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Re: What is the Libertarian Response to This Quotation?
Salvatore Padula
iDad
Salvatore Padula
That said, I'll explain to you how I arrive at the conclusion principle of respect for private property being codified into law:
I start with the premise that the only role of the state is to protect natural rights (this is the essence of libertarianism). In the state of nature a person is entitled to bodily integrity, free from external coercion. (You might quibble with this, but it seems to me to be fairly self-evident and is accepted by conservatives as being part of the natural law.) This right to bodily integrity extends to the right to one's own labor. Property is the result of one's labor being applied to natural resources (which in a state of nature are unowned until labor is applied to them). Thus, propety is a natural right and should be protected by the law. Q.E.D. · May 16, 2013 at 7:07pm
I appreciate the response, which confirms that you believe that the principles or ideals to which you subscribe should be codified into law. In this respect you are no different from those having different principles.