I had surgery for prostate cancer last October. And I’m fine. But beware of a scam Facebook page using my photo to seem nostrums.
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Podcast (kinsella-on-liberty): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:39:41 — 90.8MB)
Kinsella on Liberty Podcast: Episode 463.
A followup discussion with André Simoni of Brazil about some questions he had about applying my/Rothbard’s title-transfer. See also KOL457 | Sheldon Richman & IP; Andre from Brazil re Contract Theory, Student Loan Interest Payments, Bankruptcy, Vagueness, Usury. [continue reading…]
I’ve pointed out before the pitfalls of trying to design law by legislation, and also the limitations of libertarian legal theorists trying to design or deduce law from their armchairs. 1 And yet there is no doubt a role for libertarian theorists, and for legal commentators and private law codes in guiding the development of law in a private-law society. 2 As an example, a fledgling libertarian society might take the existing private law as developed in the mostly decentralized Roman law, and as now embodied in European civil codes, or the English common law, as starting points and as presumptively compatible with libertarian law.
The positive Roman/European continental and Anglo-American common law would only be presumptively just, and would have to be scrutinized with respect to more fundamental or abstract or general libertarian principles, and ultimately discarded if found wanting. It would be no surprise if this were the case; lots of statist or other assumptions play into the reasoning of jurists over the centuries. It would be a surprise if mistakes never happened. Of course a sense of caution or humility in jettisoning long-established rules would be warranted. As Chesterton noted: [continue reading…]
- The Limits of Armchair Theorizing: The case of Threats; also Libertarian Answer Man: Corporations, Trusts, HOAs, and Private Law Codes in a Private Law Society; KOL359 | State Constitutions vs. the Libertarian Private Law Code (PFS 2021); KOL345 | Kinsella’s Libertarian “Constitution” or: State Constitutions vs. the Libertarian Private Law Code (PorcFest 2021). [↩]
- See Stephan Kinsella, “Legislation and the Discovery of Law in a Free Society,” in Legal Foundations of a Free Society [LFFS] (Houston, Texas: Papinian Press, 2023), Part V.B; also Roman Law and Hypothetical Cases. On the distinction between abstract legal rights and more concrete rules that serve as guides to action, see “Legislation and the Discovery of Law in a Free Society” and Kinsella, “Knowledge, Calculation, Conflict, and Law,” in LFFS, the subsection “Abstract Rights and Legal Precepts” and the section “The Third-Order Problem of Knowledge and the Common Law,” text at n. 24 et seq. For an example of a concise statement of the basic principles of libertarian justice, see Aggression and Property Rights Plank in the Libertarian Party Platform. [↩]
From Twitter:
Here’s what I’ll add: you say yours is a moral argument. You say you’re a Rothbardian. I don’t think you could defend that position, especially given that Rothbard was wrong concerning all rights are property rights, and self-ownership is their source. I believe I soundly… https://t.co/dGqcgY4BPC
— Michael Liebowitz (@Lieboisout) April 25, 2025
“Here’s what I’ll add: you say yours is a moral argument. You say you’re a Rothbardian. I don’t think you could defend that position, especially given that Rothbard was wrong concerning all rights are property rights, and self-ownership is their source.”
A few things. First,…
— Stephan Kinsella (@NSKinsella) April 25, 2025
Background:
My heart is with Israel, my brain is with the Palestinians.
- A Tour Through Walter Block’s Oeuvre
- Ammous vs. Block on Israel
- Walter E. Block & Alan G. Futerman, “Rejoinder to Hoppe on Israel vs. Hamas,” MEST Journal (2024), which is a response to
- Hans-Hermann Hoppe, “An Open Letter to Walter E. Block,” LewRockwell.com (Jan. 31, 2024).
- David Gordon and Wanjiru Njoya, “The Classical Liberal Case For Israel,” LewRockwell.com (Feb. 2, 2024; Mises.org version)
- and Walter’s response, Alan G. Futerman and Walter E. Block, “Rejoinder to Gordon and Njoya on Israel and Libertarianism,” MESTE Journal (Position Paper) (2024).
Some recent twitter posts:
Isn’t being anti war a gutless, virtue signaling position? I mean, most people would rather there not be a need for war, but sometimes it’s either war or being conquered.
