•  2
    Virtual Cantons
    In Aviezer Tucker & Gian Piero de Bellis (eds.), Panarchy: Political Theories of Non-Territorial States, Routledge. pp. 227-233. 2015.
    What would the constitution of a free nation look like? In trying to answer that question we immediately think in terms of a Bill of Rights, restrictions on governmental power, and so forth. And any constitution worth having would certainly include those things. But if a constitution is to be more than a wish list, it must also specify the political structure necessary to ensure that these freedoms are not eroded or ignored. Consider the old Soviet Constitution, which guaranteed all sorts of fin…Read more
  •  8
    In December 1851, French President Louis Bonaparte – the future Emperor Napoléon III – seized power in a coup d’état , in violation of his oath to uphold the Constitution. He arrested the legislature; imprisoned, deported, or executed his political opponents; and deterred future dissent by massacring civilians in the streets.
  •  20
    LTS I.1 We are adversaries, and yet the goal which we both pursue is the same. What is the common goal of economists and socialists? Is it not a society where the production of all the goods necessary to the maintenance and embellishment of life shall be as abundant as possible, and where the distribution of these same goods among those who have created them through their labour shall be as just as possible? May not our common ideal, apart from all distinction of schools, be summarised in these …Read more
  •  4
    The return of leviathan: Can we prevent it?
    Formulations 3 (3). 1996.
    Two years ago, at our Spring 1994 Forum on Systems of Law, I suggested that those seeking to build and maintain a Free Nation would face three problems, which I called "the three Leviathans": "Leviathan Past (that is, the dangers posed by the state presently occupying the territory within which the Free Nation is to arise), Leviathan Present (that is, the dangers posed, once the Free Nation has arisen, by the threat of other states existing outside the Free Nation's territory), and Leviathan Yet…Read more
  •  15
    (to table of contents of archives) This talk was delivered at the Auburn Philosophical Society’s Roundtable on Hate, 5 October 2001, convened in response to the September 11 attacks a month earlier. The events of September 11th have occasioned a wide variety of responses, ranging from calls to turn the other cheek, to calls to nuke half the Middle East—and every imaginable shade of opinion in between. At a time when emotions run high, how should we go about deciding on a morally appropriate resp…Read more
  •  33
    Aristotle on the Category of Relation (review)
    Journal of the History of Philosophy 45 (1): 149-150. 2007.
    Roderick T. Long - Aristotle on the Category of Relation - Journal of the History of Philosophy 45:1 Journal of the History of Philosophy 45.1 149-150 Muse Search Journals This Journal Contents Reviewed by Roderick T. Long Auburn University Pamela M. Hood. Aristotle on the Category of Relation. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2004. Pp. xi + 154. Paper, $28.00. It is often assumed that Aristotle cannot have an adequate understanding of relations, and in particular that "his substance-acc…Read more
  •  56
    The value in friendship
    Philosophical Investigations 26 (1). 2003.
    Why do we value friendship? No explanation that appeals to values external to friendship will be a satisfactory answer to this question
  •  28
    Cognition of Value in Aristotle's Ethics: Promise of Enrichment, Threat of Destruction (review)
    Journal of the History of Philosophy 41 (3): 411-412. 2003.
    In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Journal of the History of Philosophy 41.3 (2003) 411-412 [Access article in PDF] Deborah Achtenberg. Cognition of Value in Aristotle's Ethics: Promise of Enrichment, Threat of Destruction. Albany: The State University of New York Press, 2002. Pp. xiii + 218. Paper, $20.95.Deborah Achtenberg argues that, for Aristotle, virtue is a disposition to respond to situations with the appropriate emotions, where emotions are understood as perc…Read more
  •  18
    Part III: Law vs. Legislation - Socrates on Law - Two Senses of Law - Natural Law and Human Law - Natural Law and Customary Law - Law vs. Legislation: Documentary Evidence..
  •  63
    Praxeology: Who Needs It
    Journal of Ayn Rand Studies 6 (2). 2005.
