Currently viewing the category: "A Bleeding Heart History of Libertarian Thought"

Percy Shelley – Left-Libertarian?

By On April 23, 2013 · 7 Comments · In A Bleeding Heart History of Libertarian Thought, Left-libertarianism, Libertarianism

Most of you are probably familiar with Shelley for his Romantic poetry. But did you know that he dabbled in political philosophy too? Perhaps even … libertarian political philosophy? Check out the following excerpt from his 1820 essay, A Philosophical View of Reform, especially the third paragraph, and look for the [...]

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Discussion Questions du Jour

By On March 24, 2013 · 70 Comments · In A Bleeding Heart History of Libertarian Thought, Libertarianism

Suppose socialism had never become anything more than an intellectual movement, i.e., that no actual regime came to power calling itself socialist and putting into place policies and institutions it believed were socialist.  What would classical liberalism/libertarianism look like today if that had been the way history unfolded?  How much of the content, rhetoric, and [...]

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BHL on Reason Magazine

By On September 25, 2012 · Leave a Comment · In A Bleeding Heart History of Libertarian Thought, Book/Article Reviews

In his interesting article in Reason magazine Ron Paul: Man of the Left (p. 35) Brian Doherty  says nice things about bleeding-heart libertarians in general, and John Tomasi in particular.

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May Day? Pretty Bad

By On May 2, 2012 · 83 Comments · In A Bleeding Heart History of Libertarian Thought, Current Events, Libertarianism, Liberty, Uncategorized

I was not planning to blog about this, but I must take the pen to support Ilya Somin and Jason Brennan against their critics, in particular fellow blogger Roderick Long (whose work I admire.) Unlike Rod and those he [...]

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The Conversation at Cato Unbound

By On April 30, 2012 · 6 Comments · In A Bleeding Heart History of Libertarian Thought, Libertarianism, Social Justice

My final contribution to the conversation at Cato Unbound is now up.

Here, from the Cato Unbound site, is the complete index of the discussion. Peruse at your leisure!

Lead Essay A Bleeding Heart History of Libertarianism by Matt Zwolinski and John Tomasi
Matt [...]

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A Bleeding Heart History of Libertarian Thought – Herbert Spencer

By On November 16, 2011 · 35 Comments · In A Bleeding Heart History of Libertarian Thought, Academic Philosophy, Libertarianism, Social Justice

If you’re like most people, then the one thing you probably think you know about Herbert Spencer is that he was a “Social Darwinist.”  And that one thing is wrong.

Libertarians like George Smith and Roderick Long (over and over again) have long defended [...]

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A Bleeding Heart History of Libertarian Thought – John Locke

By On April 18, 2011 · 34 Comments · In A Bleeding Heart History of Libertarian Thought, Academic Philosophy, Liberalism, Libertarianism, Social Justice

Few political philosophers have had an influence comparable to that of John Locke.  In his own time, he was a revolutionary whose ideas ultimately triumphed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 with the overthrow of King James II.   And not too long after his death, his ideas would have tremendous influence in the American [...]

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A Bleeding Heart History of Libertarian Thought – Introduction

By On April 11, 2011 · 3 Comments · In A Bleeding Heart History of Libertarian Thought, Libertarianism, Social Justice

As I mentioned a little while ago, one of my plans for this blog is an occasional series on the history of libertarian thought.  I’m working on the first post now – on John Locke – and expect to put it up within the next week.  But before I get started with the series itself, [...]

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