem to have any qualms over Putin's dictatorial tendencies, he seems unwilling to defend our NATO allies, he seems to have no outrage at all over Russian hacking of American citizens, etc.
ReplyDeleteLiberals don't really want to be "tough on Russia", they're just uneasy with Trump acting like a puppet.
"Gene, most liberals don't want to start a war with Russia..."
DeleteThey are just the witless tools of those who do.
"The problem liberals have with Trump's behavior toward Russia is not that he wants cooperation rather than war - it's that he seems to want capitulation..."
Suuuuuure, Keshav, he's going to hand Alaska and California over to Putin, and have the Russian army patrol Washington.
Think I'm due back on planet earth now, however.
"Liberals don't really want to be "tough on Russia"..."
DeleteThey are just so insanely anti-Trump they will do it anyway, just to be contra-Trump.