Freedom through Aggression

I was challenged by a friend, presumably of the libertarian-left, to respond to the following claim: "There are absolutely NO examples of acts of aggression expanding the freedom of those who were aggressed against."

Talk about a target-rich environment. I quickly came up with the following examples:

- German Nazism
- Japanese imperialism
- Italian fascism
- North Korean communism
- Soviet communism
- Afghan Taliban
- Saddam's Baathism
- British colonialism

All these were eliminated partly or totally through US intervention, aggression, and the military’s superior ability to kill people and break things. The US intervened, and its military used massive force and aggression to achieve those victories. People bled profusely and many died. In each case, greater liberty was the result.

I think many left wingers, libertarians, and others live in a dream world – a kind of Shangri-La – where they fantasize that all is free and peaceful until some bully American president screws things up by intervening and ordering the US military into action. Well, that’s not the way the world works. Indeed, even at an individual level, people would rob you blind and hurt you severely without the police or some other collective aggressive security force.

The world mostly sucks as far as liberty is concerned. Other than the Western nations, most of the world is run by thoroughly corrupt and often unelected thugs who care not about individual rights of any kind. Fortunately, freedom is on the rise, largely due to American intervention and aggression. That these are forceful acts of intevention tells us nothing about the purpose for which they’re used. You can kill someone to secure liberty or to take it away. You must always be willing to fight for freedom, or you will soon lose it.

In the real world, blood must often be shed to obtain and preserve liberty. Even the overly-admired Swiss selfishly keep their own little piece of freedom by arming all able-bodied males in a system of compulsory military service. No one attacks them because they are so well prepared to respond aggressively.