Today I talk with Roderick about his 2013 blog post “Eudaimonism and Non-Aggression,” one of many early 2010s blog posts across the libertarian ecosystem debating the pros and cons of the non-aggression principle, or NAP. As usual, Roderick thinks both sides make some good points, but ultimately lands on the side of the NAP. Though…

Di Uri Strauss. Originale pubblicato il 21 dicembre 2022 con il titolo Karl Widerquist’s “A Dilemma for Libertarianism”. Tradotto in italiano da Enrico Sanna. “A Dilemma for Libertarianism” (il dilemma libertario, ndt) di Karl Widerquist, un saggio che merita di essere letto, sottolinea una contraddizione propria del libertarismo sostenitore dei diritti naturali, che è un…

Karl Widerquist’s “A Dilemma for Libertarianism” deserves to be better known. It exposes a contradiction in natural rights libertarianism, a set of principles held by those who seek to build a capitalist political philosophy on the basis of property rights.  These principles typically include: That individuals can legitimately own property if the property was justly…

Por Michael S. Rozeff. Artículo original: Silver and Golden Rule Societies, del 20 de octubre de 2015. Traducido al español por Vince Cerberus. Introducción La violencia agresiva se opone a la libertad de acción. Este es un principio libertario central. Entonces, ¿qué vamos a hacer con los medios no violentos de controlar las creencias de un individuo,…

The tricky business of violence against the state (or other systems of power) is really defined by two questions: When is violence acceptable and justifiable on principle, and when is it the best tactic to achieve your goal? There are times when violence is both justifiable and strategically useful. However, there are also times when…

Di William Gillis. Originale pubblicato il 6 settembre 2018 con il titolo A Simple Reform. Traduzione di Enrico Sanna. Se il problema delle tasse è che sono una violenza, allora ogni riformismo fiscale coerentemente e consistentemente libertario come prima cosa dovrebbe diminuire il numero di persone derubate. Questo, ovviamente, significa eliminare completamente le tasse sui…

If the problem with taxation is the coercion, then surely the priority of any coherent and consistent libertarian reformism on taxes should be to minimize the number of people who are robbed at all. Of course this would mean entirely abolishing taxes on the poorest. By the non-aggression principle, a mugger drawing a gun on…

The non-aggression principle forbids assaults on the bodies and property of nonviolent people. Along with the Lockean theory of homesteading, this principle lies at the heart of contemporary libertarian doctrine. Although they promote the non-aggression principle, left-libertarians argue that interpersonal aggression is not the only impediment to liberty. Hunger, thirst, illness, heat, and cold have…

by Michael S. Rozeff Introduction Aggressive violence opposes freedom of action. This is a central libertarian tenet. What then are we to make of non-violent means of controlling an individual’s beliefs, such as methodical inculcation of religious, nationalistic, or superstitious beliefs? Do these methods also oppose freedom? How do we characterize such methods and contrast them…

Retired black tennis star James Blake, on his way to the 2015 US Open at Flushing Meadows in New York, had an unpleasant surprise waiting for him outside of his hotel last week. Upon exiting the hotel, he was attacked and brutally slammed to the ground by a large white man. The assailant turned out…

C4SS Feed 44 presents Cory Massimino‘s “Ron Paul: Thick or Thin?” read by Christopher B. King and edited by Nick Ford. And what is underlying this respect for human rights? Paul rightfully says it’s tolerance, “…liberty is liberty and it’s your life and you have a right to use it as you see fit.” In other words, the…

At the Liberty Political Action Conference in Alexandria, Virginia, Ron Paul had a few words about libertarianism, the non-aggression principle and tolerance. He pointed out the two basic principles of liberty are non-aggression and tolerance, “we have to become quite tolerant of the way people use their liberty.” Much to the lament of self-identified “thin…

Rand Paul has spoken of an alleged “immigration problem”. This is a reference to the considerable number of “illegal” immigrants living in the U.S. The solution proposed to this supposed problem is to secure the border. A secure border would allegedly lead to less “illegal” immigrants crossing it. This framing of the immigration issue is entirely…

Kevin Carson discusses why distrust in government is a good thing. Kevin Carson discusses how the makers and takers aren’t who you think. Jacob G. Hornberger discusses the War on Drugs, intervention, and immigrant children. Patrick Cockburn discusses the Saudi complicity in the rise of ISIS. Gina Luttrell discusses bootleggers, baptists, and birth control. Justin…

Michael Uhl discusses the murder of a Brazilian torturer who confessed to his crime. John Grant discusses Losing Tim: A Memoir. Troy Camplin reviews Literature and the Economics of Liberty: Spontaneous Order in Culture. Michael S. Rozeff discusses why libertarians should still embrace the non-aggression principle William L. Anderson discusses Republican governors who are against…

Last week’s TGIF, “One Moral Standard for All,” drew a curious response from Matt Bruenig, a contributor to the Demos blog, Policy Shop. In reading his article, “Libertarians Are Huge Fans of Initiating Force,” one should bear in mind that the aim of my article was not to defend the libertarian philosophy, but to show that most people live…

Libertarians make a self-defeating mistake in assuming that their fundamental principles differ radically from most other people’s principles. Think how much easier it would be to bring others to the libertarian position if we realized that they already agree with us in substantial ways. What am I talking about? It’s quite simple. Libertarians believe that…

Iniciar una pelea a los puños, robar, cometer un fraude o lanzar una guerra de conquista son casos obvios de agresión, y obviamente distintos de otras formas de influencia negativa sobre los demás.

Furth: Initiating a fist fight, robbery, fraud, and wars of conquest are all obvious forms of aggression, and they are obviously different from other forms of undesirable influence on others.