58 found
Order:
  1. Eleutheric-Conjectural Libertarianism: a Concise Philosophical Explanation.J. C. Lester - 2022 - MEST Journal 10 (2):111-123.
    The two purposes of this essay. The general philosophical problem with most versions of social libertarianism and how this essay will proceed. The specific problem with liberty explained by a thought-experiment. The positive and abstract theory of interpersonal liberty-in-itself as ‘the absence of interpersonal initiated constraints on want-satisfaction’, for short ‘no initiated impositions’. The individualistic liberty-maximisation theory solves the problems of clashes, defences, and rectifications without entailing interpersonal utility comparisons or libertarian consequentialism. The practical implications of instantiating liberty: three rules (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   3 citations  
  2. The Heterodox 'Fourth Paradigm' of Libertarianism: an Abstract Eleutherology plus Critical Rationalism.J. C. Lester - 2019 - Journal of Libertarian Studies 23:91-116.
    1) Introduction. 2) The key libertarian insight into property and orthodox libertarianism’s philosophical confusion. 3) Clearer distinctions for applying to what follows: abstract liberty; practical liberty; moral defences; and critical rationalism. 4) The two dominant (‘Lockean’ and ‘Hobbesian’) conceptions of interpersonal liberty. 5) A general account of libertarianism as a subset of classical liberalism and defended from a narrower view. 6) Two abstract (non-propertarian, non-normative) theories of interpersonal liberty developed and defended: ‘the absence of interpersonal initiated imposed constraints on want-satisfaction’, (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   2 citations  
  3. Falsificationism Unfalsified: a Reply to Callahan’s “Why Popper is Wrong on Induction”.J. C. Lester - manuscript
    Epistemology is often a problem for libertarianism. Many libertarian texts assume that they need to do more than explain and defend the libertarian conjecture. Instead, they try to offer epistemological support for it (whether empirically or morally); which falsificationism and, more broadly, critical rationalism explains is not possible. Moreover, they often mistake this attempt at support for an explanation of libertarianism (which ought to include an abstract theory of liberty and how it relates to liberty in practice). Therefore, when a (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   1 citation  
  4. A Libertarian Response to Macleod 2012: “If You’re a Libertarian, How Come You’re So Rich?”.J. C. Lester - 2014 - In Jan Lester (ed.), _Explaining Libertarianism: Some Philosophical Arguments_. Buckingham: The University of Buckingham Press. pp. 95-105.
    This is a response to Macleod 2012's argument that the history of unjust property acquisitions requires rich libertarians to give away everything in excess of equality. At first, problematic questions are raised. How much property is usually inherited or illegitimate? Why should legitimate inheritance be affected? What of the burden of proof and court cases? A counterfactual problem is addressed. Three important cases are considered: great earned wealth; American slavery; land usurpation. All are argued to be problematic for Macleod 2012's (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   3 citations  
  5. How Abstract Liberty Relates to Private Property: a One-Page Outline.J. C. Lester - manuscript
    Libertarianism—and classical liberalism generally—entails (or presupposes) a specific, but implicit, conception of liberty. Imagine two lists of property-rights: one list is all those that currently appear to be libertarian (self-ownership, property acquired by use of natural resources, property acquired by consensual exchange, etc.); the other list is all those that currently appear not to be libertarian (aggressively imposed slavery, property acquired by theft or fraud, property acquired by coerced transfers due to welfare claims, etc.). What determines into which list a (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   1 citation  
  6. Wokeness is Inverted Fascism plus Hypocrisy: a Libertarian Perspective.J. C. Lester - manuscript
    This is an attempt to clarify the nature of extreme, or complete, “wokeness” in its modern sense. The central thesis is that it is an inverted form of fascism, and thereby even worse than some of its critics assume. In fact, it is far worse than ordinary fascism whether or not it is correct to see it as an inverted form. As this is a thesis, it is not a definition. Therefore, this thesis could certainly be mistaken. But if it (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  7. Arguing with “Libertarianism Without Argument”: Critical Rationalism and How it Applies to Libertarianism.J. C. Lester - manuscript
    “Critical-Rationalist Libertarianism” (CRL) was replied to in “Libertarianism Without Argument” (the reply). Various points in that text are here given responses. Both critical rationalism and how it applies to libertarianism are elucidated and elaborated. This response will proceed by quoting the reply where relevant (virtually all of it) and then responding immediately after the quotations, following the order of the reply’s very brief “critique” (605 words).
