More from Libertarianism: What Everyone Needs to Know, now available for Kindle!

Some people mistakenly believe that libertarians think our only moral obligation to one another is to respect one another’s liberty. Even professional philosophers (such as the authors of a textbook I encountered in grad school, as well as some incompetent referees at Business Ethics Quarterly) make this mistake. And it is a mistake.

Most libertarians share commonsense moral concerns. They hold, like most others do, that we have duties to provide for charity, to avoid free-riding on others’ efforts, to treat others with respect and kindness, to provide for our children and loved ones, and so on.

Libertarians are distinct in that they believe each person has an extensive sphere of personal liberty. They have strong rights against being interfered with, coerced, or subjugated. These rights act as side constraints. They forbid intrusions onto others’ lives, even when such intrusions would serve those other people’s good.

…for example, imagine I am a supremely expert life coach. Imagine that I can determine what the happiest and best life for each person would be. Suppose I know with certainty that talented David would do much more good as a doctor than as a beach bum. Suppose I also know with certainty that David would be much happier and better off as a doctor than as a beach bum. However, suppose David wants to be a beach bum. Libertarians say that I cannot force David to become a doctor, despite how good it would be if he did. He has the right to choose his own way of life, even though (we are supposing) that I know with certainty he should make a different choice.

Similarly, even if you have a moral obligation to help the homeless, it doesn’t follow that I may force you to discharge this obligation. Does this mean libertarians are selfish, callous, or indifferent to others’ suffering?

… even if I believe it is wrong to force you to help the homeless, this does not imply I don’t care about the homeless. In the same vein, if I am unwilling to force to you marry your “soul mate”, that does not mean I am indifferent to your happiness. Rather, it means that there are limits on what I may force you to do, for your good or for the good of others.

However, libertarianism is not all one thing.

Classical liberals and neoclassical liberals take a softer line. They tend to believe the legitimacy of social institutions depends in part on how well those institutions benefit all, including the most vulnerable members of society. They say that a regime of private property and free markets could not be legitimate if it routinely left large numbers of people desperate and destitute through no fault of their own. Thus, for them, the extent to which a society may have a welfare state depends in significant part on how well markets work and well the welfare state works.