John Stossel Reveals Weak Side of Libertarianism

Written By: Dr. Mark W. Hendrickson  |  Posted: Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

Recently, Bill O'Reilly interviewed John Stossel about the dangerous situation along Arizona's porous border with Mexico. Stossel is probably my favorite reporter. I admire the way he demolishes popular myths, particularly economic myths. However, on the topic of how to deal with waves of illegals (some of them perpetrators of violent crime) in Arizona, his remarks were perplexing.

Stossel's arguments showcased "doctrinaire libertarianism"-defined here as the rigid belief that government is always the greater evil. Essentially, though by no means condoning crime, Stossel was more willing to tolerate illegal aliens imposing murder, mayhem, and an oppressive sense of danger on American citizens than to defend against such aggression by the deployment of National Guardsmen. This position is baffling, because a primary libertarian tenet is nonaggression. It suggests that Stossel's rejection of government is so total that he prefers violent anarchy in the southern Arizona desert to Uncle Sam doing what our founding fathers said was the sole legitimate function of government, namely, to protect the life, liberty, and property of citizens.

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