Walter Block is at his finest when he subjects the most loathsome jobs and nastiest behaviors to a logical and libertarian scrutiny. Blocks Defending the Undefendable has needled and irritated an entire generation of readers and compelled many to re-examine long-held beliefs in favor of the logic of libertarianism. Now comes volume 2, Defending the Undefendable: Freedom in All Realms (with a foreword by Ron Paul) that promises more such irritation for future generations.
The introduction is a short course in libertarianism. Block explains that libertarianism is a political philosophy that shows when the use of coercion is justified or not justified. The book examines 30 cases that are often seen as illegal, immoral, or unethical. Block analyzes each case by subjecting it to a libertarian standard, and ultimately exonerates each from punishment by government.
Please note: the author is only defending these cases by the political standard of libertarianism and whether they should face coercive threat from the state. It does not mean by any stretch of the imagination that this implies approval and commendation. It simply means they should not go to jail for their behavior.
The examination of these hard cases is what helps us sharpen our understanding of libertarianism and our ability to debate and defend the free society. I agree with the author that studying hard cases strengthens libertarianism and improves the likelihood of achieving a free society. Much of my own research has been on such hard cases, such as drug dealers and smugglers. People, particularly college students, find such cases interesting and often convincing.
Speaking of hard cases, one of my colleagues recently visited South Africa. He saw that private security was everywhere. He was told that he and his belongings were safe with private security, but not safe where government police was in charge. My colleague noted that a nation that understands that the market provides a better service for security, the hardest of all cases, is going to be more easily convinced that the market can provide a better garbage collection service.
The book is divided into seven sections. The first, on trade, contains five short chapters: The Multinational Enterpriser, The Smuggler, British Petroleum, Nuclear Energy, and The Corporate Raider.
British Petroleum is a good hard case because everyone knows about the accident in the Gulf of Mexico, the 200 million gallons of oil that was spilled, and that BP has been vilified by the media pundits and politicians because of it. Block begins by calling the people at BP heroes in part because they do the dangerous work so we can comfortably drive across town at 10 cents a mile.
Block asks if BP knew the dangers of deep water drilling. Of course they did, but government regulations prevent shallow water drilling near the shoreline and provide incentives to drill in deep water far out at sea. Meanwhile government regulators were not doing their job, goofing off, taking bribes, and they failed to upgrade safety standards to account for the new deep water drilling.
As BP was vilified for negligence and as the oil continued to seep into the the gulf, the U.S. government turned down offers of assistance from foreign companies that specialized in such spills and who had more experience than U.S. firms. Ships from foreign countries also offered their assistance, but like after Hurricane Katrina, the volunteers were turned away. Block argues persuasively why such disasters are very unlikely to happen in a libertarian society and that this tragedy was the result of government intervention.
The second section on labor looks at the cases of The Hatchet Man, The Home Worker, The Picket-Line Crosser, The Daycare Provider, and The Automator. In the case of automation, it does destroy some jobs, and creates new jobs, and this should be celebrated by society, not denigrated or sabotaged. Technological advance is the main source of rising prosperity and job creation. Machines can increase our productivity and free up labor to produce other goods that are in short supply. The chapter does a wonderful job of showing how this process takes place and how we all benefit from automation and robots.
See more here:
Walter Block Is Still Defending the Undefendable
- Why Libertarians Are Idiots. - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Libertarianism Vs. Socialism with Austin Petersen - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- "Libertarian" Ron Paul Exposes His True Self: a Corporate Feudalist - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Ask a Libertarian Lightning Round: Recalls, Libertarian Paternalism, [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Ask a Libertarian Lightning Round: Libertarianism in Pop Culture [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Gary Johnson invigorates the Libertarian vote [Last Updated On: September 21st, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 21st, 2012]
- Breitbart Writer Begs Libertarians To Vote Romney — Sorry, It Ain’t Going To Work [Last Updated On: September 25th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 25th, 2012]
- Quick Hits: Muse, Christina Aguilera, Nicki Minaj, Outasight, Interpol [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2012]
- Philip Pilkington: The 19th Century Long Depression: How it Fostered Oligopolistic Capitalism and Serves as a Model ... [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2012]
- Muse singer rips Glenn Beck for liking his music [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2012]
- Myth and Truth About Libertarianism [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2012]
- What Is Neoclassical Liberalism? [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2012]
- Glenn Beck's extraordinary open letter to Muse [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2012]
- Lord Wood of Anfield:the crisis of Conservative values [Last Updated On: October 6th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 6th, 2012]
- Libertarians are wrong about smoking bans [Last Updated On: October 10th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 10th, 2012]
- Anonymity and its limits: Reddit v Gawker [Last Updated On: October 15th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 15th, 2012]
- Friedman on Intolerance: A Critique [Last Updated On: October 16th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 16th, 2012]
