# Another libertarian debate thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 9, 2014, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-libertarian-debate-thread/685685 "2014-04-09T02:18:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 23
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-libertarian-debate-thread/685685/23 "2014-04-09T12:45:29Z")
Also, by way of context, what prompted my post that’s quoted in the OP was **Little Nemo** ’s assertion that libertarians would be pro-slavery if they were around at that time: > [@U.S. Civil War question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-civil-war-question/684477/100): > > It’s easy to say that now when opposition to slavery is virtually universal. But I have strong doubts it would have been the libertarian position back in the 1850’s. > > Libertarians have always taken a strong stand on property rights - and that was the same stand slave owners were claiming. Abolitionists were the equivalent of the people who want to criminalize drugs or firearms - they wanted to make it illegal to own a certain type of property. And, of course, libertarians are strong opponents of these current movements to criminalize property. > > So I think if libertarians had been around in the 1850’s, their position would have been _"If you’re opposed to slavery, don’t own slaves. But don’t force your beliefs on the people who do want to own slaves._ --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-libertarian-debate-thread/685685)._