Difference between revisions of "What Is Property?"
From Critiques Of Libertarianism
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==Isn't there a Natural Right to own property?== | ==Isn't there a Natural Right to own property?== | ||
− | Natural rights are exactly as knowable as invisible pink unicorns: anybody can fantasize them any way they want. During the Enlightenment, when liberalism was invented, liberal natural rights were a propaganda tool used to undermine the equally fictitious natural rights of kings. But even among liberals there was no agreement about whether slaveholding was a natural right or not, because natural rights are really just | + | Natural rights are exactly as knowable as invisible pink unicorns: anybody can fantasize them any way they want. During the Enlightenment, when liberalism was invented, liberal natural rights were a propaganda tool used to undermine the equally fictitious natural rights of kings. But even among liberals there was no agreement about whether slaveholding was a natural right or not, because natural rights are really just bullshit claims. Bentham famously dismissed the idea of natural rights as "[[Anarchical Fallacies|nonsense on stilts]]". Unfortunately, most libertarians (including Nozick) start with this philosophical abomination rather than more factual alternatives. |
For more on natural rights, see: [[Natural Rights]] | For more on natural rights, see: [[Natural Rights]] |