Liberty and Pacifism

1. Liberty and Pacifism Bryan Caplan Dep’t of Economics Mercatus Center George Mason University

2. Pacifism • I’m 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 don’t mean opposition to all violence. • I don’t 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, we’d 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 shouldn’t 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? • It’s 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 doesn’t make you a human shield. • “The long-run benefits of war aren’t highly uncertain to me.” • Let’s bet - and I want odds.