Generalizing Natural Rights
All too often, discussions between libertarians and non-libertarians
degenerate into discussions on the "hard questions," issues where the
case for liberty seems less strong, or issues where the non-initiation of
force axiom gives ambiguous guidance.
A major goal of this caucus is to focus the national debate on the areas
where the case for liberty is clear. This can be done through pushing
incremental solutions and the like.
But it is still worth looking at the core principles and asking: "do they
disagree with use because they are brainwashed/hard-headed, or do they
disagree with us because we are wrong in some respect.
There are some very interesting works out there which get to the core of
natural rights theory and address some of the hard questions and objections
by going back to first principles. For example, Richard Epstein answers many
of the utilitarian objections to classical libertarian theory by adding
a few axioms in his book Simple Rules for a Complex World. David
Friedman tackles the complexities of property rights in Law's Order.
Several classical liberal thinkers have tackled the issue of first ownership
of natural resources in ways other than Locke/Rothbard. Henry George is
most associated with this issue but other thinkers such as Thomas Paine have
reached a similar conclusion. Their answers to this question resolve many of
the objections that liberals and environmentalists have with libertarianism.
Natural Rights: The Complete Set by Carl Milsted.
Libertarian theory is based on an incomplete theory of natural rights. A more complete theory results in a society that is more palatable to liberals, conservatives and environmentalists, while still resulting in major cuts in government.
The Other Foe of Free Enterprise by David Brin.
Part IV of Political Totemism and the Danger of Metaphors. Socialism is not the only enemy of individualism, freedom and open-market enterprise. There are older, more dangerous foes that are all-too-often ignored by libertarians. History shows that freedom-lovers need to watch all parts of the horizon, not only the one small zone we were taught to worry about. In doing so, we will also gain credibility that can translate into political success.
Rivalry and Excludability define what goods the government should provide or manage by Brian Holtz.
Economics determines which goods should be supplied or regulated by government.
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