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   1 citation  
  8. The political compass (and why libertarianism is not right-wing).J. C. Lester - 1996 - Journal of Social Philosophy 27 (2):176-186.
    The political distinction between left and right remains ideologically muddled. This was not always so, but an immediate return to the pristine usage is impractical. Putting a theory of social liberty to one side, this essay defends the interpretation of left-wing as personal-choice and right-wing as property-choice. This allows an axis that is north/choice (or state-free) and south/control (or state-ruled). This Political Compass clarifies matters without being tendentious or too complicated. It shows that what is called ‘libertarianism’ is north-wing. A (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  9. Avoiding Interpersonal Utility Comparisons in Eleutheric-Conjectural Libertarianism.J. C. Lester - manuscript
    Until quite recently, it has appeared that eleutheric-conjectural libertarianism (ECL) could not avoid some degree of, very broad, interpersonal utility comparisons (IUCs). And this has been objected to by some of its libertarian critics, notably economists and propertarians. Indeed, this aspect does make the theory less compatible with economics than the rest of the theory and it is thereby a significant problem. This is because one of the main problems that ECL is intended to solve is how an abstract theory (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  10. Abortion and Infanticide: a Radical Libertarian Defence.J. C. Lester - 2021 - In Charles Tandy (ed.), Death And Anti-Death, Volume 19: One Year After Judith Jarvis Thomson (1929-2020). Ann Arbor, MI: Ria University Press. pp. 139-152.
    1. First there is an outline of the libertarian approach taken here. 2. On the assumption of personhood, it is explained how there need be no overall inflicted harm and no proactive killing with abortion and infanticide. This starts with an attached-adult analogy and transitions to dealing directly with the issues. Various well-known criticisms are answered throughout. 3. There is then a more-abstract explanation of how it is paradoxical to assume a duty to do more than avoid inflicting overall harm (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  11. Peter Singer’s “Famine, Affluence, and Morality”: Three Libertarian Refutations.J. C. Lester - 2020 - Studia Humana 9 (2):135-141.
    Peter Singer’s famous and influential article is criticised in three main ways that can be considered libertarian, although many non-libertarians could also accept them: 1) the relevant moral principle is more plausibly about upholding an implicit contract rather than globalising a moral intuition that had local evolutionary origins; 2) its principle of the immorality of not stopping bad things is paradoxical, as it overlooks the converse aspect that would be the positive morality of not starting bad things and also thereby (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  12. Immigration and Libertarianism: Open Borders versus Directionalism.J. C. Lester - 2021 - MEST Journal 9 (2).
    To explain the correct libertarian approach to immigration, a thought-experiment posits a minimal-state libertarian UK and then the introduction of several relevant anti-libertarian policies with their increasingly disastrous effects. It is argued that the reverse of these imagined policies, as far as is politically possible, must be the correct way forward. This framing is intended to counter the tendency for many articles to misapply libertarian principles to the current messy situation on the mistaken assumption that a state need only stop (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  13. Libertarian Philosophy versus Propertarian Dogma: a Further Reply to Block.J. C. Lester - 2021 - MEST Journal 9 (1):106-127.
