Libertarians often give pragmatists a hard time, and poke fun at supposedly "pragmatic" political solutions. Unfortunately the general public, and the libertarians that poke fun, are dead wrong. They have it absolutely backwards.
First let's be clear about terms. The basic definition of "pragmatic" is
Practical, concerned with making decisions and actions that are useful in practice, not just theory.
The opposite of pragmatic is usually considered to be "idealistic," as opposed to realistic. Moderates poke fun at libertarian solutions for being "idealistic." Again, this is dead wrong.
A society where the right to life, liberty, and property are uncompromisingly upheld is a pragmatic solution. I as a libertarian understand that there will always be murder, theft, corruption, terrorism, and poverty in any society. Maximizing liberty is simply the only moral way to minimize these problems, and it also happens to be the way that minimizes them the most.
Social Networks for YAL