What Is Libertarianism? Pt. 2: James Madison

Following up on the previous post, let's look at the irony of Carson failing to understand his own analytical framework. The impact of 9/11 was indeed one in which power shifted from the people to the government. Homeland security and FSA intrusions are one part of the story, which most libertarians and civil libertarians recognize as troubling developments.

The other part of it is the militarization of U.S. politics and foreign policy. No 9/11, no Iraq invasion, in all its fruitless and squalid glory.  Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, of course, but the Bush administration seized on the atmosphere of fear to launch an extremely aggressive course of action that haunts us today. I think libertarians like Rand Paul get this, which seems to suggest that Carson, basking in his new-found celebrity as a sort of libertarian hero, is simply talking out of his hat. Dr. Carson, I think you should stick to medicine.

James Madison wasn't a libertarian, but he was a founding father, and he outlined the domestic cost and dangers of foreign war better than anyone ever has. All of us, left, right, center, and other should internalize his message, written in a letter to William Cabell Reeves in 1793:

"War is in fact the true nurse of executive aggrandizement. In war a physical force is to be created, and it is the executive will which is to direct it. In war the public treasures are to be unlocked, and it is the executive hand which is to dispense them. In war the honors and emoluments of office are to be multiplied; and it is the executive patronage under which they are to be enjoyed. It is in war, finally, that laurels are to be gathered, and it is the executive brow they are to encircle. The strongest passions, and most dangerous weaknesses of the human breast; ambition, avarice, vanity, the honorable or venial love of fame, are all in conspiracy against the desire and duty of peace."

I should add that for a long time now war also helps private corporations accumulate power and money. What are we to make of the fact that Halliburton, which Dick Cheney ran before becoming VP, has made nearly 40 billion dollars on Iraq-related contracts since the invasion? Can self-identified libertarians, who are now a force in Republican politics, call out the corporations? Will libertarian hero-of-the-week Dave Brat have the stones to not just condemn "crony capitalism," but actually to name names, including that of Dick Cheney? Now, that would be interesting.