    This replies to Block 2019 (B19), which responds to Lester 2014 (L14). The main issues in the, varyingly sized, sections are as follows. 1 Further explanations of critical rationalism, the theory of liberty, and problems with the non-aggression principle. 2.1 The relationships among law, morality, and libertarianism. 2.2 The objective invasiveness of low-level radiation and that it is therefore an initiated imposition (albeit trivial) if someone inflicts it on non-consenting people. 2.3 The objective and subjective aspects of initiated impositions; and (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  14. How the Calvin Hayes Review is Wrong about Libertarianism.J. C. Lester - manuscript
    The review cites the “Open Society” twice in its title—and is clearly pro-Popperian—but then fails to mention the fourteen-point list, and surrounding discussion, that explicitly compares Popper’s critical rationalism with anarcho-libertarianism (strong similarities) and liberal democracy (strong dissimilarities); EfL, pp.135-142. If the review had engaged more closely with the arguments of EfL and been more informed by the relevant social scientific literature, then it would probably have found the anarcho-libertarian case to be far more robust and realistic than such a (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  15. Libertarianism Allows Retributive Restitution (Which is Optimally Deterring): a reply to Joseph Ellin’s “Restitution not Retributive: A Mini-paper”.J. C. Lester - manuscript
    The following essay responds to a draft article that criticises the theory of libertarian restitution in “Libertarian Rectification: Restitution, Retribution, and the Risk-Multiplier” (LR). The article was freely available to internet search engines. Hence, it seems fair and useful to reply to these very welcome objective criticisms. It is not intellectually relevant that its author might subsequently and subjectively have thought better of them, possibly as a result of the earlier version of this reply. Generally, the article misconstrues the position (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  16. Right to Roam or Licence to Trespass?J. C. Lester - 2011 - In Jan Lester (ed.), Arguments for Liberty: A Libertarian Miscellany. Buckingham: The University of Buckingham Press. pp. 77-82.
    Under no circumstances should the absurd "right to roam‟ be incorporated into the legislation of this country. In reality, it is clearly a mere licence to trespass. Armed with the appropriate economic and philosophical arguments, we should eventually be able to offer an effective counter-attack with a movement for the "right to own‟ privately every last one of the state-controlled commons, heaths, hills, mountains, downs, woodlands, rivers, beaches, and footpaths. As a result, there will be no imposition on legitimate landowners (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  17. Reply to the Kyle Swan Review of Escape from Leviathan.J. C. Lester - manuscript
    The central classical liberal insight is that private property appears both to protect personal liberty and to promote general productivity. By way of philosophically clarifying this insight, Escape from Leviathan (EfL) posits the extreme classical liberal, or libertarian, Compatibility Thesis: there is no long-term, systemic, practical conflict among economic rationality, interpersonal liberty, human welfare, and private-property anarchy (i.e., four plausible and relevant theories of these that are presupposed, or entailed, by libertarianism and consonant social science). The review (Liberty, November 2002) (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  18. Rejoinder to the Kyle Swan Response.J. C. Lester - manuscript
    Contra critical rationalism, the response begins by referring to “the variety of internalist and externalist versions of foundationalism” (Liberty, December 2002). But it makes no attempt to explain or defend any of them. Hence, no further criticism is due here. The response then argues that, “The critical rationalist method seems to suggest that Lester’s extreme compatibility thesis is probably false” because—quoting Escape from Leviathan (EfL)—“bold universal theories might be false, and probably are” and yet “he doesn’t think the thesis is (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  19. Escape from Philosophy: a Rejoinder to the Thom Brooks Reply.J. C. Lester - manuscript
    The reply begins by stating that responses to reviews of EfL are “taking criticism of their philosophical claims as personal attacks” and resorting to “hysterical ad hominems”. On the contrary, the responses to around fourteen—often highly positive—reviews have welcomed all their criticisms and simply replied to them. None of these replies appear to commit the ad hominem (to the man) fallacy: that of addressing the qualities of a person as a way of attempting to undermine or defend an argument or (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  20. How to Attack a Non-Strawman: a Reply to the Andrew I. Cohen Review of Escape from Leviathan.J. C. Lester - manuscript
    Primarily using philosophy, but also some social science, Escape from Leviathan (EfL) explains and defends what it calls an extreme version of the implicit ‘classical liberal compatibility thesis’: liberty, welfare, and anarchy are overwhelmingly complementary in normal practice (rationality is added for its intimate theoretical connections to these categories). This is done using theories, not definitions, of each concept. This important thesis is entirely positive. Therefore, somewhat unusually, all normative issues are avoided as irrelevant distractions in this context. In addition, (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  21. A Reply to the Julius Blumfeld Review of Escape from Leviathan.J. C. Lester - manuscript
    The Julius Blumfeld review (the review) of Escape from Leviathan (EfL) includes various kind words and especially welcome criticisms. This reply attempts to respond to the criticisms as best as it can. There have been further replies to criticisms, additional articles, and even books clarifying and developing this overall philosophical theory of libertarianism in the time that has elapsed since the first version of this reply. Consequently, it is now possible to revise it to make it somewhat clearer.
