Liberty and Pacifism

1
Liberty and Pacifism

• Bryan Caplan
• Dept of Economics
• Mercatus Center
• George Mason University

2
Pacifism

• Im a libertarian and a pacifist.
• pacifism The doctrine that disputes (especially
  between countries) should be settled without
  recourse to violence the active opposition to
  such violence, especially the refusal to take
  part in military action
• pacifist An individual who disagrees with war on
  principle
• Key point By pacifism I dont mean opposition
  to all violence.
• I dont deny the right of self-defense I deny
  the premise that national defense is
  self-defense.

3
National Defense Is Aggression

• For the libertarian absolutist, the case for
  pacifism is easy Your rights are not a license
  to violate others rights.
• Fiscal problem Military action is wrong unless
  0 tax-funded.
• Deeper problem Military action is wrong if it
  deliberately targets or recklessly endangers
  innocent individuals people who have not
  personally aggressed.
• No real-world war is even close. If a cop fought
  crime the way that nice governments wage war,
  wed put him in jail.
• You could take this as a reductio ad absurdum of
  libertarian absolutism. But you can build the
  case for pacifism on much weaker premises.

4
The Common-Sense Case for Pacifism

• Premise 1 The immediate costs of war are
  clearly awful.
• A hospital alone shows what war is. - Remarque
• Premise 2 The long-run benefits of war are
  highly uncertain.
• See World War I for starters.
• Facts Deterrence often provokes and
  appeasement often placates.
• Premise 3 You shouldnt violate libertarian
  rights unless the long-run benefits substantially
  exceed the short-run costs.
• The case of forced organ donation.
• The case for pacifism fails in weird
  hypotheticals, but rarely if ever in the real
  world.

5
Objections Pre-Answered

• Collective guilt There are no innocents on
  the other side.
• Kids? Dissidents? The apathetic?
• Its on them The bad guys are using innocents
  as human shields.
• Plausible in narrow cases. But living within a
  few miles of a bad guy doesnt make you a human
  shield.
• The long-run benefits of war arent highly
  uncertain to me.
• Lets bet - and I want odds.