Taped on April 2, 1982. According to Mr. Machan, the libertarian credo is actually quite simple to state: The government’s business is to protect the rights of the people of the society from foreign aggression and from criminals. Anything else that needs to be done should be done by the people of the society. A zestful exploration of some of the implications–from, Can we have a CIA? to Would you let orphans starve? to this exchange, which begins with the examiner, Ernest Van den Haag, saying, For instance, we prohibit necrophiliac action; in other words, you cannot legally try to go to a cemetery and have intercourse with the dead. We prohibit– Buckley: Would that be a victimless crime? Van den Haag: According to Mr. Machan it would be. That’s my point. Machan: Why didn’t you ask me before you said that? Van den Haag: I will ask you in just a moment. Machan: You would have invaded a cemetery, so it would be trespassing, number one, right? Van den Haag: I suppose it is a– Machan: That’s not a victimless crime. Van den Haag: No. The dead have no juridical personality, but let that go. Summary by Firing Line staff.
The Torching of A Straw Man