Systematic Libertarianism I
- Definition. A libertarian is one who seeks the maximum liberty possible for all.
- Postulate 1. A libertarian holds that life and liberty, in that order, are of utmost importance.
- Discussion. Life is immaterial. It is a process. One can have life without liberty. However, one cannot have liberty without life. Life is therefore more fundamental. The order of importance is therefore life then liberty.
- Postulate 2. Liberty makes no preferences over individuals.
- Discussion. There are no special classes of people. Everyone is deserving of the same degree of liberty.
- Theorem. Violations of Postulates 1 and 2 are inconsistent with libertarianism.
- Explanation. To end life and to curtail liberty are violations. To offer liberty to some but not another given all things the same is a violation.
- Definition. Property is a thing in possession kept without aggression.
- Theorem. Property is a derived concept.
- Explanation. One can have life without property. One can have liberty without property. Therefore, property only follows from life and liberty.
- Example. Livestock do not own themselves.
- Definition. Land is natural resources.
- Definition. Natural resources is ultimately nature itself.
- Discussion. Nature includes matter, space, energy, frequency spectra, etc.
- Discussion. All living things merely borrow from nature from the composition of their bodies to the space they occupy.
- Definition. Property is taking possession of nature.
- Discussion. Property is taking portions of nature and treating it as if owned. Property is only by appropriation. Frequently, treating it as if owned is stated as merely "owned."
- Definition. Labor is work performed by or directed by human life.
- Discussion. One owning any part of nature is a violation of others access to that same part of nature, be it an atom of air, or a continent, or a planet. Property is therefore immediately a violation of Postulates 1 and 2. What makes the violation tolerable is when the violation is negligible. This is what John Locke describes as "enough and as good." Thus, one owning the C, H, and O atoms in their body is tolerable because there is enough C, H, and O atoms around in nature for others to have.
- Theorem. Violation of Postulates 1 and 2 is measured by the market rent.
- Discussion. How much is one willing to pay to have the C, H and O atoms of another person? This is the rent. Apparently, the answer is not much since these atoms, in arbitrary form, are abundantly available elsewhere.
- Discussion. How about precious metals such as gold? Does ownership of it impede another's access to life and therefore liberty? Definitely, not life. And for the most part it does not impede liberty, for there is enough gold in the ground for one to concentrate given enough labor. If one however is taking more concentrated gold ore out of the ground and making it unavailable for others, there is good justification for severance fees or royalties.
- Theorem. Self-ownership is a derived concept.
- Explanation. Ones owning of his or her body is of negligible violation to the life and liberty of others.
- Discussion. Because this is almost always the case, self-ownership is taken as a self-evident truth and treated as a postulate.
- Discussion. When LVT is talked about, it is usually in reference to the value of geographic space.
