Libertarian Theory of War. 1. Problem Statement.
Humans do not wage war permanently, but the prospect of possible war itself leaves a mark on their way of life. Therefore, when discussing war, one should not limit the consideration to direct combat operations. We will also need to discuss peaceful life.
The task of the libertarian theory of war at every stage of human activity is to outline the boundaries of the permissible, suggest a perspective and desirable outcomes, but not to dictate a single correct course of action.
1.2.1. Preparing for War
The most important thing to understand about war is that it is a very expensive way of resolving conflict. It is expensive to study potential adversaries. It is expensive to accumulate resources for combat operations. It is damn expensive to build up the resolve to start a war. It is expensive to fight. It is expensive to end a war. It is expensive to eliminate the negative consequences of war.
Therefore, everyone must make their own calculations: how much they are willing to spend at any given moment so that the wars they consider likely enough either do not happen at all, or cause them minimum damage, or even leave them in a better position than before the war.
In order to make such calculations, a system of values is needed, so any preparation for war must begin with questions about what is more important to a person and what is less so, which interests they are willing to defend and which they are willing to waive, whose help they are willing to accept and whose they absolutely will not, which collective they are willing to join and which they are willing to fight just to avoid joining, and so on.
Once the values are clarified, a person can build strategies for different types of wars, combine them into their own military doctrine—and then begin actions to implement that doctrine.
1.2.2. Entering a War
Even if a system of values dictates the necessity of entering a war, there may be more or less convenient moments for this. All other things being equal, it is more convenient to enter a war when there is only one opponent rather than when they have allies; when the opponent is unsure of their own righteousness rather than when they are full of resolve; when the opponent is weak; when they are forced to spend extra effort protecting what is especially dear to them; when others are sure the opponent is wrong; when others are ready to help in the war.
However, the more factors favor entering a war, the more factors will contribute to the opponent surrendering without a fight. A libertarian worldview, of course, will dictate a striving for exactly such an outcome as the most favorable. Nevertheless, in reality, it may happen that it is necessary to enter a war under unfavorable conditions. For example, in the case of an attack by a numerically superior opponent. Moreover, in reality, there may even arise a need to surrender without a fight, and criteria must also be developed to make such a decision.
1.2.3. Methods of War
War is a conflict in which people are willing to kill. Nevertheless, this willingness can be expressed to varying degrees. One can try to cause minimum damage to the opponent, demonstrate one’s own resilience, and nudge them toward the idea that continuing the war is pointless and that concluding peace is desirable. Or one can crash down upon them with all their might, trying to destroy them completely as quickly as possible and immediately return from the unnatural state of war to a desired and comfortable peace. One can prioritize the minimization of one’s own losses, or the infliction of maximum damage on the opponent. One can minimize collateral damage to bystanders, or consider this a low-priority task.
War inevitably changes the surrounding world. The methods of waging war can change the attitude of bystanders toward the clash, and this will introduce unpredictable adjustments into the process. Some goals of the war may prove easily achievable, while others almost unattainable. At every moment of the war, one will have to update their calculations regarding the expediency of current methods.
1.2.4. Exiting a War
Waging war brings losses to both oneself and the opponent, joys and disappointments; its course can change unpredictably, and all of this must be taken into account in real time. Sooner or later, wars end, and in order to understand when and how it is best to do so, it would also be good to have criteria.
There are many options for exiting a war—a heroic or ignominious death, the destruction of the opponent, the conclusion of a peace treaty, capitulation, accepting the opponent’s capitulation, or simply the fading of hostilities and the transition of the war to a cold phase, where enmity remains, but it is now simply a prolonged conflict.
1.2.5. Summing Up the War
If the war ended with your death, feel free to skip this stage. In all other cases, it will be useful to analyze the course of the war, draw conclusions about successful and unsuccessful moves, adjust your strategies, set budgets for restoring what was lost and for paying reparations, plan funding for preparation for future wars, and, of course, enrich world culture with stories of the deeds performed during this confrontation.
Even if the war was started over a trifle, conducted absurdly, and ended in nothing, it still provides an opportunity to draw conclusions, if only “never again.”
1.2.6. Again on Conceptual Subjects
But the most difficult task of the libertarian theory of war is the correct description of the extent to which war is waged between people, with their individual interests entering the conflict, and to what extent it is waged between collective conceptual subjects. Where a human fights a human, even as part of an organization, and where, say, libertarianism fights etatism. For this purpose, the lexicon developed by humanity to describe supernatural phenomena will often be used here. However, just as calculations using imaginary numbers yield results that are fully measurable by instruments, so too must reasoning involving concepts such as spirits eventually be reduced to recommendations for specific people, and the spirits must disappear from the calculations.