There used to be a coherent libertarian anti-war movement back in 2003 before the invasion of Iraq. Their narrative was, the military should only be used to defend the US mainland and anything else is government overreach and a waste of taxpayer money.
If that was their narrative today, I would agree with you. It may not be as good of a reason to be anti-war, but good enough.
But the problem is, it's 20 years later (jeezus...) and American libertarianism itself has changed. Much more co-opted by conservatives. And they no longer have a coherent anti-war message. Maybe I missed it, but I have not heard one self-described libertarian actually make a case against war that isn't steeped in incoherent Trump-ism or pointlessly bashing Biden and Democrats (you know like, for actual reasons).
I think your point about the 2000s is valid but I really don't think we're dealing with the same types of libertarians nowadays.
But the problem is, it’s 20 years later (jeezus…) and American libertarianism itself has changed. Much more co-opted by conservatives. And they no longer have a coherent anti-war message. Maybe I missed it, but I have not heard one self-described libertarian actually make a case against war that isn’t steeped in incoherent Trump-ism or pointlessly bashing Biden and Democrats (you know like, for actual reasons).
This makes sense. Perhaps I have a soft spot for an older version of them that's completely undeserving for their modern iteration.
I do too! I am not opposed at all to marching in a singular cause with people from say a libertarian background. I actually think it would be a good thing. But I have yet to see anyone outside of the left offer even a minimally acceptable critique of US involvement in Ukraine or anti-China rhetoric.
I mean, one of their headliners is Tulsi. We know she's not anti-war. She's literally a "proud veteran" and is all for wars against the "right" people in her mind (usually Muslims). If god forbid India and Pakistan got into a war she'd be the first person out there demanding the US nuke Karachi.
There used to be a coherent libertarian anti-war movement back in 2003 before the invasion of Iraq. Their narrative was, the military should only be used to defend the US mainland and anything else is government overreach and a waste of taxpayer money.
If that was their narrative today, I would agree with you. It may not be as good of a reason to be anti-war, but good enough.
But the problem is, it's 20 years later (jeezus...) and American libertarianism itself has changed. Much more co-opted by conservatives. And they no longer have a coherent anti-war message. Maybe I missed it, but I have not heard one self-described libertarian actually make a case against war that isn't steeped in incoherent Trump-ism or pointlessly bashing Biden and Democrats (you know like, for actual reasons).
I think your point about the 2000s is valid but I really don't think we're dealing with the same types of libertarians nowadays.
This makes sense. Perhaps I have a soft spot for an older version of them that's completely undeserving for their modern iteration.
I do too! I am not opposed at all to marching in a singular cause with people from say a libertarian background. I actually think it would be a good thing. But I have yet to see anyone outside of the left offer even a minimally acceptable critique of US involvement in Ukraine or anti-China rhetoric.
I mean, one of their headliners is Tulsi. We know she's not anti-war. She's literally a "proud veteran" and is all for wars against the "right" people in her mind (usually Muslims). If god forbid India and Pakistan got into a war she'd be the first person out there demanding the US nuke Karachi.
Tulsi lost the confidence of the DC blob when she went to personally meet with Assad to find out if there was a way to end the war in Syria.
Turns out, they like that war very much and Tulsi was called a butcher apologist for going to the trouble.