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Below
is the text of the book and chapter abstracts which appear in Oxford University
Press’s online
version of my book. Otsuka, Michael, Reader in Philosophy at University College
London Libertarianism
without Inequality Click here for Table of Contents Print
ISBN 0-19-924395-6, 2003 Book
abstract: The aim of this book is to vindicate
left-libertarianism, a political philosophy which combines stringent rights
of control over one’s own mind, body, and life with egalitarian rights of
ownership of the world. The book shows how John Locke’s Second Treatise of
Government provides the theoretical foundations for a left-libertarianism
which is both more libertarian and more egalitarian
than the Kantian liberal theories of John Rawls and Thomas Nagel. The
author’s libertarianism is founded on a right of self-ownership. Unlike
‘right-wing’ libertarians such a Robert Nozick who
also endorse such a right, the author argues that self-ownership is
compatible with a fully egalitarian principle of equal opportunity for
welfare. In embracing this principle, his version of left-libertarianism is
more strongly egalitarian than others which are well known. The author argues
that an account of legitimate political authority based upon the free consent
of each is strengthened by the adoption of such an egalitarian principle. He
defends a pluralistic, decentralized ideal of political society as a
confederation of voluntary associations. Keywords: left-libertarianism, self-ownership,
equality of opportunity for welfare, egalitarianism, legitimate political
authority, consent, voluntary association, John Locke, Robert Nozick, John Rawls Table of Contents Introduction Part I:
Self-Ownership and World-Ownership Ch. 1: Self-Ownership and Equality Ch. 2: Making the Unjust Provide for the Disabled Part II:
Punishment and Self-Defence Ch. 4: Killing the Innocent in Self-Defence Ch. 5: Political Society as a Voluntary Association Ch. 6: Left-Libertarianism Versus Liberal Egalitarianism Ch. 7: The Problem of Intergenerational Sovereignty Bibliography Index Part
I. Self-Ownership and World-Ownership Chapter
One – Self-Ownership and Equality Abstract: Delineates the nature of a libertarian right of self-ownership.
Assesses Robert Nozick’s claim that taxation is on
a par with forced labour. Contends that the most defensible version of the Lockean ‘enough and as good’ proviso calls for
acquisition of unowned natural resources which is
consistent with equality of opportunity for welfare. Argues, contrary to both
Nozick and G. A. Cohen, that a robust right of
self-ownership is compatible with this welfare-egalitarian proviso across a
wide range of circumstances. Keywords: libertarianism, self-ownership, taxation, forced
labour, Lockean proviso, egalitarianism, equality
of opportunity for welfare, John Locke, Robert Nozick,
G. A. Cohen Chapter
Two – Making the Unjust Provide for the Disabled Abstract: Considers those circumstances in which self-ownership and equality
cannot be reconciled in the manner proposed in Chapter One. Argues that, in
such circumstances, liberal egalitarians and libertarians can find common
ground in support of provision for the disabled by means of the coercive
taxation of only those able-bodied individuals who have committed crimes. Keywords: taxation, unjust, disabled, coercion, crime,
liberal egalitarianism, libertarianism Part II. Punishment and
Self-Defence Chapter Three – The
Right to Punish Abstract: Offers a Lockean
account of a natural right to punish which is grounded in a natural right of self-protection.
Endorses Warren Quinn’s derivation of the right to punish from a right of
self-protection, but argues, against Quinn, that his account will succeed
only if one is allowed, when justifying punishment, to appeal to the fact
that the punishment of the guilty will deter others. Also argues that Quinn’s
account will succeed only if the right to engage in lethal measures to
protect the lives of individuals against innocent aggressors is highly
circumscribed. Keywords: punishment, natural rights,
self-protection, self-defence, deterrence, innocent aggressor, John Locke,
Warren Quinn Chapter Four – Killing
the Innocent in Self-Defence Abstract: Argues against the right to
engage in lethal measures to defend oneself or
others against innocent aggressors or innocent threats. Criticizes arguments
to the contrary by Judith Jarvis Thomson and Frances Kamm. Offers a positive
account of why the killing of an innocent threat or aggressor is morally on a
par with the impermissible killing of an innocent bystander in self-defence. Keywords: self-defence, innocent
aggressor, innocent threat, innocent bystander, killing, Judith Jarvis
Thomson, Frances Kamm Part III. Political Society Chapter Five – Political
Society as a Voluntary Association Abstract: Offers a reconstruction of John
Locke’s voluntaristic theory of legitimate
political authority with the aim of overcoming the following two problems
with tacit consent via residence: that it fails to bind either because it is unfreely given or because it is offered in circumstances
of inequality. Builds on the author’s defence in Chapter One of an
egalitarian version of the Lockean proviso to
remedy these problems and endorses a highly voluntaristic,
pluralistic, and decentralized account of legitimate political authority. Keywords: political society, legitimate
political authority, tacit consent, freedom, equality, Lockean
proviso, voluntary association, voluntarism, pluralism Chapter Six –
Left-Libertarianism Versus Liberal Egalitarianism Abstract: Explains
why Lockean voluntarism, even when remedied of the
problems discussed in Chapter 5, might be criticized by liberal egalitarians
on the following grounds: it allows for the legitimacy of highly illiberal or
inegalitarian political societies. Argues that such illiberal or inegalitarian societies would in fact be legitimized by
the actual consent of their members when freely given in circumstances of
equality. Therefore defends a voluntaristic,
left-libertarian account of political legitimacy that differs in crucial
respects from the hypothetical contract approaches of liberal-egalitarian
Kantians such as John Rawls and Thomas Nagel. Keywords: left-libertarianism, liberal
egalitarianism, legitimate political authority, illiberalism,
consent, voluntarism, hypothetical contract, John Rawls, Thomas Nagel Chapter Seven – The
Problem of Intergenerational Sovereignty Abstract: Considers the merits of the
Locke-inspired Jeffersonian idea that laws enacted
by those who once lived in one’s country but are now dead have no authority
over the living and hence should lapse unless they are reaffirmed by a
democratic majority vote of the living. Considers and rejects consequentialist, communitarian, and Madisonian
attempts to justify the authority of the dead over the living. Draws on
Chapter Five to propose and endorse an account based on unanimous Lockean consent of how the laws of the dead can
legitimately bind the living. Keywords: intergenerational sovereignty,
authority of dead over living, democracy, majority rule, communitarianism,
unanimous consent, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison |
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