Sterba on Liberty and Welfarism
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Jan Narveson
Abstract
James Sterba advances several arguments designed to show that libertarianism, contrary to what this author and other libertarians think, actually implies support for welfarism and even egalitarianism. This discussion shows why his arguments do not work. There is preliminary discussion of our parameters: how much is Sterba claiming we have a minimum right to in the way of welfare? It is argued that if this is set very low, a libertarian society would easily eliminate the poverty he is concerned about, and if it is set very high, then the standard could be unmeetable and certainly could not have been met until very recently at the least. More abstractly, it is argue that Sterba is in error about the normative assumptions required for libertarianism’s strong distinction between nonharm and outright help. Once these are cleared up, it is seen that his case depends on equivocation. The duty not to harm simply does not imply a duty to help. In the closing pages, a contractarian framework is advanced to explain the libertarian’s disaffection for the kind of ‘strong’ rights Sterba wants to uphold.
© 2015 by Lucius & Lucius, Stuttgart
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Contents
- Editorial: The Normative Turn from Marxism
- I. Marx and Ethics: Coherent Company?
- Marx and Mendacity: Can There Be a Politics without Hypocrisy?
- Why Marxism Still Does Not Need Normative Theory
- The Moral Legacy of Marxism
- II. G. A. Cohen’s Development
- G. A. Cohen and Marxism
- Thoughts on G. A. Cohen’s Final Testament
- Equality, Community, and Diversity in Cohen’s Socialist Ideal
- G. A. Cohen, Constructivism, and the Fact of Reasonable Pluralism
- III. Marx and Liberalism
- The Theory of Marxian Liberalism
- Freedom in Times of Struggle: Positive Liberty, Again
- Libertarianism on the Brink
- Sterba on Liberty and Welfarism
- A Response to Jan Narveson: Why Libertarians Are and Are Not Like Turnips
- IV. Repercussions
- Myths about the State of Nature and the Reality of Stateless Societies
- Horkheimer, Religion, and the Normative Grounds of Critical Theology
- Exploitation, Labor, and Basic Income
- In Company of the Funny Sunny Surfer off Malibu: A Response to Michael Howard (and Some Others)
- Authors
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Contents
- Editorial: The Normative Turn from Marxism
- I. Marx and Ethics: Coherent Company?
- Marx and Mendacity: Can There Be a Politics without Hypocrisy?
- Why Marxism Still Does Not Need Normative Theory
- The Moral Legacy of Marxism
- II. G. A. Cohen’s Development
- G. A. Cohen and Marxism
- Thoughts on G. A. Cohen’s Final Testament
- Equality, Community, and Diversity in Cohen’s Socialist Ideal
- G. A. Cohen, Constructivism, and the Fact of Reasonable Pluralism
- III. Marx and Liberalism
- The Theory of Marxian Liberalism
- Freedom in Times of Struggle: Positive Liberty, Again
- Libertarianism on the Brink
- Sterba on Liberty and Welfarism
- A Response to Jan Narveson: Why Libertarians Are and Are Not Like Turnips
- IV. Repercussions
- Myths about the State of Nature and the Reality of Stateless Societies
- Horkheimer, Religion, and the Normative Grounds of Critical Theology
- Exploitation, Labor, and Basic Income
- In Company of the Funny Sunny Surfer off Malibu: A Response to Michael Howard (and Some Others)
- Authors
