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Excerpt:
The intervention reflex
A point of confusion for some libertarians – as for others with enthusiastic views about the right way to run the world – is the false dichotomy between "everything is fine" and "collective action is required". It is possible to hold a third position, namely that:
(a) the world is imperfect
(b) a legal framework which upholds private agreements is a good thing, because it helps to exploit the benefits of exchange
(c) major market failures may require collective action (defence is an example of a market failure; education and medicine are not)
(d) beyond providing a safety net, addressing imperfections by means of government action is to be avoided, if for no other reason than that it invariably involves some form of coercion.
There is a tremendous psychological pressure in contemporary society to jump from “something less than ideal is happening” to “the state must intervene”. In fact, it is more than a pressure, it has become an unconscious automatic connection. [more]