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Seems to me that both are at complete odds with limited government.
Death penalty gives the government the right to decide when someone can die. There is no greater control over someones life than that. That is greater than banning guns or even property.
Is a "Libertarian" who supports banning abortions and the death penalty a hypocrite??
Seems to me that both are at complete odds with limited government.
Death penalty gives the government the right to decide when someone can die. There is no greater control over someones life than that. That is greater than banning guns or even property.
Is a "Libertarian" who supports banning abortions and the death penalty a hypocrite??
There is a libertarian case for abortion being considered a state issue not a federal issue.
I'm a libertarian and support the death penalty. For it being used was determined by the actions of the one being put to death. The whole "take responsibility for your actions" thing.
The death penalty should be enacted when a person has proven through his actions that he cannot live in society without killing others. A lynch mob can enact the death penalty without any government help whatsoever, so that has nothing to do with being a libertarian.
Is it acceptable for a libertarian be against murder? Many pro-life people consider that human life begins at conception, and therefore abortion is murder and should not be allowed. Not saying I agree that life begins at conception, but my opinion is irrelevant to the discussion.
So yes, quite easily, a libertarian CAN both agree with the death penalty and be anti abortion.
And before you say that it's hypocritical to be for the death penalty and against abortion, both stances can be considered to be anti-murder.
Limited government doesn't mean no government. The driving force behind the idea of libertarianism is to maximize liberty. In that case government becomes a necessary evil, because we need some type of mediating force to protect our rights and liberties. Punishment for crimes is one way deter those that would bring harm to others. The death penalty can sometimes be a just punishment depending on the crime. The main factor for the morality of the death penalty is whether or not we have a fair and impartial justice system. The government can't just arbitrarily kill someone. There must be restraints on the power of the government and their ability to execute death and there must be checks on that power. The death penalty in of itself is not contradictory to libertarianism. If that were the case then imprisonment would also be against libertarian ideals.
I've never understood people that try to form some sort of correlation between abortion and the death penalty. I've yet to hear an argument that links the two together, but for some reason people who are pro-choice try to label anyone who is pro-life and for the death penalty as hypocrites.
In a nutshell, supporting the death penalty as punishment for the actions of an individual and/or prevention of further actions by that individual is based on the fact that an individual has made a conscious decision to act in a way that is harmful to others in society. Being against abortion, based on the idea that a fetus is a living individual that has no choice in the matter, does not contradict a pro death penalty position in any way that I can see.
Bear in mind that while I do support the death penalty, I have zero position one way or the other on abortion. I've never felt that the abortion issue was worthy of the amount of time and effort that people on both sides of the issue put into it.
Ron Paul doesn't believe in abortion. If one believes an unborn fetus is a life, then abortion restriction can be in line with Libetarianism because the government has right to protect life.
Limited government doesn't mean no government. The driving force behind the idea of libertarianism is to maximize liberty. In that case government becomes a necessary evil, because we need some type of mediating force to protect our rights and liberties. Punishment for crimes is one way deter those that would bring harm to others. The death penalty can sometimes be a just punishment depending on the crime. The main factor for the morality of the death penalty is whether or not we have a fair and impartial justice system. The government can't just arbitrarily kill someone. There must be restraints on the power of the government and their ability to execute death and there must be checks on that power. The death penalty in of itself is not contradictory to libertarianism. If that were the case then imprisonment would also be against libertarian ideals.
So how can you maximize liberty when you give the government the power to decide who can live and who can die???
"Harm no other"is a pretty consistent libertarian philosophy and would put one at odds with both abortion and the death penelty
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