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How to Defend a Free Society
| Article
# : |
10984 |
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Section : |
CURRENT ISSUES
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| Issue
Date : |
6 / 1986 |
2,520 Words |
| Author
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Robert W. Poole, Jr.,
Robert Poole, Jr. is president of the Reason foundation, a
California think tank. He is editor of Defending a Free Society
(D.C. Heath: Lexington Books, 1984), on which this article is
based. |
What is the proper basis for national defense policy?
We must begin by remembering that we aspire to be a free society, a society based on certain moral principles. If our aim is to defend such a society, our defense policy must be consistent with those moral principles. Among those principles are individual liberty, individual moral responsibility for one's actions, the rule of law, and the principle that the end does not justify the means.
Three basic issues arise in devising a moral framework for national defense policy: purpose, jurisdiction, and means.
First of all, the purpose of defense policy must be to protect our rights, to defend against external threats to the survival and freedom of Americans. Other lofty goals--making the world safe for democracy or securing some alleged "national interest"--do not follow from the basic moral principles of a free society.
Second is the issue of jurisdiction. What is the proper scope of activities undertaken in the name of national defense? Given our belief in the rule of law, we must recognize the jurisdiction of other legal systems, whether they exist.
The normal protection afforded to persons and property by the government of a free society lies within its own jurisdiction and not within the jurisdictions of other states. This protection may also extend to domains which are outside of any state's jurisdiction, such as the high seas and outer
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