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  22. Falsificationism Redux Indeed: a Rebuttal of the Callahan Rejoinder.J. C. Lester - manuscript
    Readers of “Falsificationism Redux” (the rejoinder) may have found it to be another waffling non-explanation of induction and the alleged falsity of falsificationism—or even self-refuting, as its title indicates (redux: brought back, revived, restored). However, it seems worth another round of replies if only because the arguments are fairly typical of the would-be ‘inductivist’ and it might help some people who have yet to see how these arguments fail.
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  23. Explaining the First Thing about Libertarianism.J. C. Lester - manuscript
    Escape from Leviathan (EfL) is a first attempt at explaining a somewhat complex philosophical theory of libertarianism. The theory is far from being as clear as it has subsequently become possible to make it. Consequently, most reviews have misunderstood it to varying degrees. What is striking is the great confidence with which some of these reviews assume they have completely understood it and refuted it. This is odd because it does not seem entirely reasonable to suppose that EfL’s errors are (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  24. (1 other version)Advice to the Philosophically Perplexed: a Reply to Saladin Meckled-Garcia’s booknote on Escape from Leviathan.J. C. Lester - manuscript
    Despite receiving high praise from Professors Barry, Narveson, Flew, and Gray (see the first page of the paperback), the Saladin Meckled-Garcia review (M-G) puts the level of Escape from Leviathan (EFL) as “undergraduate” and rates it one star. While undergraduates may profit from reading EFL, it is not mainly at their level. M-G either applies unusually high standards of philosophical argumentation or is simply philosophically perplexed.
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  25. Smiting Statist Philosophical Philistinism: a Reply to the Thom Brooks Review of Escape from Leviathan.J. C. Lester - manuscript
    It is possible to pose many difficult and fascinating problems and criticisms for the various theses and arguments in Escape from Leviathan (EfL). This occurred while writing it, and various sharp minds did it on reading drafts or the final product. However, some reviews misunderstand, or ignore, what is written and reassert conventional views. But it is best to answer all published criticisms if only to show how they fail, lest anyone thinks they are sound, and even poor criticisms can (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  26. Apriorist self-interest: How it embraces altruism and is not vacuous.J. C. Lester - 1997 - Journal of Social and Evolutionary Systems 20 (3):221-232.
    This essay is part of an attempt to reconcile two extreme views in economics: the (neglected) subjective, apriorist approach and the (standard) objective, scientific (i.e., falsifiable) approach. The Austrian subjective view of value, building on Carl Menger’s theory of value, was developed into a theory of economics as being entirely an a priori theory of action. This probably finds its most extreme statement in Ludwig von Mises’ Human Action (1949). In contrast, the standard economic view has developed into making falsifiable (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  27. Popper's epistemology versus Popper's politics: A libertarian viewpoint.J. C. Lester - 1995 - Journal of Social and Evolutionary Systems 18 (1):87-93.
    What is my thesis? It is not that radical experimentation by the state, rather than liberal democracy, is more in accord with the spirit and logic of Popper’s ‘revolutionary’ epistemology. It is the opposite criticism, that full anarchic libertarianism (individual liberty and the free market without any state interference) better fits Popper’s epistemology and scientific method.
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  28. Adversus “Adversus Homo Economicus”: Critique of the “Critique of Lester’s Account of Instrumental Rationality”.J. C. Lester - manuscript
    This essay goes through Frederick 2015 (the critique) in some detail, responding to the various paraphrases and criticisms therein. It is argued that in each case the critique is mistaken about what Lester 2012 (Escape from Leviathan: EfL) says, or about what the critique presents as a sound criticism, or both. Introduction: the three problems with the critique and the philosophical problem that EfL is attempting to solve. “Abstract”: the critique’s confusion about EfL’s aprioristic theory of instrumental rationality. There are (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  29. A Sceptical Look at “A Skeptical Look at Karl Popper”.J. C. Lester - 2011 - In Jan Lester (ed.), Arguments for Liberty: A Libertarian Miscellany. Buckingham: The University of Buckingham Press. pp. 102-107.
