Libertarianism, Rightly Conceived | Trevor Burrus | Cato Institute: Commentary

Libertarianism, Rightly Conceived | Trevor Burrus | Cato Institute: Commentary: '"Libertarians," Sachs writes, "hold that individual liberty should never be sacrificed in the pursuit of other values or causes. Compassion, justice, civic responsibility, honesty, decency, humility, respect and even survival of the poor, weak and vulnerable — are to take a back seat."'

'the government's track record in promoting Sachs' "other values or causes" is not stellar, to say the least.'

'In short, redistribution should only come after the government stops hurting those who need the most help.'

'while they believe that the problem with government is that the right people aren't in power, we believe that the problem with government is intrinsic to government itself, and that no theory of "throw the bums out" will ever give state officials the incentives and knowledge they need to do a good job. This is true despite the fact that the vast majority of government representatives and employees are good, hard-working people.'