Libertarianism as Common Sense Morality

A modest libertarian foundation in one minute.

Words excerpted from Prof. Michael Huemer’s book The Problem of Political Authority (page 177):

Libertarian political philosophy rests on three broad ideas:

(1) A nonaggression principle in interpersonal ethics. Roughly, this is the idea that individuals should not attack, kill, steal from, or defraud one another and, in general, that individuals should not coerce one another, apart from a few special circumstances.

(2) A recognition of the coercive nature of government. When the state promulgates a law, the law is generally backed up by a threat of punishment, which is supported by credible threats of physical force directed against those who would disobey the state.

(3) A skepticism of political authority. The upshot of this skepticism is, roughly, that the state may not do what it would be wrong for any nongovernmental person or organization to do.

Chapter 1: http://spot.colorado.edu/~huemer/book3.htm

Buy it on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1137281650/

Morally Permissible Unjust Acts: Defending the Rights-Based Approach to Defending Libertarianism

Literally minutes ago I purchased Professor Michael Huemer’s newest book “The Problem of Political Authority: An Examination of the Right to Coerce and the Duty to Obey,” which, in the opinion of Prof. Bryan Caplan, is “…the best book [in the genre of libertarian political philosophy].”

In other news, Michael Huemer pointed out in a presentation he gave at Porcfest X called “Defending Libertarianism: The Common Sense Approach” that there are three main ways to defend liberty: One can use economic arguments, rights-based arguments, or common sense. Huemer believes the common sense approach is best in some sense. I will wait until his book arrives and I have read it to decide whether or not I agree with him.

In the mean time, I would like to explain why I disagree with a criticism of the rights-based approach to defending libertarianism that Huemer gave in his presentation. See the relevant portion of his presentation here:

In summary, Huemer criticizes the rights-based approach by arguing that in some extreme situations we do not intuitively agree with the rights-based libertarian position that peoples’ libertarian rights should be upheld. In other words, “rights can be overridden.”