The Libertarian View

I was listening to a great radio show on Bloomberg radio on my way out to my camp tonight. They had a CATO Institute fellow on, I think it was Brink Lindsey, and he was talking about what it means to be a Libertarian. He said how Libertarians are not comfortable with either the Republican or Democrat labels, but that they would tend to side with Republicans on economic issues and with Democrats on social and privacy issues. I agree. He also had a line about the Libertarian’s trust in the power of decentralized actions taken by free individuals. I agree there too. I had more trouble agreeing with his position on foreign policy. I suppose that the Libertarian tendency would be non-interventionist, simply on the basis of distrust of centralized government. But a Libertarian will certainly support my right to defend myself. The question comes down to where the line is that separates defense versus activist intervention.