General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The inevitable Hillary will lead to President Rand Paul. [View all]stevenleser
(32,886 posts)He and most Libertarians are not 'anti-war' because they think war is wrong. They are anti-war because of one or more of three reasons.
1. Because of their belief in a small, weak central government, they don't want to pay taxes to fund them
2. Out of a desire to see a small/weak central government, they adhere to a strict view of the Constitution that says that the President cannot act militarily at all without a congressional declaration of war.
3. They don't believe we should care about what happens to people in other countries and are isolationist from that viewpoint.
Now, it's possible that this is satisfactory or doesn't matter to some Progressives, or they would argue that the ends justify the means no matter how you get there. But it is yet another example of how Libertarianism and Progressivism have incompatibilities.
The way their beliefs translate into military and foreign policy in general becomes problematic. For instance:
Libertarians would not argue for the rights of women or LGBT in other countries. Libertarians dont think that is our business. For a lot of us on the left, that is problematic. I suppose if you are a straight white man and are lacking in empathy for those of color or women or LGBT that might be OK for you, but then are you really a progressive?