Today’s edition of The Economist features an interview with Radley Balko, who is a senior editor at Reason Magazine and creator of the libertarian blog The Agitator. In the interview, Balko discusses the current state of our criminal justice system, the growing militarization of law enforcement, civil liberties, and the future of libertarianism.
Balko’s revelations regarding the current state of criminal justice system might come as a shock to those political types who spend countless hours discussing foreign policy and fiscal policy but very little in the way of civil liberties. Even those who consider themselves knowledgeable in the area of Constitutional law and the politics of making political appointments may find themselves shocked to learn about the vast powers that federal and state prosecutors have been granted and the perverse incentives they have been given to put people in prison–even those who may be innocent.
Balko also has some interesting thoughts in regards to how libertarianism plays out in a country dominated by Republicans and Democrats:
In theory, libertarians share about half of our positions with the right, and about half with the left. Broadly speaking, we’re social liberals and fiscal conservatives. The problem is that once in power, neither side pays much heed to the issues they have in common with libertarians, because that would require them to voluntarily put limits on their own power. And politicians don’t generally seek higher office for the purpose of limiting what they can do when they get there. So the libertarian stuff is where they’re most willing to compromise. And it’s what they’re least willing to spend political capital defending.
So we saw George W. Bush hold the line on social issues, but completely sell out on federal spending, regulation, and general growth of government. We’re seeing the same thing with Barack Obama, only in reverse. I put up a blog post at Reason about this a few months ago. Obama’s holding fast to his campaign promises that expand the size, scope, and power of government. The few promises he made that involve limiting government in some way—generally on social and civil liberties issues—are the promises he’s been less interested in keeping. This isn’t really surprising. But it speaks to the difficulty libertarians have in getting their ideas taken seriously. It’s made worse by the fact that libertarians by definition generally aren’t interested in seeking political power. That leaves public office and the reins of power open to those who crave it.
If you found this article interesting, please consider checking out Radley’s blog from time to time. Also be sure to read his great 2007 Reason article, which focused on the skewed priorities of the U.S. Justice Department.
Birthplace: San Diego, CA
Birthdate: That’s for me to know
Political Party: Independent
Political Philosophy: Libertarian-liberal