As much as I hate how many Liverpool affiliated players Sky have I think he ' d actually fit in well there , has always seemed comfortable when he ' s been a guest . <| sep |> Because in wartime , pragmatism dictates that food subsidies are sometimes necessary so people don ' t starve . That ' s what pragmatism is . But you said that doesn ' t matter . So to remain Libertarian , you need to let people starve . You ' re asserting that the US is in such a wartime place that the only possible way of preventing starvation is through governmental action , specifically food subsidies ? Beyond all the assumptions and false premises of the question , the heart of the matter is whether one can compromise on principles due to the collective greater good or some perceived pragmatism and still claim to be adhering to those principles . Many in here joke about Bush saying that he believed in the free market but that he had to intervene to save the free market . Can one claim to for democracy while rigging the election due to supposed necessity of having the right person in office ? So here ' s your answer if the utility of the law is the basis of your stance instead of a principle , then your political beliefs rest not in the principle but in the utility .