— Michael Liebowitz (@Lieboisout) April 24, 2025
Not any more than your being opposed to aggression is virtue-signaling. Your way of wording is loaded since it subtly implies an analogy or similarity between self-defense by an individual and that by a state. This is a bit disengenuous. As I pointed out previously…
— Stephan Kinsella (@NSKinsella) April 24, 2025
I haven't weighed in much on the Walter Block/Mises Institute/Hoppe Israel stuff, since I know what areas I specialize in and this is not one of them (libertarians often want to chime in about things they know little about; I try to resist this or provide appropriate…
— Stephan Kinsella (@NSKinsella) September 6, 2024
Completely disagree. Just like with IP. The case against IP is not anarchist and doens't rest on anarchy, only on understanding the nature and basis of property rights. Similarly even if you are a minarchist you can recognize that justifying individual self defense is different…
— Stephan Kinsella (@NSKinsella) April 24, 2025
Podcast (kinsella-on-liberty): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:44 — 23.6MB)
Kinsella on Liberty Podcast: Episode 462.
I previously appeared on Joshua Smith’s Break the Cycle, in July 2021 (KOL349 | CouchStreams Ep 58 on Break the Cycle with Joshua Smith). I had forgotten but we also did a short “CouchStreams After Hours” segment for subscribers which was, and still is, behind a paywall. We discussed various things—my scooter ride with Antony Sammeroff in Austin and travels with Sammeroff the previous months (see KOL330 | Lift Talks #2 With Kinsella & Sammeroff and KOL329 | Lift Talks #1 With Kinsella & Sammeroff), skiing accidents while skiing with Sammeroff, my joining the Libertarian Party, the Mises Caucus, loser brigade libertarians and the Hoppe photo with Michael Malice’s helicopter gift (see below), when I was offered a job at Cato, when I was Disinvited From Cato, and so on. I had forgotten about this but stumbled across the file on my computer looking for something else, so decided to upload and podcast it. It’s been long enough. Youtube transcript and Grok shownotes below.
Earlier this month I attended and spoke at the APEE 49th Meeting in Guatemala City and had a great time. 1 The APEE Annual Meetings alternate between Las Vegas and other cities, sometimes in the US, sometimes in other countries. It’s been held in the past in Guatemala because of its connection to the Universidad Francisco Marroquín (where my old friend Bill Marina 2 used to teach), but apparently it’s been over 10 years since it was held there. Most of the meeting was held at the Westin Camino Real, just a couple miles from UFM, but the opening reception and dinner was held at UFM.
As I mentioned previously, 3 the CEES (Centro de Estudios Económico-Sociales; see UFM page), a group affiliated with Universidad Francisco Marroquín and in fact started by Manuel Ayau, who also founded UFM, 4 holds a monthly colloquium with UFM and other local students and members to discuss a book or work, normally on a Saturday night. The impression I get is that CEES was originally founded as very classical liberal and libertarian but nowadays has a lot of members interested in Rothbard, Hoppe, Austro-libertarianism, and so on. They sent me a very kind invitation to lead a discussion on the Monday night of my APEE talk (April 7), on the topic of self-ownership and natural rights, based on “How We Come To Own Ourselves,” chapter 4 of my recent book. 5 [continue reading…]
- KOL458 | Patent and Copyright versus Innovation, Competition, and Property Rights (APEE 2025). [↩]
- See my post Bill Marina (R.I.P.) on American Imperialism from the Beginning; also William Marina R.I.P., History News Network; William Marina R.I.P. | David Beito – The Beacon; William F. Marina as Teacher and Historian Independent Institute, Joe Stromberg. [↩]
- Speaking at APEE IP Panel in Guatemala. [↩]
- Ayau founded CEES in 1959 and he and other members of CEES founded UFM in 1971. For more on Ayau, see Ayau, The Ideology of Underdevelopment; Pedro Pablo Velásquez, “Manuel Ayau’s Campaign for Liberty: How FEE helped spark a movement in Guatemala,” FEE.org (Jan. 27, 2025); Classical Liberalism in Guatemala; Manuel F. Ayau (1925-2010): A Life for Liberty, Justice, and the Truth; Manuel Ayau: Champion of Freedom; Manuel Ayau (Acton); Manuel Ayau, »Champion of Freedom» (UFM); [↩]
- Stephan Kinsella, Legal Foundations of a Free Society (Houston, Texas: Papinian Press, 2023). [↩]
Podcast (kinsella-on-liberty): Play in new window | Download (51.0MB)
Kinsella on Liberty Podcast: Episode 461.
This is my appearance on Adam Haman’s podcast and Youtube channel, Haman Nature (Haman Nature substack), episode HN 119, “Stephan Kinsella Expounds on Philosophy And The Life Well Lived” (recorded Feb. 6, 2025—just before the Tom Woods cruise). We discussed philosophy and rights; my legal and libertarian careers (see Adopting Liberty: The Stephan Kinsella Story), and so on. Shownotes, links, grok summary, and transcript below. [continue reading…]
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