Natural-rights libertarianism, also known as deontological liberalism, deontological libertarianism, libertarian moralism,Bradford. R. W. (1998). "The Two Libertarianisms". ''

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

''. natural rights-based libertarianism, philosophical libertarianism or rights-theorist libertarianism, is the theory that all individuals possess certain

natural Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans ar ...

or moral rights, mainly a right of individual sovereignty and that therefore acts of

initiation of force The non-aggression principle (NAP), also called the non-aggression axiom, is a concept in which aggression, defined as initiating or threatening any forceful interference (violating or breaching conduct) against either an individual, their propert ...

and fraud are rights-violations and that is sufficient reason to oppose those acts. This is one of the two ethical view points within right-libertarianism, the other being consequentialist libertarianism which only takes into account the consequences of actions and rules when judging them and holds that

free market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...

s and strong private property rights have good consequences. Some deontological libertarian views are based on the non-aggression principle which states that no human being holds the right to initiate force or fraud against the person or property of another human being under any circumstances. This principle is taken as basic, defining all other moral principles, not simply principles of justice. Others are based on self-ownership, and concerned only with principles of justice.

Deontological libertarian philosophies

Some deontological libertarians such as Ayn Rand advocate a minimal government to protect individuals from any violation of their rights and to prosecute those who initiate force against others. Others such as Murray Rothbard advocate the abolition of the state as they see the state as being an institutionalized initiation of force due to taxation. Their view of natural rights is derived, directly or indirectly, from the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas and John Locke. Hans-Hermann Hoppe advocates the abolition of the state on the basis of

argumentation ethics Hans-Hermann Hoppe (; ; born 2 September 1949) is a German-American economist of the Austrian School, philosopher and political theorist. He is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), Senior Fellow of t ...

Political parties

Deontological libertarianism is the form of libertarianism officially supported by the Libertarian Party in the United States. In order to become a card-carrying member, one must sign an oath opposing the initiation of force to achieve political or social goals.Yeager, Leland B. (2001). ''Ethics As Social Science: The Moral Philosophy of Social Cooperation''. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 283.

Criticisms and responses

Some libertarians argue that a relaxation of the non-aggression principle can bring the greatest

liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

to the greatest number. Murray Rothbard responded to this criticism by asserting that the means ought never to contradict the ends.Rothbard, Murray (1982). ''The Ethics of Liberty''. Humanities Press. Consequentialist libertarians ask "What authoritative force endowed me, and every other human being alive, with the right and responsibility of self-ownership? How does one prove, substantiate, or justify its existence?", at which Rothbard responded by appealing to a process of elimination which concluded in his asserting that self-ownership is the only defensible ethical position. Philosopher Jonathan Wolff criticizes deontological libertarianism as incoherent, writing that it is incapable of explaining why harm suffered by the losers in

economic competition In economics, competition is a scenario where different economic firmsThis article follows the general economic convention of referring to all actors as firms; examples in include individuals and brands or divisions within the same (legal) fir ...

does not violate the principle of self-ownership and that its advocates must "dishonestly smuggle" consequentialist arguments into their reasoning to justify the institution of the

Deontological libertarian philosophies

Political parties

Criticisms and responses

See also

References

Further reading