Let's talk about libertarianism and the Civil War this weekend. Libertarians are the interesting gadflies in American politics. Almost all of their proposals are intelligent, passionate, and sensible. And then, out of nowhere, as if some irresistible force of nature draws them to controversy, these libertarians will start talking about the Civil War.
Here's the issue: libertarians believe that the individual should be the point of focus in any discussion of history and, by extension, public policy. They place the individual above the community, the nation, the globe, the environment, the proletariat, etc., because they think that's the best way to go about self-government and protecting freedom. This is an abstract argument to begin with, and when you throw electoral politics into the mix you're going to get a lot of confusion and a lot bad faith.
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