    It is an irony to attack a more sceptical epistemology than one's own in the name of scepticism and defend, instead, an epistemology that is positively illogical. And yet that is what Martin Gardner has done in his “A Skeptical Look at Karl Popper.”.
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  30. Give Me that Old-Time Justificationism ... Not! A reply to the James R. Otteson review of Escape from Leviathan.J. C. Lester - manuscript
    I thank Professor Otteson for his review of Escape from Leviathan (EfL). His exposition of what I wrote is relatively accurate. I shall here do my best to correct any misunderstandings and reply to his welcome criticisms, ignoring our various points of agreement and his generous praise.
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  31. Tibor Foaming with Much Blood: a Reply to the Tibor Machan review of Escape from Leviathan.J. C. Lester - manuscript
    Applying critical rationalism, all criticism is to be welcomed. A response can help to elucidate matters even when the criticisms are poor, misconceived, and hostile. Thus, we turn to the review.
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  32. A Reply to the Norman Barry review of Escape from Leviathan.J. C. Lester - manuscript
    As someone who wishes Escape from Leviathan (EfL) to succeed, I am grateful for a review with such high praise from a well-known classical liberal. As a critical rationalist who also wishes to learn from his mistakes, I am also grateful for Norman Barry’s criticisms. The only way that I can hope to try to repay these and appreciate their full force is by doing my best to reply to them.
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  33. A Critical Commentary on Block 2011: "David Friedman and Libertarianism: a Critique" and a Comparison with Lester [2000] 2012's Responses to Friedman.J. C. Lester - 2014 - In Jan Lester (ed.), _Explaining Libertarianism: Some Philosophical Arguments_. Buckingham: The University of Buckingham Press. pp. 106-143.
    David Friedman posed a number of libertarian philosophical problems (Friedman 1989). This essay criticizes Walter Block’s Rothbardian responses (Block 2011) and compares them with J C Lester’s critical-rationalist, libertarian-theory responses (Lester [2000] 2012). The main issues are as follows. 1. Critical rationalism and how it applies to libertarianism. 2.1. How libertarianism is not inherently about law and is inherently about morals. 2.2. How liberty relates to property and can be maximized: carbon dioxide and radio waves. 2.3. Applying the theory to (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  34. Intellectual Property, the Non-Aggression Principle, and Pre-Propertarian Liberty: New-Paradigm Libertarian Replies to some Rothbardian Criticisms.J. C. Lester - 2011 - In Jan Lester (ed.), Arguments for Liberty: A Libertarian Miscellany. Buckingham: The University of Buckingham Press. pp. 160-183.
    Andy Curzon replied (often quoting from the opening sections of Lester 2014, chapter 10) in an ongoing debate with Lee Waaks, which Mr Waaks forwarded (with approval) to the Libertarian Alliance Forum (27 February 2015). This response replies to the criticisms after directly quoting them (the indented text; except where Lester is occasionally quoted, as indicated). A few cuts have been made to avoid some repetition and irrelevance. However, just as Mr Curzon sometimes repeats his main points in slightly different (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   1 citation  
  35. A Critique of “A Critique of Lester’s Account of Liberty”: A reply to Frederick 2013.J. C. Lester - 2014 - In Jan Lester (ed.), _Explaining Libertarianism: Some Philosophical Arguments_. Buckingham: The University of Buckingham Press. pp. 155-199.
    Frederick 2013 (the critique) offers criticisms of the Escape from Leviathan (EfL) theory of libertarian liberty and also of its compatibility with preference-utilitarian welfare and private-property anarchy. This reply to the critique first explains the underlying philosophical problem with libertarian liberty and EfL’s proposed solution. It then goes through the critique in detail showing that it does not grasp the problem or the solution and offers only misrepresentations and unsound criticisms.
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  36. The Philosophical Genie: A Dialogue Introduction to Philosophy.J. C. Lester - 2016 - In Two Dialogues: Introductions to Philosophy and Libertarianism. Buckingham, England: The University of Buckingham Press. pp. 1-45.
    Why learn about philosophy? Because it is the master subject; more fundamental than all of the others: it critically examines their fundamental assumptions and presuppositions. And without some grasp of philosophy one cannot be fully educated or even intellectually autonomous: one is the meme-marionette of unexamined traditions, fashions, and commonsense assumptions.
