Currently viewing the tag: "Thick Libertarianism"

Eudaimonism and Non-Aggression

By On April 30, 2013 · 53 Comments · In Consequentialism, Libertarianism, Rights Theory

There are two ways one can go wrong with regard to the non-aggression principle (NAP).

One way to go wrong is to treat the NAP as a rigid, out-of-context principle that can be applied fairly mechanically with little attention to other values or to the details of the situation.

The other way to go [...]

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Freedom and Feminism

By On January 5, 2013 · 112 Comments · In Liberalism, Libertarianism, Toleration

For those just tuning in, the latest libertarian internet dust up surrounds Julie Borowski’s video about why there are not more libertarian women. In it, she argues that women are not libertarians in part because libertarianism is kinda dorky and women care more than men about acceptance. When I first saw the video, [...]

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Is Non-Aggression Enough?

By On October 23, 2012 · 40 Comments · In Announcements

A lot of people think that libertarianism is defined by something like the “Non-Aggression Principle.” To be a libertarian, they think, is to believe that it’s always wrong to initiate physical force. And that’s all there is to it.

This, essentially, is Ayn Rand’s view about the fundamental principle of morality. [...]

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Peron on Libertarians and the Left

By On January 30, 2012 · 24 Comments · In Liberalism, Libertarianism

Over at the terrific Moorfield Storey Blog, James Peron weighs in on a subject near-and-dear to the BHL Project: “Why Libertarians Need to Talk With the Left and How to Do It.” I haven’t much to add except my hearty endorsement!

If you missed it the first time around, James’ piece on “

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Some theses

By On December 31, 2011 · 16 Comments · In Libertarianism

1) Libertarianism (like the liberalism of which it is a subset) is, as such, best understood as a political doctrine, not a comprehensive account of the good life and a desirable social order. Indeed, libertarianism is perhaps even more necessarily a political doctrine than is the kind of liberalism defended by John Rawls in Political [...]

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Libertarianism and Morality

By On December 31, 2011 · 23 Comments · In Academic Philosophy, Libertarianism, Rights Theory

I intend these comments as a friendly amendment to Matt’s thoughtful post.

What implications, if any, does adherence to a political libertarian principle have for other moral issues?

The libertarian principle (LP) is a view about the morality of state coercion.  LP defines the set of legal prohibitions that are morally acceptable. For [...]

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Libertarianism: Thick and Thin

By On December 28, 2011 · 125 Comments · In Current Events, Libertarianism

A few months back, there arose a bit of a kerfuffle in the libertarian blogosphere over David Gordon’s review of Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch’s Declaration of Independents. For those who haven’t read it, that book is something of a freewheeling celebration of the spirit of liberty and [...]

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