Exploring Liberty: An Introduction to Libertarian Thought (David Boaz)

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In the first lecture in the "Exploring Liberty" series, David Boaz, the author of Libertarianism: A Primer, gives an introduction to the theory and politics of liberty.Libertarianism is the belief that each person has the right to live his life as he chooses so long as he respects the equal rights of others. Libertarians defend each person's right to life, liberty, and property. In the libertarian view, voluntary agreement is the gold standard of human relationships. If there is no good reason to forbid something (a good reason being that it violates the rights of others), it should be allowed. Force should be reserved for prohibiting or punishing those who themselves use force, such as murderers, robbers, rapists, kidnappers, and defrauders (who practice a kind of theft). Most people live their own lives by that code of ethics. Libertarians believe that that code should be applied consistently, even to the actions of governments, which should be restricted to protecting people from violations of their rights. Governments should not use their powers to censor speech, conscript the young, prohibit voluntary exchanges, steal or "redistribute" property, or interfere in the lives of individuals who are otherwise minding their own business.Download an .mp3 version of this lecture here: http://bit.ly/Aat0ElVideo produced by Evan Banks and Caleb Brown.Read the rest of the introductory essay at http://www.libertarianism.org/...

Channel: News & Politics
Uploaded: November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am
Author: LibertarianismDotOrg

Length: 19:58
Rating: 5.0
Views: 4922


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Video Comments

Mike10four (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
The only Rights we have are our unalienable Rights and they come from the "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God." The scientific method as well as "spontaneous order" comes from our unalienable Rights. As for "limited government," that is not possible, because of our unalienable Rights. The book titled "Scientific Proof of Our Unalienable Rights" highlights the spectrum of these Rights and their relationship between the Laws of Nature and social systems.
markcoldren (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
Gary Johnson 2012. Join us. Donate $10 today.
wittnessing102 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
@Oilhammer04 As a devout christian, I disagree. Libertarian accounts for the principle found in Isaiah 53:6 more than more forms of government. We have all, like sheep, gone astray, including those in power. By limiting the power of government, the Libertarian principle protects the individual members of a society from the corruption of a single powerful leader, and allows virtuous people without govermental power in said society to have a greater impact on the society.
oilhammer04 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
I think the error of Libertarianism is that it misses Isaiah 53:6. But I do see that God has given us freedom to decide whether we want to follow Him or not.
Thestarvinstudent (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
This guy is the best period!
nmryda (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
Heard 'em all before, didn't hear a lot of logic in there. The first 3 minutes are enough to show why libertarianism is inherently flawed to begin with.
nmryda (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
You'd be ridiculously wrong lol
freesk8 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
David Boaz is one of my heroes. His "Primer" is really good. I love his Cato Audio speeches as well. Great job!
freesk8 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
I'm glad that is your most substantial criticism of this excellent presentation.The blue stripes are the stripes of liberty. The fact that they are only approximately parallel symbolizes the near harmony arising from a diversity of voluntarily cooperating individuals.Liberty is messy. But it is more beautiful than any other system for society.
gigahertz123 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
this guy is exercising his freedom to wear an ugly tie.

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