A free people do not need an army to protect them.

[Vessol]

A free people protect themselves.

 

[Mahkato]

And since not every free person is able to protect themselves against an incoming ICBM, from time to time free people find it prudent to form an association of some sort in order to spread defense costs among a larger number of people. Then they hire an army.

 

[Brooklyn Red Leg]

And since not every free person is able to protect themselves against an incoming ICBM, from time to time free people find it prudent to form an association of some sort in order to spread defense costs among a larger number of people. Then they hire an army.

The problem now is that we cannot disband the standing armies that have been hired. Specifically the metropolitan police forces and their SWAT Teams that have terrorized countless innocent people for decades.

 

[Vessol]

Why would a free nation which was non-interventionist have to worry about an ICBM?

 

[JosephTheLibertarian]

A free people protect themselves.

I wholeheartedly agree.

 

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

And since not every free person is able to protect themselves against an incoming ICBM, from time to time free people find it prudent to form an association of some sort in order to spread defense costs among a larger number of people. Then they hire an army.

/sigh

Because Standing Armies are able to protect themselves against Nuclear Weapons, right? You bypass the point of Standing Armies. They aren't there to protect you!!!!!

You just defined socialism, and I wholeheartidly reject it, and so should every capitalist. Military is no different than any other socialized institution. If you cherish liberty, you must be against Standing Armies, as the greatest threat to your liberty is not from Kim Il Jong, or any other foreign entity, but from your own Government. Stop being afraid of the boogeyman from halfway across the world, and start worrying about your own backyard, because almost every violation of your liberty happens in your backyard, not from across the ocean.

 

[Kojac]

...I don't know if y'all are aware of this, but there was a big jump in warfare technology that started in the first World War and is still going.

You, as an individual citizen even with a nice rifle, maybe even some tactical gear, wouldn't stand a chance against even the Canadian military as a citizen militia.

P.S. Every member of the United States' armed forces swears an oath to protect the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. Those of us that take that oath seriously would deny orders that turn us against the American people.

 

[JosephTheLibertarian]

...I don't know if y'all are aware of this, but there was a big jump in warfare technology that started in the first World War and is still going.

You, as an individual citizen even with a nice rifle, maybe even some tactical gear, wouldn't stand a chance against even the Canadian military as a citizen militia.

And if I store nukes in my basement?

 

[Kojac]

And if I store nukes in my basement?

Good luck with that. I hope you're aware of the expense, expertise, and maintenance that's involved with nuclear weaponry. (Not to mention the laws against it because of the extreme risk you would then pose to your fellow citizens)

 

[JosephTheLibertarian]

Good luck with that. I hope you're aware of the expense, expertise, and maintenance that's involved with nuclear weaponry. (Not to mention the laws against it because of the extreme risk you would then pose to your fellow citizens)

*cough* dirty bomb, and why would I have to have "fellow citizens"? BTW there's nothing unanarchic about a voluntary army

 

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

...I don't know if y'all are aware of this, but there was a big jump in warfare technology that started in the first World War and is still going.

You, as an individual citizen even with a nice rifle, maybe even some tactical gear, wouldn't stand a chance against even the Canadian military as a citizen militia.

P.S. Every member of the United States' armed forces swears an oath to protect the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. Those of us that take that oath seriously would deny orders that turn us against the American people.

So you would just watch as others rape the liberties of the American people. Seriously stop with the pedantic drivel. Standing Armies are a bane of liberty and should be abolished.

Secondly, of course one man against an Army is going to get annihilated. Militia is more than one man, and Militia have many advantages against Standing Armies. Most soldiers in Standing Armies are horrible marksman. You didn't expect a socialized institution to churn out top notch soldiers did you? Silly.

Guerilla Warfare > Modern Armies.

 

[Kojac]

That's a nice little fantasy world you live in. You might want come back down to earth where a .308 can't punch through 1/2" steel plating, semiauto rifle fire can't take on suppressive machinegun fire, and IED/mine warfare is steadily becoming obsolete.

 

[JosephTheLibertarian]

That's a nice little fantasy world you live in. You might want come back down to earth where a .308 can't punch through 1/2" steel plating, semiauto rifle fire can't take on suppressive machinegun fire, and IED/mine warfare is steadily becoming obsolete.

You forget that private companies are the ones building/developing for the US. Not the US govt. All the US govt does is buy it with your money.

 

[Vessol]

If we were a free and non-interventionist nation, why would another nation invade us in the first place?

 

[Anti Federalist]

...I don't know if y'all are aware of this, but there was a big jump in warfare technology that started in the first World War and is still going.

You, as an individual citizen even with a nice rifle, maybe even some tactical gear, wouldn't stand a chance against even the Canadian military as a citizen militia.

Meh, they said the same thing about Washington's army and the British war machine.

A couple of thousand guys in sandals and beat up AK 47s have got us pretty well hemmed up in Iraq and Afghanistan right now.

The war engines of the regime are mighty impressive, no doubt.

So were the Red Square military parades in the old USSR.

 

[tremendoustie]

And since not every free person is able to protect themselves against an incoming ICBM, from time to time free people find it prudent to form an association of some sort in order to spread defense costs among a larger number of people. Then they hire an army.

And occasionally evil people decide that such a voluntary association isn't good enough, and they stick a gun to the head of their unwilling neighbors and force them to contribute as well, despite their moral or practical objections.

Then those people stop being free.

 

[eOs]

If we were a free and non-interventionist nation, why would another nation invade us in the first place?

The same reason every group of people raided every other group of people since the beginning of man?

 

[Theocrat]

A Military is Necessary

A free people can protect themselves individually, but when national imminent attacks come to us, we do need a military force to protect us from foreign attacks.

It shouldn't be an "either, or" issue. It's a "both, and" solution.

 

[Vessol]

The same reason every group of people raided every other group of people since the beginning of man?

I thought we were talking about an invasion by a foreign army, not a raid. Why would a foreign army invade and occupy a nation if it had no provocation? And if it did, wouldn't that damn them on the world scene?

 

[tremendoustie]

Guerilla Warfare > Modern Armies.

Very, very true. History bears this out over and over again. Vastly out manned, and extremely out financed militias continue to stymie central armies.

If you want to know what a militia based defense might look like in the US, I ran the numbers on it one time* -- with just half the $300 billion dollars Americans spent on charity last year alone, you could buy approximately an AK47 for every two or three adults, RPG-7s for every ten or so, and more than a million stinger SAMs.

Then there's the fact that there's more guns than people in the US already, and finance for militias would continue year after year. Oh, and add in the fact that everyone's vastly richer because they don't have to finance the military industrial complex.

Invading under these circumstances would be suicide.

*Double checked and slightly adjusted