What’s the matter with libertarianism?

When I first came to Washington to work for the Heritage Foundation, there were a few think tanks that made the nerd in me stand a little bit in awe. First, of course, was Heritage, but the second was the Cato Institute.

Heritage was conservative and Cato libertarian, but both seem roughly on the same side. They differed as to how far things should go, but they were both always in opposition to the left. Conservatives wanted constitutionally limited government; liber...