Is it libertarian?
Why no, no it’s not. As he points out, there are a number of things we could do to solve the problem that are libertarian, but that isn’t one of them.
[Update a couple minutes later]
Replacing the police department with a “transformative new model.”
Good luck with that.
[Another update a couple minutes later]
Defunding the police would be a disaster for black people in particular.
Why yes, yes it would.
[Noon update]
Four questions for the Democrats, the media, and BLM.
Don’t expect them to have any good answers.
I am surprised by Bernstein’s seeming ignorance of the literature on private provision of law enforcement, some which has been written by other people affiliated with George Mason University.
For example, “There are a number of organisations that regularly prosecute cases before the courts of England and Wales but they do so as private individuals, using the right of any individual to bring a private prosecution. One example is the RSPCA.”
https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/private-prosecutions
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_prosecution
Perhaps in the spirit of federalism, one of these big blue cities needs to disband their police force as an experiment. Then the rest of us can all take notes about what did and didn’t work.
Unfortunately, it appears that most cities want to repeat the same decisions made in Detroit and Baltimore and Philadelphia. There’s absolutely no indication that Democratic city machine politicians learn anything other than how to keep their jobs and reward their friends.
Q: What do you call a girl who relies on the power of prayer?
A: Mommy.
Q: What do you call a girl who wants to defund the police?
A: …
Although, funnily enough, I knew a girl who quit her job with no prospects. She was a devout Catholic, and said, “God will provide.” About a week later, she got a job at convent (as a social worker, not a nun).
Defunding the police may not be, by itself, libertarian. Giving them a massive funding cut and keeping a laser-like public focus on the politicians and administrators who have to respond to the budget cuts might just be the way to reform them. Difficult? Of course.
That is always the problem with budget cuts: the supposed reformers act as if they had no idea the Washington Monument Strategy would be used and cave immediately. They get the credit for “trying” without actually having to defund anybody.
They want to defund the police…..right up until the time they are attacked by the mob. Then they scream for the police to stop it.
I’ve seen many reports of this.