Consequentialist Libertarianism: Jeff Miron Presents the Case for Small Government

He's a consequentialist libertarian--his argument is not that government has no *right* to interfere with your liberty but that on balance government does gross and visible harm when it interferes with your liberty:

The Case for Small Government : In this blog I provide a libertarian perspective on economic and social policy. By libertarian, I mean consequential libertarian, not philosophical libertarian. Thus, my arguments are based on assessments of costs and benefits, not on assertions about rights. My claim is that most government policies do more harm than good, even when the policies have good intentions and even when private arrangements work imperfectly.... I emphasize three themes in particular. The first is that consequential libertarianism is consistent in its approach to the issues. Modern liberalism and conservatism are not. The second theme is that both liberals and conservatives advocate massive amounts of government intervention. The two perspectives disagree about precise policy choices, but overall they are far more similar than different. The libertarian perspective, however, is truly distinct from either mainstream view.

The third theme is that most economic and social problems are best addressed by eliminating the government interventions that caused or exacerbated the problem in the first place. Creating even more government is never a sensible approach.This blog aims to persuade, but it also aims to educate. I hope to convince readers that the libertarian perspective is interesting, even if I cannot convince them it is right. Time will tell whether I succeed.