Libertarian violence

Libertarianism is typically based on what is known as the "non-aggression principle," which states that one should not initiate force but one may meet force with force. This principle is a mainstay of libertarian thought and propaganda; assenting to this principle is even required to join the Libertarian Party.

The problem with this principle is that it ignores one of the two fundamental bases of human society. Libertarians are very good with agreement, mutual exchange, and voluntary association- phenomena I am going to group under the rubric of consent. Libertarians are not so good with the other fundamental basis of society- violence. Consent and violence together form the basis of society, and any libertarianism that doesn't account for the latter is incomplete.

How does violence help form our society? First let us establish some metaphysical truths. Individuals and individual things are all that truly exist- this tenet is called nominalism. Universals and aggregates have no meaningful existence beyond their component parts; concepts exist only in the minds of those who believe in them. Some examples: my wife and I are married because our marriage exists in our minds and in the minds of other members of our society. Our marriage did not alter reality; it rearranged our mental environment. The United States did not invade Iraq except in our minds; in reality what happened was a large group of men and women moved into a particular place. Our beliefs about these men and women, who they represent, and where they are created the "U.S. invasion of Iraq."

I am not trying to minimize the importance of these mental formations. For us, they form the fabric of reality; they let us turn our sense-data into meaningful, actionable information. If my wife were to suddenly stop believing we were married, my quality of life would suffer dramatically- first from emotional anguish, and eventually from a lack of clean clothes and food.

But the reality of these mental formations is not the same as the reality of existent objects. Mental formations can be created, altered, and discarded at will. Their existence depends on mutual agreement, not on observable reality. If I say to you, "there is a subcompact car," you can look at the object in question and experience the same reality as I do without any consent on your part. You may not want to believe that a subcompact car is where I say it is, but you cannot deny it. But when I say to you, "that subcompact car is mine," I am requesting your assent to a specific mental formation. You can say, "No, it's mine," or "No, it's everyone's," and we cannot resolve the dispute by turning to observable reality.

To resolve the dispute, we must turn to the aforementioned mental formations, or social reality. I have a piece of paper called a "title" that describes my car and specifies that it belongs to me. But the paper does not alter the car; the paper only has meaning because of what I said above was the second, neglected (by libertarians) basis of human society- force.

In order to have a harmonious, prosperous, peaceful society, we must all share the same social reality- we must all assent to the same set of mental formations. Anyone who does not assent is forced to assent, or at least to act as if they do. If you do not believe that the king is the rightful ruler, you will be forced by his men to act as if you do, or they will kill you. If you do not believe that my car is mine, the police will show you the error of your ways by seizing your person and locking you away.

What about the non-aggression principle? Quite simply, the non-aggression principle, if taken seriously and as fundamental, denies the possibility of society. If we cannot force others to share our social reality, we cannot have a society at all. Yes, the manifest benefits of living in society mean that almost all of us willingly share the same social reality, but those who do not do so willingly will be forced to do so. If you punish a trespasser or a thief, you are committing aggression. You are forcing him to inhabit the same social reality as you.