Excusing Aggression Does Not a Libertarian Make

“Well mostly I want people to be free, and mostly I want government leaving people alone, but in this case, for the good of society, I think it’s necessary for government aggression to be widely used, because the alternative is too scary!”

If you say that to justify “government” welfare, you’re a statist.
If you say that to justify “gun control,” you’re a statist.
If you say that to justify a “government” military, you’re a statist.
If you say that to justify “public” schools, you’re a statist.
If you say that to justify the “war on drugs,” you’re a statist.
If you say that to justify “closed borders,” you’re a statist.

In short, if you say that for any reason, you’re a statist.

Which excuse you use–which thing scared you into condoning widespread authoritarian aggression–is pretty damn irrelevant. If all politicians have to do, in order to make you so afraid that you condone authoritarian power, is run down a list of scary things (real or imagined) until they get to one you’re afraid of, then: 1) you are a statist, and; 2) you will end up empowering malicious political parasites.