Reply to Block on Libertarianism is Unique

A common argument for libertarianism of the sort associated with writers like Nozick and Rothbard is that it follows more or less directly from the thesis of self-ownership, at least given the assumption that external resources start out unowned. I used to endorse this sort of argument myself, though I do not endorse it (or libertarianism itself for that matter) any longer. One problem I now see with it is that the thesis of self-ownership simply isn’t as determinate as its defenders usually take it to be. There are several reasons for this.

Volume 22, Number 1 (2010)