    Despite her admiration for the economic theories of Ludwig von Mises, Ayn Rand rejects Mises's central concept of "praxeology," the science of human action. Yet the features of Misesian praxeology that Rand finds most objectionable— its aprioristic methodology, its value-subjectivism, and its claims about motivational psychology— can be reinterpreted in ways that make them congenial to Rand's philosophical principles while still preserving the essential points that Mises wishes to make
  •  16
    Probably no intellectual has suffered more distortion and abuse than Spencer. He is continually condemned for things he never said – indeed, he is taken to task for things he explicitly denied. The target of academic criticism is usually the mythical Spencer rather than the real Spencer; and although some critics may derive immense satisfaction from their devastating refutations of a Spencer who never existed, these treatments hinder rather than advance the cause of knowledge.
  •  21
    Roderick T. Long defends his criticisms (in "The Benefits and Hazards of Dialectical Iibertarianism," Journal of Ayn Rand Studies, Spring 2001) of Chris Sciabarra's theory of dialectics. Long argues, against Sciabarra and Roger Bissell, that embracing dialectics as a general methodology commits one to an internalist ontology; and he argues, against Bryan Register, that an internalist ontology is indefensible. Long concludes, however, that dialectics is still an indispensable methodological tool,…Read more
  •  23
    The Benefits and Hazards of Dialectical Libertarianism (review)
    Journal of Ayn Rand Studies 2 (2). 2001.
    Roderick T. Long reviews Total Freedom: Toward a Dialectical Libertarianism, the long-awaited final volume of Chris Sciabarra's "Dialectics and Liberty" trilogy. Long finds Total Freedom to be an impressive scholarly achievement that makes a compelling case for the existence of, and the need to further promote, affinities between the seemingly disparate intellectual traditions of libertarianism and dialectics. However, Long argues that Sciabarra's neglect of certain crucial distinctions vitiates…Read more
  •  61
    While regarding Gregory M. Browne as mainly on target in his Rand-inspired treatment of reference and necessity, as well as in his rejection of the analyticsynthetic dichotomy, Long argues, first, that Browne is mistaken in rejecting some other vital distinctions, such as the a priori / a posteriori distinction; second, that Browne is nevertheless implicitly committed, under different terminology, to these very distinctions that he purportedly rejects; and third, that Browne's treatment of kinds…Read more
  •  27
    Reply to Stephen Cox: Anarchism and the Problems of Rand and Paterson
    Journal of Ayn Rand Studies 13 (2): 210-223. 2013.
    In his essay “Rand, Paterson, and the Problem of Anarchism,” which appeared in The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies (July 2013), Stephen Cox argues that the principles of consent and non-initiation of force on which anarchists rely are too strong, and would require undue violation of the principle of non-sacrifice unless modified. But properly interpreted, these principles do not generate the conflicts that Cox describes, and such modifications as are defensible still do not rule out anarchism; hence…Read more
  •  34
    Many libertarians are familiar with the system of private law that prevailed in Iceland during the Free Commonwealth period (930 1262). Market mechanisms, rather than a governmental monopoly of power, provided the incentives to cooperate and maintain order.
  •  85
    Rule-following, praxeology, and anarchy
    New Perspectives on Political Economy 1 (2): 36-46. 2006.
    JEL Classification: B41, B53, B31, B2, P48, A12 Abstract: Wittgenstein’s rule-following paradox has important implications for two aspects of Austrian theory. First, it makes it possible to reconcile the Misesian, Rothbardian, and hermeneutical approaches to methodology; second, it provides a way of defending a stateless legal order against the charge that such an order lacks, yet needs, a final arbiter.
  •  79
    Reference and Necessity: A Rand-Kripke Synthesis? (review)
    Journal of Ayn Rand Studies 7 (1). 2000.
