Once in a while a commenter will criticize a VC post on grounds that it is inconsistent with libertarianism. The argument usually goes something like this: "I am surprised to see Position X at a libertarian blog. Position X is far from the correct libertarian view."

  I find myself puzzled by these sorts of comments. Sure, most of us tend to lean libertarian. We tend to like free markets, and we tend to like limited government. But we're human beings, not robots: We don't get our marching orders from a book or a website that tells us the "correct" way to think.

  To borrow from Holmes (at the risk of annoying David), "The Volokh Conspiracy does not enact Mr. Herbert Spencer's Social Statics." So tell us when we're wrong, and tell us when we're being inconsistent. But no need to tell us when we're not being libertarian.