"Man is but a reed, the most feeble thing in nature, but he is a thinking reed" – Blaise Pascal
Via LewRockwell.com I came across this essay on “libertarian just war theory” by Wendy McElroy. Her conclusion: “Given these [just war] requirements, a libertarian just war is virtually unimaginable.”
I’ve wondered for a while now whether the requirements of just war theory are so strict as to rule out virtually any modern war (see, esp. J.H. Yoder’s When War Is Unjust). And if so, does that mean one should modify (or jettison) just war theory or become a de facto pacifist?
I’m curious. In light of your “why I’m no longer a libertarian” series of posts/thoughts, how much libertarian thought do you still keep up on and read? By looking at your link roll over to the right, you’ve got a wider spectrum of links than even I link to on my own blog, so is it just in keeping up with different points of view?
I read the Op-Ed page of the NY Times on a daily basis to keep up with the varying spectrum of viewpoints, but I don’t actually fundamentally agree with any of the columnists on that page because I don’t write blog posts from an American or market-driven point of view. Is it kind of like that?
I guess this is just a simple effort of trying to get to know you more 🙂
frankly, i find it interesting that just war is only spoken of in terms of “theory” whereas pacifism is only spoken of as “praxis”. if as christians, we are centering our lives in the life of the church, where would a theory fit to begin with?
just war theory had a time to be discussed, when hypothetically those killed in war were only soldiers, and not fathers or sons. but with the advent of civilians warfare, that curtain has been torn in two to reveal that no warrior is ever anything less than a member of larger communities than an army.
I think libertarians are valuable because they tend to be non-partisan critics of the powers that be. I don’t always agree with them (obviously) but I think every political stance can benefit from a healthy dose of skepticism of power. Liberals and conservatives tend to be critics of power only up to the point where there guy is wielding it. Plus, I find that many libertarians are like (some) Christians in that they are very strict on not using the ends to justify the means.
As for Just War Theory, I think it was actually Yoder who said that if JWT didn’t exist we would have to invent it. Given that the state is not going to become pacifist (assuming that would be desirable) it is good to have a set of criteria that might help limit the violence wreaked by war.
Lee, thanks for the reply. I actually know very little about libertarianism, so that helps me a lot. Cool.
[…] “Just War Theory–>Pacifism?” […]
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