Libertarianism

Philosophers - FA Hayek, Karl Popper, Talmon, Milton Friedman, I Berlin, Robert Nozick, Ayn Rand, M Rothbard

Libertarian believes that individual freedom is the fundamental value that must underlie all social relations, economic exchanges, and the political system. Libertarians preach freedom in all fields including the right to do what one wants with one's own body insofar as one does not infringe on the property and equal freedom of others. They believe that voluntary cooperation between individuals in a free market is always preferable to coercion exerted by the state. They believe that the role of the state is not to pursue goals in the name of the community.

Libertarianism is opposed to collectivist ideologies of all types which stress the primacy of the group, nation, social class, sexual or ethnic group, religious or language community.

Libertarianism rejects the main political developments of the 20th century; that is the sustained growth in the size of the state and the range of its interventions in the private lives of the citizens.

Two types of libertarianism -

Anarcho-capitalists - Advocate the complete disappearance of the state and the privatization of even the basic functions

Mini-anarchists - Maintain that the government may appropriately engage in police protection, enforcement of contracts and national defense, foreign relations, justice, and the protection of private property, and individual rights. All remaining functions are to be privatized.

Individualism -

They hold an extremely strong doctrine of individualism. According to Ayn Rand, the root cause of our modern troubles is the philosophy of altruism, a moral position that effectively destroys the supreme value of individuality. Altruism—the notion that man should place the welfare of others above his own—is the root of all evils, not money. For her, altruism is a vice,, and selfishness is a virtue, though selfishness does not mean petty self-indulgence but accepting full personal responsibility for one's life and fate.

Individual rights and liberty -

Any other restriction, including taxation of incomes for the purpose of redistribution, is unjust. Each individual has natural negative rights - to at least life, liberty, and property. No one can justifiably harm him, restrict his freedom, or take his property i.e., no one can violate his rights without his consent.

An individual - either by legal sanctions or moral rules - to give up his life, liberty, or property. This moral/legal prohibition ensures that an individual's liberty cannot be restricted in any way without his consent.

Nozick's primary objection to Rawls is that Rawls's two principles restrict individual liberty without consent.

 

 

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