[By Ryan Noble]

Libertarianism has been accused of being simplistic. It has, like objectivism, been dismissed as a “child’s philosophy”. This claim is worthy of rejection on its face as a non-rebuttal rebuttal but there is something a bit abnormal about libertarianism vis-a-vis its competing philosophies that might justify its characterization as “childlike”. Unlike other philosophical or political orientations; only a single statement is required to guide judgement of any proposition. Stated differently, our eyes are always cast toward a single principle for guidance. That principle could be formulated any number of ways; I prefer phrasing the libertarian principle as “force is only justified in defense against an initiating force”. This fact has some real consequences when it comes to how it will be received. (more…)