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  37. Against Against Intellectual Property: a Short Refutation of Meme Communism.J. C. Lester - 2011 - In Jan Lester (ed.), Arguments for Liberty: A Libertarian Miscellany. Buckingham: The University of Buckingham Press. pp. 148-154.
    This essay is intended to be a refutation of the main thesis in Against Intellectual Property, Kinsella 2008 (hereafter, K8). Points of agreement, relatively trivial disagreement, and irrelevant issues will largely be ignored, as will much repetition of errors in K8. Otherwise, the procedure is to go through K8 quoting various significantly erroneous parts as they arise and explaining the errors involved. It will not be necessary to respond at the same length as K8 itself.
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  38. The Uncogent Auxiliary Hypotheses of Gordon and Modugno: Reply to a Review.J. C. Lester - 2014 - In Jan Lester (ed.), _Explaining Libertarianism: Some Philosophical Arguments_. Buckingham: The University of Buckingham Press. pp. 144-154.
    Lester‘s reply to the review by Gordon and Modugno of Escape from Leviathan was due to appear in a later edition of the same periodical, but it was eventually dropped without notice or a reason being given. Subsequently, their review has occasionally been cited in isolation as a refutation of that book‘s theory of liberty, the compatibility of such liberty with welfare maximisation, and the use of "Popperian views" as though a complete reply did not exist and were not freely (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  39. What's Wrong with "What's Wrong with Libertarianism": a reply to Jeffrey Friedman.J. C. Lester - 2011 - In Jan Lester (ed.), Arguments for Liberty: A Libertarian Miscellany. Buckingham: The University of Buckingham Press. pp. 95-101.
    This essay explains Jeffrey Friedman's two fundamental and persistent philosophical errors concerning the libertarian conception of liberty and the lack of a "justification‟ of libertarianism. It is ironic that Friedman himself is thereby revealed to be guilty of both an “a priori” anti-libertarianism and an anti-libertarian “straddle.” Critical-rationalist, proactive-imposition-minimising libertarianism remains completely unchallenged by him.
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  40. The Disability Studies Industry.J. C. Lester - 2011 - In Jan Lester (ed.), Arguments for Liberty: A Libertarian Miscellany. Buckingham: The University of Buckingham Press. pp. 83-94.
    This brief monograph was written in an attempt to discover the general situation of Disability Studies, given that this appears to have become a growth area in academia with various typically illiberal aspects. The findings bear out the initial impression. There is a style of argument, even propaganda (for there is usually little genuine engagement with opposing liberal views), that can be seen in many other areas of academia. It amounts to a relatively new ‘progressive’ industry with various fashionable keywords, (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  41. (1 other version)A response to "Libertarianism and pollution: the limits of absolutist moralism".J. C. Lester - 2011 - In Jan Lester (ed.), Arguments for Liberty: A Libertarian Miscellany. Buckingham: The University of Buckingham Press. pp. 155-159.
    Most self-identified libertarians unwittingly have a moral muddle without a central factual theory of liberty. They cannot yet see that they first need to sort out what liberty is, and therefore entails if instantiated, and only after that can moral questions about it be coherently raised and tackled.
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  42. Libertarianism: an Extremely Short Introduction.J. C. Lester - 2011 - In Jan Lester (ed.), Arguments for Liberty: A Libertarian Miscellany. Buckingham: The University of Buckingham Press. pp. 1-6.
    (Revised 31-10-17) This is only one view on the topic; other views may be rather different. It starts at the more philosophical end and then becomes more empirical, and possibly easier to understand, as it proceeds.
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  43. The Augean Stables of Academe: How to Remove the Authoritarian Bias in Universities.J. C. Lester - 2018 - Misesuk.Org.
    The “free world” was the political rhetoric used during the Cold War in contrast to the “communist” countries. However, the “free world” was manifestly never free: the state considerably interfered with people in their persons and their property. And the “communist” countries were manifestly never communist in the Marxist sense: there was no common ownership of the means of production with the absence of social classes, money, and the state. It would have been more accurate to call them the “authoritarian (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  44. Libertarian Rectification: Restitution, Retribution, and the Risk-Multiplier.J. C. Lester - 2000 - Journal of Value Inquiry 34 (2/3):287-297.
