For their freedom and ours- why arming Ukraine is the Libertarian position
Penal colony FKU IK-3 is located near Kharp, a village of some 6000 people in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug of Russia, just north of the Arctic Circle. There, on the 16th of February 2024, Alexei Navalny- the last significant opposition figure remaining within the borders of the Russian Federation- was murdered by The State. Libertarian ideals naturally compel us to minimise the power of The State as far as possible. They compel us to view authoritarianism with revulsion. They tell us that the individual has the absolute right to free speech without fear. Having lived in Russia I have for myself experienced first-hand the effect constant self-censorship has on the human psyche. I have seen a proud and honest people once again either silenced or lobotomised by their leaders. Most would agree that Putin's regime constitutes nothing less than the antithesis of Libertarian values. More contested is the extent to which the freedom of others is intertwined with our own. After all,...