Is War Necessary to Ensure Liberty?

May 15, 2009

by Brian Woodward

An increasingly popular movement in this country is that of “libertarianism.” Ron Paul most recently brought it into the national spotlight with his token run for the White House. However instead of this movement being focused on liberty another concept jumps to the forefront, non-interventionism.This is a foreign policy which holds that political rulers should avoid alliances with other nations and avoid all wars not related to direct territorial self-defense.

However, the belief that there are barriers or certain limits on how liberty must be pursued seems to be the mantra of many “libertarians.” The whole idea of non-interventionism as well as that freedom cannot come by force, are flawed ideals to hold.

While non-interventionism can be useful and freedom may not in some cases be able to be brought by force, this does not mean that these ideals or principles should be followed in all cases. These as well as all policies should be subordinate to the main principle of liberty. This country was founded on the principle of liberty, and efforts to preserve that liberty should be pursued at all costs.

The great conservative Barry Goldwater said it best, “I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”

Furthermore I submit that freedom can and has come by force time and time again. Germany and Japan are two examples of this after World War II, and they have both worked out well. Imagine what it would be like if we did not impose freedom there.

America itself is a product of achieving freedom by force, by means of a revolution. To quote Dinesh D’Souza, “Let me remind you that revolutions are rarely peaceful and never legal.” It took the Civil War for African Americans to achieve their freedom, something they were incapable of providing for themselves.

It may be a regrettable aspect of human nature and politics, but rarely is freedom achieved through mere diplomacy or discussion. Some fight is required to achieve freedom, and many times that fight is imposed by physical force.

In a perfect world there would be no war. But it is both dangerous and naive to think that there will ever be a world without war. As long as mankind exists so also will evil exist. As appealing as diplomacy may be to solve conflict, force must always be a viable option. Let us not forget our past mistakes and failed policies of appeasement. The most obvious resulting in World War II and the loss of over 50 million lives. The Prime Minister of England at the time, Neville Chamberlain, was involved with “diplomacy” with Hitler including the “Munich Agreement,” which was signed by England, France, Italy, and Germany. This agreement allowed the German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The loss of Sudetenland was devastating for Czechoslovakia. It resulted in their inability to defend themselves as the majority of its border defenses were positioned there.

Chamberlain came back to England proclaiming a great victory for Europe asserting that they had reached an agreement and would be able to avoid any devastating conflict. He assured his people that Hitler was reasonable and posed no threat. In effect the dialogue engaged with Hitler only emboldened the tyrant and allowed his power to grow. The rest as they say, is history.

In retrospect those acts of “diplomacy” proved quite ignorant and frankly stupid. Had other steps been taken including force, the slaughter of millions could easily have been prevented. Let us hope that our current leaders will learn from the past particularly in our policies with Iran, North Korea, and Palestine.

Often times the privilege of having known no other lifestyle than the American way of life, blinds many to the realities of the world and alternative politics. In most countries you are bound by certain norms, rules, traditions, laws, and cultures that influence strongly and in effect make decisions for you. In America you are free to be the architect of your own life. You are free to choose what religion you practice, who you will marry, what your occupation will be, where you will live, etc. That is a reason why America is both loved and hated. The idea of creating your own destiny holds a universal appeal to individuals and is in turn hated by many in power abroad because "they" want to tell you how to live.

No one wants war, but if freedom and the American way of life is threatened I stand with Patrick Henry who said, “give me liberty or give me death.”