10/10/2014
We at MSU Students for Liberty apologize for the lapse in material that has occurred over the past year or so. As many of you know, this page is primarily concerned with educational outreach, civil discussion on multiple topics, and the advertisement of events, so if you have a topic that you would like us to post on the page in order to open up the discussion to everyone who likes this page, please don't hesitate to send it our way.
So let's hit the restart button and open up with a very basic, but complex question: What should we mean when we say "I am a Libertarian?" Should Libertarianism be defined as a moral philosophy that rests on the Non-Aggression Principle (Rothbard and company), an economic philosophy based on more consequentialist(ish) grounds (Milton Friedman and company), a Molyneuxvian moral philosophy (Stephan Molyneux), or something else?
For those of you who are unfamiliar with this topic, here are some links that should acquaint you with the topic, so that you may have the competence to join in the discussion:
By the way, keep in mind that we aren't asking you to read the entirety of every link on this status. For most of these, you only need to read a few pages (or even just a couple paragraphs on some of them) in order to get a basic idea of what each side is arguing, though we do encourage you to study further for your intellectual growth.
I. Libertarianism as a Deontological Moral Philosophy
1. Non Aggression Principle (http://wiki.mises.org/wiki/Principle_of_non-aggression)
- Chapter Two of "For A New Liberty" by Murray N. Rothbard
https://mises.org/rothbard/foranewlb.pdf =30
- Speech by Thomas Woods on "Rights" (This is very interesting as it approaches it from a historical perspective. Whether you agree with the idea of rights or not, the history of the idea is still interesting.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-Lb8YitPs8
- Criticism: If there is a defeating criticism for the Non-Aggression Principle, then David Hume was probably the one who authored it about 200 years before Rothbard was born (this problem also challenges pretty much any claim to objective morality):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Is%E2%80%93ought_problem
The following attempts at providing a objective moral basis for Libertarianism are basically attempts at overcoming David Hume. Many say that these attempts are successful, while others argue that they are not:
2. Molyneuxvian Derivation of Non Aggression Principle (and other moral beliefs) from "Universally Preferable Behavior.
- From the Mises wiki (very thorough, so if you want Molyneux's theory to be summarized more briefly, you can read the criticism. Of course, keep in mind that there is probably a bias against Molyneux wthin it.): http://wiki.mises.org/wiki/Universally_Preferable_Behaviour/3
- David Gordon's criticism of Molyneux's "Universally Preferable Behavior: A Rational Proof for Secular Ethics": http://mises.org/misesreview_detail.aspx?control=383
3. Ayn Rand's Derivation of Rights from Objectivism, where she claims to have overcome David Hume's Is/Ought Problem
- She expresses her arrival at a rational code of ethics best in a speech by John Galt, one of her characters in "Atlas Shrugged".
http://www.atlassociety.org/outline-john-galts-speech
- Criticism of Ayn Rand by David Friedman: http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Machinery_3d_Edition/Problems%20with%20Ayn%20Rand.htm
4. Hans Hermann Hoppe's "Argumentation Ethics":
- A brief explanation on the Mises wiki: http://wiki.mises.org/wiki/Argumentation_ethics
- A criticism of Hoppe's Argumentation Ethics:
https://mises.org/journals/jls/20_2/20_2_3.pdf
- A really cheap and horribly made, but somehow intriguing, song about Hans Hermann Hoppe (someone had time on their hands):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-33cuur-hTc
II. Other viewpoints on Libertarianism (Consequentialist, etc.) :
1. Consequentialist Libertarianism: (Ludwig Von Mises Milton Friedman, F.A. Hayek, etc.):
- What it is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consequentialist_libertarianism
-Brief Video with Milton Friedman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsxsvLU2bGg
2. Moral Intuitionism of Michael Huemer (Michael Huemer, David Friedman, etc.):
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Huemer
-daviddfriedman.com/Machinery_3d_Edition/An%20Argument%20I%20Lost.htm
Those who are not Libertarians are also welcome to comment on S4L, even if you are on the left. We do not ban people for having a differing opinion. To be honest, being a Libertarian would be quite boring without people who disagree with us. Please let loose any constructive arguments you have against or for something related to our posts.
