Hospers: What Libertarianism Is

Main Libertarian Thesis: every person is the owner of his own life and that no one is
the owner of anyone elses life; and that conse!ently every h!man bein" has the ri"ht to
act in accordance with his own choices# !nless those actions infrin"e on the e!al liberty
of other h!man bein"s to act in accordance with their choices$% &'()*
+ This means: do what yo! want with yo!rself# so lon" as yo! dont restrict others
from doin" what they want with themselves$
,ome others ways of sayin" the same thin":
+ )* -o one is anyone elses master# and no one is anyone elses slave
o ,lavery is a non+consens!al state# and as s!ch is impermisslbe !nto Lib$
+ (* .ther mens lives are not yo!rs to dispose of
o Theres a lot "oin" on here$ Ta/e the .pera e0ample$ What is that
s!pposed to show1
Mostly that I cant coerce% others to a* li/e opera and b* p!t their
reso!rces into ma/in"2promotin" opera$
Theres also an all!sion to ta0es here$
3ven if its better for people to be c!lt!red and "o to the opera# I
have no a!thority to force people to "o to the opera or do anythin"
that I perceive to be in their interests$
If I co!ld do this to him# he co!ld do it to me
o '* -o h!man bein" sho!ld be a nonvol!ntary mort"a"e on the life of
another
This is essentially critici4in" the poolin" of wealth
5anadian e0ample of redistrib!tion
6"ain: 3ach h!man bein" has the ri"ht to live his life as he chooses# compatibly with
the e!al ri"ht of all other h!man bein"s to live their lives as they choose% &'((*
.!r ' 7!ndamental 8i"hts
7irst: What is a ri"ht1 6 ri"ht is a claim a"ainst or towards someone that they either
refrain from doin" somethin" to me &ne"ative ri"ht* or provide some service to me
&positive ri"ht*$ H is mostly foc!sed on these ne"ative ri"hts# which he sees as nat!ral9
yo! have them in virt!e of yo!r e0istence as a h!man$ The f!nction of "overnement# as
H and other libertarians see it# is to protect these ne"ative ri"hts by p!nishin" those who
trans"ress$
+ )* Life
+ (* Liberty
+ '* :roperty
:8.:38T;
+ H thin/s its a common misconception that : ri"hts are the least important
+ We need property in order to have a life and do with it what we want$ :roperty
is o!r hed"e a"ainst the f!t!re
+ <overnment is the bi""est threat to property ri"hts# even tho!"h the lib ideal of "ovs is
to protect o!r property
+ Ta0es: Ta0es are the bi""est threat to property
+ They remove incentives for wor/
o -o matter how hard they wor/# the "overnement a"ents can ta/e it all
away# why bother to wor/ at all for more than one needs today1%
+ H is p!44led by why the <ov can essential steal o!r property since he thin/s that
the ri"ht to property is really a very close second to the ri"ht to life$
o What do the disc!ssion abo!t ch!rches# movie theaters# and the press have
to do with this1 What is the analo"y1
+ What abo!t 5ollective :roperty 8i"hts1
o These are very evil to H: 5onsider the e0ample of the cast aways on '(=$
Li/e the <rasshopper and the 6nt$
7.853
+ 8i"hts are violated only by the !se of force# b!t H has a very partic!lar !se of
force%
o 7orce is behavior that re!ires the !nwillin" involvement of other
persons$%
,o its not >!st physicial$ Its doin" anythin" to yo!# or what yo!
have a ri"ht to# that yo! dont want me to do$
+ The role of "overnment sho!ld be limited to the retaliatory !se of force a"ainst
those who have initiated its !se$%
<.?38-M3-T: 3ssentially the "overnment is a minimalist ni"ht+watchment who
p!nishes those that trans"ress a"ainst its citi4ens$ Thats it$ Most "overnments "o
beyond this# and for that reason they are !nacceptable$
+ The primary f!nction of <overnment sho!ld be to protect the ' f!ndamental
h!man ri"hts$
o ,ee pa"e '(@
L6W,:
+ There are ' classes of laws$
o Laws protectin" individ!als a"ainst themselves
o Laws protectin" individ!als a"ainst trans"ression by other individ!als
o Laws re!irin" people help one another$
+ Libertarians re>ect class ) and class (
o 5lass ): Why1 ,o lon" as we are rational# consentin" bein"s whose
behavior ca!ses no harm to others# the "overnemtn sho!ldnt interefer$
,tats abo!t dr!"s
o 5lass (: Why1 Moral cannibalism9s!ch laws enco!ra"e some to live of
the wor/ of others$
.f co!rse# some people may want to help others# b!t the "ove
sho!ldnt 7.853 this$
:eople wont starve$