Viewpoint: Missoula County libertarians disagree with U.S. role in Ukrainian conflict
Missoula County Libertarian Party
The Libertarian Party fundamentally opposes U.S. intervention in foreign conflicts and interference with the affairs of other countries and their citizens. This is consistent with the Non-Aggression Principle (NAP), the foundation of Libertarian political philosophy.
The NAP is the belief that people should be free to live and act as they choose with the exception that they may not use fraud or initiate force, or the threat of force, against another person or their property nor violate another’s rights.
The Missoula County Libertarian Party (MCLP) opposes all direct and indirect intervention, either military (via economic sanctions, or in the form of “humanitarian aid”, by the United States government in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, which is a dangerous and politically complicated situation going back decades and even centuries.
The history leading up to the recent conflict is beyond the scope of this essay, but an excellent presentation by Scott Horton can be heard on episode 78 of The Liam McCollum Podcast, posted 29 April 2022.
The United States, much less the Libertarian Party, is not a universal or world court. It has not been grated the necessary delegation of authority to legitimize its role as such. Secondly, the federal government is not qualified to pass judgment on the matter, in the first instance, due to its distance from the facts and consequences of the decisions regarding the matter.
And in the second, the conflicts of interest which necessarily exist between The United States and Russia. All three of these reasons independently disqualify The United States from assuming such a status.
Stealing the wealth of Americans in the form of taxation and wasting it on foreign conflicts harms Americans by redirecting the public resources from the more urgently needed to the whimsy and waste of politicians. In many cases, that stolen wealth would be better suited with its rightful owners, American citizens, to help them meet even the most basic of needs: food and shelter. Former United States Congressman Dr. Ron Paul pointed out that “Foreign aid is taking money from the poor people of a rich country and giving it to the rich people of a poor country.”
As with all Americans, our hearts go out to all the human beings affected by this conflict and the MCLP encourages people to contribute according to their own will and conscience, and to provide humanitarian aid as they see fit.
In his farewell address (19 September 1796), George Washington said: “Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all”, and in his first inaugural address (04 March 1801), warned Americans away from getting involved in “entangling alliances” that lead us to joining other people’s wars that have nothing to do with defending American borders and homeland.
The sixth president of the United States John Quincy Adams said, “America... goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all.” These men encouraged us to pursue a policy of “peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations.”
The Libertarian Party of Missoula County believes that the United States can far more effectively promote peace, freedom, and prosperity both at home and around the world, including in Ukraine and Russia, by pursuing the course of peace and commerce over foreign meddling and adventurism.