- Libertarianism not likely to yield third party [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Ayn Rand Institute Bigwigs Piss on Libertarianism, Libertarians Fight Back! [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- 2 comments [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- The Hard Truth About Libertarianism - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Ayn Rand's First Appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, 1967 - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- FDR 960 - Why Libertarianism Fails: Part 1 - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- FDR 961 - Why Libertarianism Fails: Part 2 - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- FDR 962 - Why Libertarianism Fails: Part 3 - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- FDR 672 - Minarchism, Libertarianism and Logic - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- FDR 614 - Political Libertarianism: Part 2 - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- FDR 613 - Political Libertarianism: Part 1 - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- FDR 235 - Libertarianism for the Young: Freedom for the tweens - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- FDR 86: Top Ten Myths About Libertarianism - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- FDR 37: What is Libertarianism? - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- THRIVE! 30.1 - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Norman Barry: Differing Foundations in Libertarian Thought - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Ron Swanson's Libertarianism - Nothing The Government Does is Important - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Libertarian Transhumanism - Wiki Article - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- THE CORRECT VIEWS HIT SHARE! I AM SPEAKING AT CONESTOGA NOV 19 - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Parks and Recreation - Ron and Andy Bonding over Politics - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- More hypocrisy from the MRAs. - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- CONSTITUTION PARTY EXPLAINED! HD - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Dr Stephen Davies: British Individualism and Libertarianism the Past and Today - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Vallentyne and Zwolinski on 'Libertarianism' | Jan Lester - Video [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2012]
- Libertarianism Is Simple To Describe But Not Simple To Argue For - Video [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2012]
- Watch Wayne's World (1992) Full Movie Free Online - Video [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2012]
- American History with George H. Smith, Part Three - Video [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2012]
- American History with George H. Smith, Part Two - Video [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2012]
- American History with George H. Smith, Part One - Video [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2012]
- Liberty conference comes to UNC [Last Updated On: November 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 5th, 2012]
- Libertarianism in Ancient China | by Murray N. Rothbard - Video [Last Updated On: November 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 5th, 2012]
- Ron Paul, Rothbard and Race 2 of 2 - Video [Last Updated On: November 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 5th, 2012]
- Ron Paul, Rothbard and Race 1 of 2 - Video [Last Updated On: November 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 5th, 2012]
- Voting: The Seen and the Unseen [Last Updated On: November 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 7th, 2012]
- Gary Johnson at the LAST third party debate on RT - Video [Last Updated On: November 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 7th, 2012]
- Puerto Rico Will Be The 51st State - Video [Last Updated On: November 9th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 9th, 2012]
- Pro-Market Intervention vs. Free Market Volatility (Libertarian Dilemma) - Video [Last Updated On: November 9th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 9th, 2012]
- Robert Poole and Samuel Konkin: What is a Libertarian? - Video [Last Updated On: November 9th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 9th, 2012]
- Kokesh 1of4 - Video [Last Updated On: November 9th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 9th, 2012]
- Republicans Must Focus on Social Libertarianism to Win Back Voters [Last Updated On: November 11th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 11th, 2012]
- Do You Have a Duty to Vote? - Video [Last Updated On: November 11th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 11th, 2012]
- Free Speach The Non Aggression Principle Voluntaryism Adam Kokesh - Video [Last Updated On: November 11th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 11th, 2012]
- Peter Schiff, Austrian, Libertarianism, Right Wing, FOX Logic. - Video [Last Updated On: November 12th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 12th, 2012]
- Part 4 - Prof. Anderson on Liberalism vs. Libertarianism - Video [Last Updated On: November 12th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 12th, 2012]
- Part 6 - Prof. Anderson on Liberalism vs. Libertarianism - Video [Last Updated On: November 12th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 12th, 2012]
- Part 5 - Prof. Anderson on Liberalism vs. Libertarianism - Video [Last Updated On: November 12th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 12th, 2012]
- Part 2 - Prof. Anderson on Liberalism vs. Libertarianism - Video [Last Updated On: November 12th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 12th, 2012]
- Part 7 - Prof. Anderson on Liberalism vs. Libertarianism - Video [Last Updated On: November 12th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 12th, 2012]
- Part 3 - Prof. Anderson on Liberalism vs. Libertarianism - Video [Last Updated On: November 12th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 12th, 2012]
- Part 1 - Prof. Anderson on Liberalism vs. Libertarianism - Video [Last Updated On: November 12th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 12th, 2012]
- What Happened to Conservatism? - Video [Last Updated On: November 12th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 12th, 2012]
- Praxis, Praxis, Praxis - a lecture by Patrick M. Byrne - Video [Last Updated On: November 14th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 14th, 2012]
- Milton Friedman: The Future of Freedom - Video [Last Updated On: November 14th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 14th, 2012]
- ExplainIng Obamacare to simplefolk. - Video [Last Updated On: November 14th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 14th, 2012]
- Barrack Obama - The Food Stamps President - Video [Last Updated On: November 14th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 14th, 2012]
- Why Obama Beat Romney - Video [Last Updated On: November 14th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 14th, 2012]
- Templeton, Craig, Shermer, and Rand - Nov. 12, 2012 - Video [Last Updated On: November 16th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 16th, 2012]
- Penn Jillette - On Atheism, Libertarianism, and 9/11 - Video [Last Updated On: November 16th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 16th, 2012]
- The GOP’s Libertarian Problem [Last Updated On: November 18th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 18th, 2012]
- Ron Paul Farewell Speech: What Did He Get Right Over The Course Of His Career? [Last Updated On: November 18th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 18th, 2012]
- National Liberation - Video [Last Updated On: November 18th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 18th, 2012]
- How I Stopped Spanking My Kids: A Fathers' Roundtable - Video [Last Updated On: November 18th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 18th, 2012]
- +Dolan on the Elections [Last Updated On: November 20th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 20th, 2012]