Even economists who advocate small government agree that national defense is a good that the government should provide.

National defense is widely considered a public good that is non-excludable and non-rivalrous, meaning it is difficult to exclude individuals from its benefits and one person's use does not reduce its availability to others. Economists, including those advocating for small government, generally agree that because of these characteristics, national defense is more efficiently and effectively provided by the government rather than the private sector.