    The widespread assumption among academic philosophers that no truth can be simultaneously necessary and factual, founded on the analytic-synthetic dichotomy, was challenged from outside the profession by Ayn Rand and Leonard Peikoff in the 1960s, and from within the profession by Saul Kripke and Hilary Putnam in the 1970s. Gregory M. Browne's book Necessary Factual Truth represents a long-overdue attempt to synthesize the Rand-Peikoff and Kripke-Putnam approaches into an integrated theory. While…Read more
  •  174
    Toward a Libertarian Theory of Class: RODERICK T. LONG
    Social Philosophy and Policy 15 (2): 303-349. 1998.
    Libertarianism needs a theory of class. This claim may meet with resistance among some libertarians. A few will say: “The analysis of society in terms of classes and class struggles is a specifically Marxist approach, resting on assumptions that libertarians reject. Why should we care about class?” A greater number will say: “We recognize that class theory is important, but libertarianism doesn't need such a theory, because it already has a perfectly good one.”
  •  81
    The classical roots of radical individualism
    Social Philosophy and Policy 24 (2): 262-297. 2007.
    While the classical Greco-Roman tradition is not ordinarily thought of as associated with radical individualism, many of the central concerns of such radical individualists as Frédéric Bastiat, Herbert Spencer, Benjamin Tucker, Ludwig von Mises, F. A. Hayek, and Ayn Rand—including their views on human sociality, spontaneous order, and the relation between self-interest and non-instrumental concern for others—are shown to be inheritances from and developments of Platonic, Aristotelian, Epicurean,…Read more
  •  28
    In reply to Seddon's charge that Long's analysis in Reason and Value rests on a mistaken reading of Plato, Long both defends his interpretation of Plato and argues that nothing in Reason and Value depends on Plato interpretation in any case
  •  73
    Market anarchism as constitutionalism
    In Roderick T. Long & Tibor R. Machan (eds.), Anarchism/Minarchism: Is a Government Part of a Free Country?, Ashgate. pp. 133-154. 2008.
    A legal system is any institution or set of institutions in a given society that provides dispute resolution in a systematic and reasonably predictable way. it does so through the exercise of three functions: the judicial, the legislative, and the executive. The judicial function, the adjudication of disputes, is the core of any legal system; the other two are ancillary to this. The legislative function is to determine the rules that will govern the process of adjudication (this function may be …Read more
  •  1
    Cognition of Value in Aristotle's Ethics: Promise of Enrichment, Threat of Destruction (review)
    Journal of the History of Philosophy 41 (3): 411-412. 2003.
    In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Journal of the History of Philosophy 41.3 (2003) 411-412 [Access article in PDF] Deborah Achtenberg. Cognition of Value in Aristotle's Ethics: Promise of Enrichment, Threat of Destruction. Albany: The State University of New York Press, 2002. Pp. xiii + 218. Paper, $20.95.Deborah Achtenberg argues that, for Aristotle, virtue is a disposition to respond to situations with the appropriate emotions, where emotions are understood as perc…Read more
  •  13
    Being on a 40 city 24x7 book tour for War Against the Weak . I am writing this from an airplane, and I regret my brevity. Catching up on some email from a few weeks back I have now come across your remarks and those of your like minded friends defending Spencer.
  •  2
    The idea of forming a new libertarian nation is an attractive one for two reasons: first, as an alternative to persuasion; second, as a tool of persuasion.
  •  49
    Some writers have so confounded government with society, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last a punisher. Society in every state is a ble…Read more
  •  149
    I want to talk about some of the main objections that have been given to libertarian anarchism and my attempts to answer them. But before I start giving objections and trying to answer them, there is no point in trying to answer objections to a view unless you have given some positive reason to hold the view in the first place. So, I just want to say briefly what I think the positive case is for it before going on to defend it against objections.
  •  2
    Defending a Free Nation
    In Edward Stringham (ed.), Anarchy and the Law: The Political Economy of Choice, Transaction Publishers. pp. 149-162. 2007.
    This question presupposes a prior question: would a free nation need to defend itself from foreign aggression? Some would answer no: the rewards of cooperation outweigh the rewards of aggression, and so a nation will probably not be attacked unless it first acts aggressively itself.