If you’re a libertarian (as I once thought I was) or just interested in libertarian ideas, you might be interested in this debate between minarchist and anarchist libertarians. The participants include Charles Murray (he of the (in)famous Bell Curve) and economist David Friedman (son of Milton).
As far as I’m concerned, the anarchists are wrong because they assume that the weak and vulnerable won’t be trampled (even more) in a society without government. The minarchists are wrong because once you’ve justified coercive government to protect person and property, it’s hard to see why it’s not also justified in providing basic economic goods to those who are unable to provide for themselves and in protecting against the externalities (physical, social and moral) generated by the market.
As G.K. Chesterton remarked, the poor object to being governed badly while the rich object to being governed at all.
A Thinking Reed 
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