    Libertarians typically object to having the state deal with law and order for several general reasons: it is inefficient; it is carried out at the expense of taxpayers; and it punishes so-called victimless crimes. Exactly what the observance of liberty implies with respect to the treatment of tortfeasors and criminals is more controversial among libertarians. A pure theory of libertarian restitution and retribution is mainly what is attempted here, without becoming involved in general moral anti-state arguments. However, the pure theory (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  45. A Damned Politician: A Dialogue Introduction to Libertarianism.J. C. Lester - 2016 - In Two Dialogues: Introductions to Philosophy and Libertarianism. Buckingham, England: The University of Buckingham Press. pp. 47-88.
    Why learn about libertarianism? Because politics causes or exacerbates the very problems that it purports to solve, or it misperceives voluntary behaviour and free markets as problems. Liberty is always preferable: its maximal practical observance entailing self-ownership, private property, and consensual interactions. And libertarianism will be the ideological framework of the future of humankind.
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  46. Some Critical Comments on Long 2013: "Why Libertarians Believe There is Only One Right".J. C. Lester - 2014 - In Jan Lester (ed.), _Explaining Libertarianism: Some Philosophical Arguments_. Buckingham: The University of Buckingham Press. pp. 85-94.
    This essay explains various significant errors, imprecisions, and omissions concerning libertarianism in Long 2013. The “right not to be aggressed against” is not, as such, the libertarian right because the ‘right to liberty’ must be that right (although not being aggressed against can charitably be interpreted as equivalent). There are non-libertarian rights, but they don’t override the right to liberty. Unsupported assumptions are inevitable because justifications are impossible. Rights should not be “defined” but, rather, morally and metaphysically theorised—with criticism permanently (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  47. A Plague on Both your Statist Houses: Why Libertarian Restitution Beats State-Retribution and State-Leniency.J. C. Lester - 2005 - In Simple justice / Charles Murray ; commentaries, Rob Allen ; edited by David Conway.
    Charles Murray describes himself as a libertarian, most notably in his short book, What it Means to be a Libertarian. He might more accurately have described himself as having libertarian tendencies. My reading of Simple Justice is that the views it espouses are far more traditionalist than libertarian. Neither traditionalist state-retribution nor modernist state-leniency is libertarian. Nor does either provide as just or efficient a response to crime as does libertarian restitution, including restitutive retribution. Here, I shall respond directly only (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   1 citation  
  48. A Critical Commentary on the Zwolinski 2013 "Libertarianism and Liberty" Essays.J. C. Lester - 2014 - In Jan Lester (ed.), _Explaining Libertarianism: Some Philosophical Arguments_. Buckingham: The University of Buckingham Press. pp. 64-84.
    The Zwolinski 2013 "libertarianism and liberty" essays on libertarianism_org are argued to have the following problems: taking libertarianism to be a "commitment" to the view that "liberty is the highest political value" ; examining and rejecting the maximization of liberty without a libertarian theory of liberty; accepting a persuasive sense of "coercion" ; misunderstandingliberty in the work place; conflating, to varying degrees, freedom of action and freedom from aggression and justice/rights/morals; focusing on logically possible clashes instead of practically possible congruence (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  49. Libertarianism Behind the Caricature: Reply to a Befuddled Author.J. C. Lester - 2011 - In Jan Lester (ed.), Arguments for Liberty: A Libertarian Miscellany. Buckingham: The University of Buckingham Press. pp. 72-76.
    The editors of the Journal of Applied Philosophy allowed Alan Haworth to reply to my short review of his Anti-Libertarianism. The editors would not allow me to respond to Haworth. Thanks to the openness of internet publication and the Libertarian Alliance website, this can now be rectified and Haworth's reply can no longer escape a public critical response.
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  50. The Three Great Errors of Most Libertarians: a Concise Philosophical Analysis.J. C. Lester - 2014 - In Jan Lester (ed.), _Explaining Libertarianism: Some Philosophical Arguments_. Buckingham: The University of Buckingham Press. pp. 1-6.
    Libertarians are mistaken to seek foundations, to take sides over moral approaches, and to have no proper theory of liberty.
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
1 — 50 / 58