In this episode, Roderick and I discuss his essay “The Justice and Prudence of War: Toward a Libertarian Analysis.”

Written during the Iraq War, but unfortunately timelier than ever, this essay navigates the messy conceptual battlefield of wartime ethics and avoids the pitfalls of both purely nonviolent pacifism on the one hand and violent aggression on the other. Why must the justified use of force satisfy conditions not only of defensiveness but proportionality? Should force ever be used against innocents? What about innocent threats? Innocent shields? These are some of the most challenging questions, not just for libertarianism, but any moral-political theory, and getting them right is literally a matter of life or death. It’s my hope that this discussion brings more clarity to your thinking on the most gravely important issue facing us.

The Justice and Prudence of War: Toward a Libertarian Analysis

The Irrelevance of Responsibility

Abortion, Abandonment, and Positive Rights

Comment on Stephen Kershnar’s “The Moral Case for a Policy of Assassination”