Argumentation:Feminism

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Here are some "feminist" arguments and libertarian counter-arguments.

Rape

  • Rather than encourage/instruct women to take measures to protect themselves from rape or to make rape seem like a less appealing option, men should be taught to not rape.
  • It is naive to rely solely on education of potential assailants as a means of prevent assaults. Why go into, or stay in, a situation where you are at elevated risk of getting raped?
  • Oh, now you're telling women it's their responsibility to ensure they don't get raped! What about men's responsibility not to rape?
  • It's true, men shouldn't assault women (or anyone else). But consider this libertarian principle from the 2004 U.S. Libertarian Party platform: "We call upon the United States government to adhere rigidly to the principle that all U.S. citizens travel, live, and own property abroad at their own risk." Lew Rockwell notes that this is "a hugely important plank that zeroes in on one of the major excuses for foreign wars: the bad guys abroad are stealing from and hurting Americans." A lot of the excuse for police intervention as well comes from the fact that people aren't willing to take at least some responsibility for risks they willingly take.
If you want to practice free speech, why would you visit North Korea? True, it's not right that the North Korean government oppresses people. But if you perceive that North Korea is oppressive, and you can stay away from, or get out of, that country, then why not do so? The the same principle applies to bars. What kind of bar doesn't take action to protect its customers from assaults? And why would you want to hang out there?