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Libertarianism
The essence of libertarianism is the view that coercive political institutions, such as the state, are justified only insofar as they function to protect each person’s liberty to pursue their own goals and well-being in their own way. Libertarians accordingly argue that any attempt to enforce top-down concepts of social justice or economic equality are fundamentally misconceived.
In this book, leading expert Eric Mack provides a rigorous and clear account of the philosophical principles of libertarianism. He offers accounts of three distinctive schools of libertarian thought, which he labels the natural rights approach, the cooperation to mutual advantage approach, and the indirect consequentialist approach. After examining the historical roots of these approaches in the thought of figures such as John Locke and David Hume, he provides illuminating accounts of the foundational arguments and the theories of economic justice offered by Robert Nozick and F.A. Hayek. He then examines a range of other debates, such as those surrounding the nature of the minimal state and those between critics and defenders of libertarianism.
This book will be essential reading for anyone interested in political philosophy, political ideologies and the nature of liberty and state authority, from students and scholars to general readers.
In this book, leading expert Eric Mack provides a rigorous and clear account of the philosophical principles of libertarianism. He offers accounts of three distinctive schools of libertarian thought, which he labels the natural rights approach, the cooperation to mutual advantage approach, and the indirect consequentialist approach. After examining the historical roots of these approaches in the thought of figures such as John Locke and David Hume, he provides illuminating accounts of the foundational arguments and the theories of economic justice offered by Robert Nozick and F.A. Hayek. He then examines a range of other debates, such as those surrounding the nature of the minimal state and those between critics and defenders of libertarianism.
This book will be essential reading for anyone interested in political philosophy, political ideologies and the nature of liberty and state authority, from students and scholars to general readers.
- GenresPhilosophy
176 pages, Hardcover
Published October 8, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 8, 2020
Eric Mack is one of the best libertarian philosophers alive today. So this book should be a must-read for anyone interested in libertarian theory.
The book is largely exegetical in form. Mack takes the reader through what he sees as the three main strands of libertarian theory: (1) indirect utilitarianism, (2) cooperation to mutual-advantage, and (3) natural rights, and provides fairly detailed summaries and commentaries on some of the major exponents of each. Herbert Spencer is the chief exemplar of the indirect utilitarian approach, David Hume of cooperation to mutual advantage, and Locke and Nozick of natural rights. Mack's own philosophical sympathies lie with Locke and Nozick, and so it is unsurprising that he devotes a disproportionate share of space to these thinkers, and also that his commentary is at its most sophisticated when discussing the finer points of their theories. But he is fair and charitable throughout the book, even when discussing theorists with whom he clearly disagrees.
The book also contains a chapter on objections to libertarianism, which covers the anarchist challenge to Nozickian minimal statism, Cohen's critique of capitalism*, and Murphy and Nagel's critique of the idea of natural property rights. Again, Mack's summaries of these views is clear, helpful, and accurate, and his responses to them are always thoughtful and mostly persuasive.
In some ways, this is a bit of an odd book. It is not, and does not pretend to be, an original work of libertarian theory along the lines of Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia, or Loren Lomasky's Persons, Rights, and the Moral Community. But nor is it exactly a primer on libertarianism. There's no attempt at the kind of comprehensive coverage of topics, both theoretical and applied, that one would expect from a primer. And the citations are somewhat slim - the bulk of them are either to primary source material (Locke, Nozick, Hayek) or to other pieces of Mack's own work. The best way to conceive of this book, I think, is as a kind of "companion to the libertarian classics." It's your chance to think through the major works of libertarian philosophical theory, with Eric Mack at your side occasionally making some very astute clarifications, objections, and connections about the subject.
And given that Eric Mack is, as I noted, one of the best libertarian philosophers alive today, that is a pretty cool thing.
*Mack limits his discussion to the critique Cohen presents in his "Why Not Socialism." His longer critique of Nozickian libertarianism in his Self-Ownership, Freedom, and Equality is not addressed here, though Mack has written extensively on it elsewhere.
The book is largely exegetical in form. Mack takes the reader through what he sees as the three main strands of libertarian theory: (1) indirect utilitarianism, (2) cooperation to mutual-advantage, and (3) natural rights, and provides fairly detailed summaries and commentaries on some of the major exponents of each. Herbert Spencer is the chief exemplar of the indirect utilitarian approach, David Hume of cooperation to mutual advantage, and Locke and Nozick of natural rights. Mack's own philosophical sympathies lie with Locke and Nozick, and so it is unsurprising that he devotes a disproportionate share of space to these thinkers, and also that his commentary is at its most sophisticated when discussing the finer points of their theories. But he is fair and charitable throughout the book, even when discussing theorists with whom he clearly disagrees.
The book also contains a chapter on objections to libertarianism, which covers the anarchist challenge to Nozickian minimal statism, Cohen's critique of capitalism*, and Murphy and Nagel's critique of the idea of natural property rights. Again, Mack's summaries of these views is clear, helpful, and accurate, and his responses to them are always thoughtful and mostly persuasive.
In some ways, this is a bit of an odd book. It is not, and does not pretend to be, an original work of libertarian theory along the lines of Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia, or Loren Lomasky's Persons, Rights, and the Moral Community. But nor is it exactly a primer on libertarianism. There's no attempt at the kind of comprehensive coverage of topics, both theoretical and applied, that one would expect from a primer. And the citations are somewhat slim - the bulk of them are either to primary source material (Locke, Nozick, Hayek) or to other pieces of Mack's own work. The best way to conceive of this book, I think, is as a kind of "companion to the libertarian classics." It's your chance to think through the major works of libertarian philosophical theory, with Eric Mack at your side occasionally making some very astute clarifications, objections, and connections about the subject.
And given that Eric Mack is, as I noted, one of the best libertarian philosophers alive today, that is a pretty cool thing.
*Mack limits his discussion to the critique Cohen presents in his "Why Not Socialism." His longer critique of Nozickian libertarianism in his Self-Ownership, Freedom, and Equality is not addressed here, though Mack has written extensively on it elsewhere.
February 21, 2023
Very informative book, good introduction to libertarianism, spoke about equal opportunity over equal outcome and protecting peoples liberty/ rights, and some anarchism, involving concepts such as people not being forced to pay taxes and instead having a choice of paying taxes and getting or not getting the benefits as a tax payer, I still have more to learn on Anarchism and libertarianism but I think this book on can be a good introduction and a link to further study. Overall a good concise book
October 16, 2023
It's very impressive introduction of libertarianism idea.If you don't read anything about libertarian theory you can start from with peace of mind.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews