Currently viewing the tag: "environmental regulation"

Libertarianism and Pollution

By On April 1, 2013 · 59 Comments · In Libertarianism

Over at Libertarianism.org, my latest post discusses the implications of Rothbardian-style libertarianism for the issue of pollution. Short version: if libertarianism means adhering to an absolutist version of the Non-Aggression Principle (NAP), then all pollution is impermissible, and life as we know it as over.

To me, that seems like a pretty [...]

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What Could Be Wrong with Protecting Families from Floods?

By On January 28, 2013 · 21 Comments · In Current Events

So, your house burns down. Mercifully, nobody was home. Only things were lost; no people.

You begin to pick up the pieces and begin to rebuild. You call your insurance company. Everything starts out fine, until they tell you that new FEMA regulations enacted in the wake of Hurricane Katrina affect the requirements for [...]

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Objections to the Simple Libertarian Argument for Environmental Regulation

By On October 1, 2011 · 38 Comments · In Current Events, Libertarianism

As I mentioned in a previous post, there’s a simple argument, consistent with hard-core deontological, self-ownership libertarian principles, that gets you to the conclusion it’s at least permissible for the government to issue environmental regulations.

Here it is, in a more straightforward form:
1. Start with minimal state libertarianism: Government may and should protect [...]

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