Libertarian Flashcards
The Individual As The Starting Point
In broad terms, Libertarian principles begin with individualism and individual rights.
Reason and Agency
• Individuals are conscious agents.
They are able to make ration decisions, and they are responsible for the outcomes of those decisions.
The Good Life = Life Fit For the Individual
the source of a morality and ethics within society is based on the recognition and application of the importance of individualism
The Primacy of Individual Rights
Morality and ethics in society are based on the protection of these rights, specifically the right to be secure in one’s life, liberty, and property. These are inherent rights since they are a derived from simply being human and are not conferred by some other authority.
“non-aggression principle”
• The NAP means you are not morally allowed to initiate the use of force against a person or their property. You may of course defend yourself from others using force against you, but you cannot morally initiate the use of force.
“respect for personal property”
• Individuals have the right to keep, trade, or sell that which they have created or earned as long as it does not infringe on the freedom of others to do likewise. For Libertarians, any attempt to deprive someone of their personal property, or to use it against/without their consent, is an act of aggression.
The Minimal State
Only a minimal state—one that enforces contracts, protects private property from theft, and keeps the peace—is compatible with the libertarian theory of rights. Any state that does more than this is morally unjustified
NO PATERNALISM
Libertarians oppose of laws to protect people from harming themselves
As long as no third parties are harmed, and as long as individuals are responsible for their own medical bills, the state has no right to dictate what risks they may take with their bodies and lives.
No Morals Legislation
Libertarians oppose using the coercive force of law to promote notions of virtue or to express the moral convictions of the majority
No Redistribution of Income or Wealth.
The libertarian theory of rights rules out any law that requires some people to help others, including taxation for redistribution of wealth
Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State and Utopia (1974)
He concludes that “only a minimal state, limited to enforcing contracts and protecting people against force, theft, and fraud, is justified. Any more extensive state violates persons’ rights not to be forced to do certain things, and is unjustified
Justice In Initial Holdings
The first (principle) asks if the resources you used to make your money were legitimately yours in the first place. (If you made a fortune selling stolen goods, you would not be entitled to the proceeds
Justice in Transfer
The second (principle) asks if you made your money either through free exchanges in the marketplace or from gifts voluntarily bestowed upon you by others. If the answer to both questions is yes, you are entitled to what you have, and the state may not take it without your consent
The problem with taxation according to nozick
Seizing the results of someone’s labor is equivalent to seizing hours from him and directing him to carry on various activities. If people force you to do certain work, or unrewarded work, for a certain period of time, they decide what you are to do and what purposes your work is to serve apart from your decisions.
Self Ownership Is The Key Principle
The libertarian sees a moral continuity from taxation (taking my earnings) to forced labor (taking my labor) to slavery (denying that I own myself
Moral Problems With Self Ownership
Self-ownership means that each person is the moral and rightful owner of themselves, that no one can make ownership claims on anyone else, and no one owes anyone else anything.
Limits TO The Idea of Self Ownership?
A second objection arises with the very concept of ownership. If you ‘own’ yourself, it is implied you can do all the things associated with ownership
In Cases of Inefficient and Detrimental Outcomes
In some cases, a minimal infringement of personal rights can produce a greater societal good.
Moral Problems With Non-Aggression Principle (NAP)
the NAP simply states that an individual is not morally permitted to initiate the use of force. To do so is ‘unjust’
