Letter 1
From: Mike
Sent: Monday, September 07, 2020 3:20 PM
Subject: Libertarianism and hate
Sir,
You wrote:
On the other hand, as long as you adhere to the non aggression principle (NAP) of libertarianism, you can be as hateful as you want. You can be an “equal opportunity” hater of everyone, a real misanthrope. Your policy can even be “No Lives Matter, not a single solitary one of them” and you can still be a libertarian in good standing.
To “be as hateful as you want,” while adhering to the non aggression principle, I think of as falling under the umbrella of being as selfish, as self-concerned, as dismissive of others without harming them, “as you want.” This is why I argue that somebody who pursues of a life of license without harming others can be indistinguishable from a libertarian. I argued, additionally, the “pursuit of the legalization of ‘medical marijuana,'” remember that? was arguably an advancement of libertarianism, but indistinguishable from people who want to smoke dope without fear of legal sanction, or at least government sanction. I agree that government has no business telling people what they cannot do with their bodies that harms no one. The right to life being inalienable, I am not entirely convinced that sanctioning suicide is impermissible.
It’s a shame that libertarians who seek only to be left alone while harming no one, can be so easily confused with license-seekers. But, well, there it is.
Thank you,
Mike Smith
P.S. I also figure that working to gain wealth denominated in dollars by using tools of theft or devices that utilize tools of theft such as does the stock market , while eschewing voting as encouraging gangster government, is a conflict, if not downright hypocrisy.
Letter 2
On Sep 8, 2020, at 8:16 AM, Walter Block wrote:
Dear Mike:
In my view, libertarianism allows us to “harm” each other as much as we want. We can refuse to deal with others. We can outcompete them, etc. Libertarianism only proscribes violating their rights, for example, by murdering, raping, them, stealing from them, etc.
Best regards,
Walter
Letter 3
From: Mike
Sent: Tuesday, September 08, 2020 1:17 PM
To: Walter Block <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Libertarianism and hate
You are generous with you time and intellect.
Thank you,
Mike
Letter 4
Dear Mike:
In this as in many other things, I pattern my practice in this regard after those of my mentor and friend, Murray Rothbard. He was always glad to share his vision with others, as am I.
Best regards,
Walter
4:17 am on November 23, 2020
