May 05, 2014
The Nirvana Approach to Paternalism
As someone who leans utilitarian, I often find myself saying the following: “I support Program P in principle but not in practice.” Paternalistic policies, i.e., policies that interfere with people’s…
May 03, 2014
Call for Abstracts: Libertarianism and Privilege
Call for Abstracts for the Molinari Society’s Year 11 Symposium to be held in conjunction with the American Philosophical Association Eastern Division meeting, December 27-30, 2014, in Philadelphia. Symposium Topic:…
April 30, 2014
Humpty Dumpty, Go to Your Room
Orwell’s Animal Farm is not a critique of capitalism. Thoreau’s Walden is not a fraudulent anti-market, pro-Green hack job. Literary works are open to interpretation. But not all interpretations are right. Not all interpretations are…
April 30, 2014
Christian Pacifism but not Christian Libertarianism?
We do not find many libertarians in the history of the Christian religion. In the cases where Christians become social critics, they have held almost every conceivable view – socialism,…
April 29, 2014
Barnett’s Structure of Liberty – New Edition
Randy Barnett’s 1998 book, The Structure of Liberty, is an underappreciated gem of libertarian thought. If you haven’t read it yet, you really should, especially now that it’s available in a brand…
April 29, 2014
On Ukraine
As expected, libertarians are divided over Ukraine. I don’t know if the Western sanctions currently planned against Russia are indicated or effective. But I emphatically reject the notion that Ukraine…