In response to my post, The Libertarianism Debate Continues, TJ Martinell writes:
I think a vital question has to be asked that isn’t really addressed or discussed by a lot of libertarians and minarchists. What is their ultimate desired outcome? Do they want to merely return to a limited government and stop there, or is returning to a limited government just a part of the road down to the intended goal of a libertarian anarchist society? In other words, at what point do they want to stop trying to reduce government power?
The question is important because it clarifies short-term versus long-term goals. A person can be a libertarian, for example, and still support the Tenth Amendment Center, which uses the concept of nullification to restrain the federal government when it violates the Constitution. As long as their eventual goal is a state-less society and reducing the power of the federal government is merely a step towards achieving that goal, they remain a libertarian and nullification is simply a tool. If that person’s ultimate goal is a limited government that adheres to a written constitution, however, then they are not a libertarian but a constitutionalist.
1:17 pm on May 1, 2014
