I have generally been pessimistic about the prospects of the “liberaltarian” project of forging an alliance between libertarians and liberals (e.g. here and here). Economist Scott Sumner, however, makes a good case that this effort has achieved a lot if you look at it from a longterm perspective. Ultimately, the difference between Sumner’s view and […]
Archive | Libertarianism
The Cato Institute’s Supposed “Purge” of the Liberaltarians
At Slate, David Weigel claims that the libertarian Cato Institute may have purged its “liberaltarians” – scholars who advocate an alliance between libertarians and the political left: The libertarian Cato Institute is parting with two of its most prominent scholars. Brink Lindsey, the institute’s vice president of research and the author of the successful book […]
Tim Lee’s Rejoinder to My Most Recent Post on Liberaltarianism
Tim Lee has written an interesting response to to my most recent post on liberaltarianism. He addresses my argument that liberaltarianism is problematic because most liberals don’t in fact agree with libertarians on “social issues” as much as he assumes: As Somin acknowledges, there are lots of right-wingers, “compassionate conservatives” included, that aren’t interested in […]
More on Prospects for Liberaltarianism
Cato Institute scholar Brink Lindsey, a major originator of “liberaltarianism,” may have given up on the idea. But not all libertarians have. Julian Sanchez and Tim Lee have both written interesting responses to my recent post criticizing it. Sanchez argues that libertarians and liberals can cooperate with each other an issue-by-issue basis when they happen […]
Libertarian Resources On-Line
The Ludwig Von Mises Institute has put a staggering array of libertarian literature on-line, including back issues of Liberty magazines, issues of defunct libertarian magazine from the 1960s and 70s, books and articles related to the Austrian School of Economics and to libertarianism, and much more. It’s a great resource for both the libertarian-curious, and […]
From “Liberaltarianism” to Libertarian Centrism?
Reason has an interesting debate on the question of libertarian political strategy. Should libertarians seek to forge an alliance with conservatives or liberals or neither? Conservative columnist Jonah Goldberg and Tea Party leader Matt Kibbe argue for reconsituting the libertarian-conservative coalition that was badly frayed if not completely severed during the Bush years. Cato Institute […]
Mitch Daniels For President?
I’m not ready to say I want Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels to become the next president. But I am certainly impressed with his list of five favorite books, which includes three authors who also made my list of books that influenced me the most [HT: Mike Rappaport]. Citing Milton Friedman’s Free to Choose and Hayek’s […]
Final Thoughts on Libertarianism and Antidiscrimination Laws
Here is my final contribution to the Cato Unbound mini-colloquium on libertarianism and antidiscrimination laws. Meanwhile, my friend Bryan Caplan criticizes my argument (read the original essay here) that Title II was justified on libertarian grounds to break up the Jim Crow cartel. He argues that the logical implications of my argument that Title II […]
Conservatives, Libertarians, and Civil Rights History
To follow up on Ilya’s post below, it’sworth noting that the post-World War II politician of national significance probably most beloved by libertarianish types (libertarianism was not a self-conscious movement until recently) was Sen. Robert Taft of Ohio. Taft, of course, lost the Republican presidential nomination to Eisenhower in 1952. The conservatives who eventually founded […]
Conservatism, Libertarianism, Civil Rights, and “Circumstances”
In a National Review post discussing the civil rights laws of the 1960s, Roger Clegg writes that “Conservatism is superior to libertarianism because it is less ideological and more readily acknowledges that circumstances matter.” Whatever the general validity of this claim, Clegg picked a very poor example to illustrate it. As co-blogger David Bernstein has […]
Discussion of Shelley v. Kraemer
Over at Cato Unbound, Jason Kuznicki, prompted by V.C. commenters, takes up Shelley v. Kraemer, the 1948 decision in which the Supreme Court held that it was unconstitutional for state courts to enforce racially restrictive covenants. I respond, concluding that Shelley was probably correct, but that the Court could have articulated a much clearer and […]
The Continuing Relevance of Hayek
Economist Russ Roberts has a good column in today’s Wall Street Journal outlining the continuing relevance of F.A. Hayek’s work to our own time: He was born in the 19th century, wrote his most influential book more than 65 years ago, and he’s not quite as well known or beloved as the sexy Mexican actress […]
Corey Robin on Ayn Rand
I just came across this essay in The Nation by one Corey Robin about Ayn Rand. I think Robin is serious, but the piece works best as a satire of a certain type of right-wing hit piece on left-wing intellectuals. Mocking the subject because she has many Hollywood devotees who don’t seem that bright? Check! […]
Yet More on Libertarianism and Antidiscrimination Law
Jeffrey Miron responds to my essay, and I respond to his, Richman’s, and Kuznicki’s responses.
The Politics of Zombies
By Ilya Somin on June 22, 2010 8:56 pm in International Law, Libertarianism, Science Fiction/Fantasy
Political scientist Dan Drezner has an interesting essay in Foreign Policy magazine that explores how different international relations theories would cope with an invasion of zombies. It’s based on his forthcoming book Theories of International Politics and Zombies, scheduled to be published by the Princeton University Press. Drezner analyzes the possible responses to a zombie […]