March 04, 2011
This Ain’t Left-Libertarianism
We’re still in the introductory phase. So, here’s another “what are we talking about” sort of post, in which I make distinctions rather than arguments. The words ‘libertarian’, ‘right libertarian’,…
March 04, 2011
Neoclassical Liberalism vs High Liberalism
John Rawls argues that the basic structure of society ought to be evaluated according to two principles. The first principle concerns liberty; the second concerns social justice. In a simplified…
March 04, 2011
Libertarianism and Social Justice
First of all, let me extend my sincere gratitude to everyone who’s participated in the conversation so far. It’s been great. It’s been, in fact, overwhelmingly great. I’m stunned at…
March 03, 2011
The Department of the Difference Principle (Or: Confused Reasons to Reject Social Justice)
If a government wants promote some value, it could do so directly or indirectly. The distinction is best illustrated by an analogy. Suppose you think government’s one and only job is…
March 03, 2011
Neoclassical Liberalism: How I’m Not a Libertarian
UPDATE: I didn’t realize that this blog was going to be read by so many non-philosophers. It’s pretty clear from reactions on some other blogs that many readers aren’t familiar…
March 03, 2011
Bleeding Heart Libertarianism
At least in the world of academic philosophy, libertarians are not known for their sympathy to the ideas of social or distributive justice. Hayek famously wrote that social justice is…