Libertarianism can be hard to pin down--if only because, as Mr. Boaz points out,

its adherents, by definition, refuse to toe a party line. In some aspects it is related to,

indeed constitutes one strain of, conservatism; in others it approaches anarchism. One

sample from this lively conversation: WFB: "I founded a journal, National Review,

which I think of as a libertarian journal. Now, a very orthodox challenge was leveled at

us by somebody ... who said that we weren't libertarian because we favored pursuing

the Cold War.... Now, would that have been a disqualifying characteristic in your

judgment...?" CM: "My own opinion is that national defense is one of the legitimate

functions of government... And when you have an enemy of the kind we had in the

Soviet Union, I think it calls for extraordinary measures...." DB: "Although a strong

national defense is essential, I think during the Cold War we sometimes engaged in a

national offense [e.g., in Vietnam]."