Extremely Brief

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(Extremely Brief) Introduction to Libertarian
Political Philosophy and Governments
Curry Taylor PhD Candidate in Physics Cornell
University
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Individual Rights
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Individual Rights
Life
Liberty
Property

• Everything you own! Includes
• Your resources
• Your home land
• Your body
• Your mind
• Your money
• Your possessions
• Your labor

You can do whatever you want, provided that you
do not detract from the life, liberty, or
property of another individual.
No one may kill you, or do physical harm to your
person.
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Where do Individual Rights come from?

• A god?
• The U.S. Constitution?
• Self-evidence?
• The Individual -- YOU!

The individual steadfastly asserts his own
rights, his refusal to be a slave (however
small), and therefore he has individual rights.
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Contracts
Contracts are vehicles through which one fully
consenting individual may trade some of his life,
liberty, or property in exchange for someone
else's.
L
L
L
L
P
P
Contracts can be formal or informal.
In a libertarian society, contracts are always
completely voluntary.
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Altruism
One must distinguish between altruism and helping
others. Helping others is an individual,
circumstantial choice. Altruism is the belief
that you have a duty to help others, that you owe
others simply because they exist. As Rand put it,
the issue is not whether or not you should give a
dime to a beggar, but rather whether or not you
have a right to be left alone without giving him
that dime. -- excerpts from Objectivism In-Brief
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Architecture of a Libertarian Government
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Role of the Government
The proper role of government is, and is limited
to, the protection of the life, liberty, and
property of the individual adult, to the
exclusion of all involuntary collective groups,
with only two exceptions.

• Exception 1 Contracts
• Exception 2 Necessarily Collective Property
  (rare cases)

• Necessarily Collective Property is property for
  which it is not physically possible to attribute
  an individual owner.
• Examples
• Government facilities used to enforce protection
  of individuals life, liberty, and property
• Air

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Opposing Government Philosophies
Collectivist
Individualist
Socialism, Nationalism, Communism, Corporatism,
Fascism, Statism
Laissez-Faire, Free Market, Capitalism,
Objectivism, Classical Liberalism

• Duty is to the state
• Rewards based upon effort, not results
• Government favors the weak (social welfare) or
  the strong (corporate welfare) as it sees fit
• Society concerns itself with individuals'
  personal lives
• Ultimate power and authority rests with the
  government

• Duty is to the self
• Rewards based upon results, not effort
• Government favors no one in particular
• Society is ambivalent toward individuals'
  personal lives
• Ultimate power and authority rests with the
  people (individuals) on most issues

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Practical Example Science Funding
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Science Funding How It Works Now
N.S.F.
D.O.E.
Military
Budget
Grants
Major Federal Science Laboratories and Groups
General Fund
Equipment Purchases
Taxes
Science/Technology Companies and Businesses
Personnel
Product Purchases
Taxes
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Science Funding Libertarian Solution 1
Capital Investment

• This already works today!
• IBM Research Division
• Pharmaceutical Industry
• Non-profit RD Facilities
• and more

Science Laboratory A
Science Laboratory B
Grants and/or Venture Capital
Basic Solutions
Business A
Business C
Business B
Business D
Consumer Products
Owners
Personnel
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Science Funding Libertarian Solution 2
Science Philanthropy

• This already works today!
• SENS Research to treat aging (Aubrey de Gray)
• Experiments on Time and the Human Body
• Cancer Research

Science Project A
Science Project B
Basic Solution or Answer
Donations
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Take-Aways
Libertarian Words
Statist Words

• Liberty
• Diversity
• Decentralization
• Choice

• Compulsion
• Conformity
• Centralization
• Force

Libertarians abhor force except in self-defense.
Libertarians believe in guiding individualist
principles life, liberty and property. More
strongly, however, they believe political action
should be based upon these principles, not
arbitrary or popular opinion.
Modern America is NOT an ideal capitalist or
individualist society. (Its actually pretty far
from it.)
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Further Reading/References

• Books
• Good to be King Michael Badnarik
• Why Government Doesn't Work Harry Browne
• Atlas Shrugged Ayn Rand
• Libertarianism A Primer David Boaz
• Videos
• Neitzsche and the Nazis Stephen Hicks
• Bullshit! Penn Teller
• Free to Choose Milton Friedman
• America Freedom to Fascism Aaron Russo
• Websites
• http//praxeology.net/molinari.htm Molinari
  Institute
• http//rous.redbarn.org/objectivism/Writing/ Obje
  ctivism In-Brief
• http//www.cato.org/ The Cato Insititute
• http//www.freetalklive.com/ Free Talk Live
• http//www.lp.org/ The Libertarian Party