A recent front in the culture wars is public libraries, such as in Front Royal, Virginia, where a handful of residents ha[s] begun demanding the removal of certain books in the children’s section of Warren County’s only public library. Most of the titles involved LGBTQ+ themes.
Hey Adam. I have thought about this but don't have a strong conclusion. I accept that private mechanisms might address some aspects of criminal justice; arbitration, reputational mechanisms, and so on. But my hunch is that without government enforcement in the background, we would see a fair bit of non-compliance. I would be happy to be proven wrong, but I am not aware of good examples where criminal justice is entirely left to private forces. For national defense, I am even more dubious.
That said, I heartily agree that a ton of what happens now under criminal justice or national defense is NOT beneficial: most/all overseas military interventions; the war on drugs; anti-money laundering laws; and much more. In LL land, therefore, both these aspects of government would be much smaller.
What do you think of the Rothbardian contention that true public goods don’t exist? I believe Robert Murphy’s written quite a bit about how private law & defense would work.
Hey Adam. I have thought about this but don't have a strong conclusion. I accept that private mechanisms might address some aspects of criminal justice; arbitration, reputational mechanisms, and so on. But my hunch is that without government enforcement in the background, we would see a fair bit of non-compliance. I would be happy to be proven wrong, but I am not aware of good examples where criminal justice is entirely left to private forces. For national defense, I am even more dubious.
That said, I heartily agree that a ton of what happens now under criminal justice or national defense is NOT beneficial: most/all overseas military interventions; the war on drugs; anti-money laundering laws; and much more. In LL land, therefore, both these aspects of government would be much smaller.
cheers,
jeff
What do you think of the Rothbardian contention that true public goods don’t exist? I believe Robert Murphy’s written quite a bit about how private law & defense would work.