The Libertarian Idea [Paperback]

Jan Narveson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1551114216 | ISBN-13: 978-1551114217 | Publication Date: March 1, 2001 | Edition: 1

Libertarianism is both a philosophy and a political view. The key concepts defining Libertarianism are: Individual Rights as inherent to human beings, not granted by government; a Spontaneous Order through which people conduct their daily interactions and through which society is organized independent of central (government) direction; the Rule of Law which dictates that everyone is free to do as they please so long as they do not infringe upon the rights of others; a Divided and Limited Government, checked by written constitution; Free Markets in which price and exchange is agreed upon mutually by individuals; Virtue of Production whereby the productive labour of the individual and any translation of that labour into earnings belongs, by right, to the individual who should not have to sacrifice those earnings to taxes; and Peace which has, throughout history, most commonly been disrupted by the interests of the ruling class or centralized government.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book is an important examination of both contractarianism and libertarianism. And beyond its intriguing central theses and its pointed applications of libertarian premises to policy issues, it provides an extensive and valuable critical commentary on recent philosophical attacks on libertarian themes." (Ethics )

"The Libertarian Idea is the eminently readable book of a man who knows what liberty is, knows what it isn’t, and cares deeply about the difference." (Reason )

"This book is indeed a major contribution to the philosophical controversy over libertarianism. It ranks in importance with Nozick’s Anarchy, State, and Utopia and Rawls’s A Theory of Justice." (Liberty )

"An original and well-rounded contribution [that] . . . should be of considerable general interest among political philosophers . . . [I]t is a thoroughly challenging and quite engaging book." (The Canadian Journal of Philosophy )

"Producers and consumers of theory of justice literature should read this book. It is a major work " (Journal of Politics )

"[In] Narveson’s new, bold, and highly readable book . . . he aims, quite simply, to provide the secure foundations that libertarianism apparently lacks." (Canadian Philosophical Review )

From the Back Cover

Libertarianism is both a philosophy and a political view. The key concepts defining Libertarianism are: Individual Rights as inherent to human beings, not granted by government; a Spontaneous Order through which people conduct their daily interactions and through which society is organized independent of central (government) direction; the Rule of Law which dictates that everyone is free to do as they please so long as they do not infringe upon the rights of others; a Divided and Limited Government, checked by written constitution; Free Markets in which price and exchange is agreed upon mutually by individuals; Virtue of Production whereby the productive labour of the individual and any translation of that labour into earnings belongs, by right, to the individual who should not have to sacrifice those earnings to taxes; and Peace which has, throughout history, most commonly been disrupted by the interests of the ruling class or centralized government.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 367 pages
• Publisher: Broadview Press; 1 edition (March 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551114216
• ISBN-13: 978-1551114217
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,166,680 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Justification (?) of Libertarianism, May 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Libertarian Idea (Hardcover)

Drawing on the recent work of David Gauthier, Jan Narveson has set out to provide libertarianism the foundations missing from Nozick's _Anarchy, State, and Utopia_.

In Part I, Narveson sets out to clarify the libertarian thesis, and in doing so, rescue it from charges of incoherence. This mainly involves a detailed refutation of the idea that by acquiring unowned property, one is infringing on the liberties of everyone else. Narveson also probes the negative / positive rights distinction and takes on the task of defining "liberty." This section is, of necessity, somewhat technical and nit-picky.

In Part II, Narveson examines the idea of moral foundations. He offers arguments against the stripe of intuitionism involving weird non-natural properties, utilitarianism, and any moral theory wherein moral facts are somehow perceived by intuition. In contrast, Narveson appeals to a social contract theory of morality, wherein moral principles are necessarily such that they would be agreed to by anyone in an amoral world. This is pretty strict Hobbesian stuff, minus the Sovereign solution to social problems. Narveson uses the rigorous work of Gauthier and a smattering of game theory to explain and clarify contractarianism and defend it against counterarguments. Finally, he offers general grounds for the plausibility of the libertarian thesis as an agreeable normative theory.

In Part III, Narveson examines all sorts of reasons for expanding the state past that size and function which the libertarian will accept (if, indeed, any state at all will be justified). Public goods theory, egalitarian "social justice" concerns, insurance "guaranteed minimum" arguments, etc. This section is less technical than the others, as Narveson is able to draw on a variety of reasons for supposing a state solution to be a poor one.

Overall, _The Libertarian Idea_ is a thorough and interesting read (made all the more so by Narveson's engaging prose and sense of humor). I would recommend it highly to anyone seeking a philosophical examination and justification of libertarianism.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book on libertarianism ever, February 28, 1999

By 

Thomas Harris (Athens, AL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Libertarian Idea (Ethics and Action Series) (Paperback)

Jan Narveson's "Libertarian Idea," is the best book on libertarianism ever written. Narveson's goal is to lay the ethical foundations for libertarianism that seem absent in Robert Nozick's more famous libertarian book, "Anarchy, State and Utopia." Starting with the social contract theories of Thomas Hobbes and throwing in a bit of game theory, Narveson succeeds quite well, avoiding some of the naturalistic pitfalls of Ayn Rand, Murray Rothbard and other libertarians who follow Aristotle's philosophical tradition. Put simply, Narveson asks, what kind of ethical rules would we invent to keep from killing ourselves in an amoral state of nature? Since we all have different goals and desires, the only way for us all to live in peace -- and have the best chance at obtaining our individual visions of happiness -- is to adopt the most pluralistic rules possible. Thus, libertarianism, which insists only that we respect each others lives, liberty and property, is the minimal moral standard necessary for a civil society. No one else has said it so well. Hopefully, this book will soon find its way back into print.

5.0 out of 5 stars A most convincing work!, August 19, 2011

By 

Fritz-Anton - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Libertarian Idea (Paperback)

Jan Narveson's "The Libertarian Idea" is truly a modern classic of political philosophy at the level of John Rawls' "A Theory of Justice" and Robert Nozick's "Anarchy, State and Utopia". Where Nozick just *assumes* that the individual has a set of moral rights, Narveson attempts to provide a *foundation* of such rights by drawing on David Gauthier's ground-breaking work in contractarian moral theory (Morals By Agreement).

In "The Libertarian Idea", as well as in his many other books and articles on moral and political theory, Narveson elegantly manages not only to make the controversial and radical political doctrine of libertarianism, but also the equally controversial and radical ethical doctrine of contractarianism, appear as the natural and common-sense ideas they really are. These theories have a lot going for them, and their combination is indeed very natural and grounds a powerful argument.

This book is very highly recommended both to those who want to get to know what libertarianism is about and to those who are already convinced libertarians, but would like to look into the contractarian foundation into which Narveson convincingly frames the libertarian idea.

Useful companions: Respecting Persons in Theory and Practice: Essays on Moral and Political Philosophy (a collection of papers by Narveson himself on ethical and political theory), Morals By Agreement (David Gauthier), Liberty, Games and Contracts (an anthology compiled by Malcolm Murray that brings together various critique of Narveson's ideas by a number of philosophers as well as replies by Narveson himself).

Fritz- Anton Fritzson
Lund University,
Sweden