April 30, 2016
In Defense of Defensive Violence against Government Agents
Suppose you see a cop using excessive force. Can you use violence to stop the cop? Suppose it’s wrong to criminalize pot. Can you violently resist a drug arrest?…
Posts filed under legitimacy
December 01, 2014
On Killing Government Agents in Self-Defense: Authority and Legitimacy
In my paper “When May We Kill Government Agents? In Defense of Moral Parity,” I argue that the conditions under which we may justifiably kill democratic government agents, acting ex…
June 26, 2014
On Killing Government Leaders, with a Quotation from Jeff McMahan on the Ethics of Killing in War
Jeff McMahan truly excellent book Killing in War challenges the doctrine of the moral equality of combatants in war. According to this widely held view, soldiers in a war have equal permission…
June 25, 2014
Bleg: On The Ethics of Killing Government Agents Acting Ex Officio
I’m writing a paper for a conference in December on aggression. My paper is provisionally titled, “When May We Kill Government Agents?: Against the Special Immunity Thesis”. This will eventually…
January 16, 2014
Thoughts on Liberty’s Poor Thoughts on Snowden
The blog Thoughts on Liberty recently posted a piece arguing that Snowden should face punishment for his actions. The main argument: In short, I’m not hugely happy with the idea…
December 02, 2013
Is There a Duty to Obey the Law?
I did a Podcast with Cato, published today on this topic. The discussion is of course heavily indebted to John Simmons, David Hume, and Michael Huemer, as I’m using many of…