Difference between revisions of "What Is Liberty?"
From Critiques Of Libertarianism
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== Libertarians Avoid Saying What Liberty Is == | == Libertarians Avoid Saying What Liberty Is == | ||
| − | Libertarians are big on prescriptive (philosophically normative) descriptions of what they want as liberties. But they evade positive statements of what liberty IS. | + | Libertarians are big on prescriptive (philosophically normative) descriptions of what they want as liberties. But they evade positive statements of what liberty IS. Essentially, the libertarians have no clothes. |
For example: | For example: | ||
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* [[Eric Mack]], in "[[Libertarianism (Mack)|Libertarianism]]", provides no definition of liberty. | * [[Eric Mack]], in "[[Libertarianism (Mack)|Libertarianism]]", provides no definition of liberty. | ||
* [[Brian Doherty]] does not index a definition of liberty in "[[Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement]]". | * [[Brian Doherty]] does not index a definition of liberty in "[[Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement]]". | ||
| + | * [[Eric Mack]] does not index a definition of liberty in "[[Libertarianism (Key Concepts In Political Theory)]]", and only describes a liberty he wants in his introduction: “An individual’s liberty is understood as that individual not being subject to interference by other agents in her doing as she sees fit with her own person and legitimate holdings.” | ||
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| + | Excerpt From: Eric Mack. “Libertarianism.” Apple Books. . | ||
This absence of satisfactory definitions of liberty or freedom is typical of libertarian literature. The most libertarians seem to do is to arbitrarily declare that negative liberty is the only true liberty: but that does not explain other people's conceptions. | This absence of satisfactory definitions of liberty or freedom is typical of libertarian literature. The most libertarians seem to do is to arbitrarily declare that negative liberty is the only true liberty: but that does not explain other people's conceptions. | ||
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Usually libertarians provide some examples of what they consider liberty, but examples do not provide a definition. For example, if I tell you birds and mammals are examples of vertebrates, that doesn't tell you if fish are vertebrates or what vertebrates really are. And of course it can also lead to faulty generalizations, such as that vertebrates are warm blooded. | Usually libertarians provide some examples of what they consider liberty, but examples do not provide a definition. For example, if I tell you birds and mammals are examples of vertebrates, that doesn't tell you if fish are vertebrates or what vertebrates really are. And of course it can also lead to faulty generalizations, such as that vertebrates are warm blooded. | ||
{{QuoteOne|Review Essay: Brian Doherty’s Radicals for Capitalism.../amazing}} | {{QuoteOne|Review Essay: Brian Doherty’s Radicals for Capitalism.../amazing}} | ||
| + | {{QuoteOne|The Heterodox ‘Fourth Paradigm’ of Libertarianism: an Abstract Eleutherology plus Critical Rationalism/theory}} | ||
== Liberty as a glittering generality of propaganda. == | == Liberty as a glittering generality of propaganda. == | ||
