The Privatization of Roads and Highways - Ludwig von Mises Institute

120 The Privatization of Roads and Highways
A third case, national defense, is one of the reddest of red herrings.
This case is of such wide renown and so hoary with tradition
that it has gone almost completely unchallenged. But in fact
national defense does not fit well with the definition of a public
good. One problem stems from differing tastes: not everyone
views national defense in the same light. In the words of Rothbard,
“an absolute pacifist, a believer in total nonviolence, living
in the [sheltered] area, would not consider himself protected . . .
or [as] receiving defense service.” 31 Far from being a collective
good, so-called defense would be considered a liability. Furthermore,
defense protection is supplied through the intermediation
of physical tangible goods and services which are very certainly
limited in supply—if one person or locale has more of them,
another must have less. According to Rothbard: “A ring of
defense bases around New York, for example, cuts down the
amount possibly available around San Francisco.” 32
Furthermore, contrary to the definition of public goods, the
positive external effects of national defense can be largely internalized.
While it might not be possible to exclude all nonpayers
from protection, there is no evidence indicating that internalization
could not be made to work reasonably well.
How might this work? We might divide the country into sections
according to the alacrity with which most people in an area
are likely to welcome a private defense agency dedicated to their
protection from foreign enemies. Thus, Orange County, California,
parts of Arizona, the far west, and the old south might be
considered highly interested in safeguarding their liberties in
such manner. Mid-Pennsylvania, home of the pacifistic Mennonites,
Amish, and other Pennsylvania Dutch peoples, along with
the upper west side of Manhattan, and Ann Arbor, Michigan,
strongholds of liberalism and antiwar sentiment, would very
likely be lukewarm in their reception of such an enterprise. The
31 Rothbard, Man, Economy, and State, p. 884.
32 Ibid., p. 885.