Subtitle Perspectives of Analytical Philosophy
Publisher Brill
ISBN-10 3897852209
Release Date March 1, 2009
Author(s) Fabian Wendt
Summary By its very nature, libertarian political philosophy is radically libertarian. Apart from a minimal state that protects the life and property of its citizens, laissez-faire should prevail in all areas of society. But can such a social model really be defended in the name of freedom? That is the first guiding question of this book. To answer them, the author first analyzes the concept of freedom and the concept of a moral right, in order to then attempt to use these concepts to reconstruct a libertarian political philosophy based solely on a moral right to freedom. The first key question is ultimately answered in the affirmative: libertarianism is the purest philosophy of freedom. But there is a second central question: Are there good reasons to adopt this philosophy? Three attempts to justify libertarianism are discussed and ultimately rejected as unsuccessful. The book concludes with an outlook advocating the incorporation of a strong right to liberty into a pluralistic political philosophy.