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Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 189.
This is an interview I did a few weeks ago with English libertarian Richard Storey. We discuss the nature of libertarianism, its roots in Western Rationalism and how to defend and promote it, property rights and scarcity, the significance of Hoppe’s argumentation ethics, praxeology, Misesian dualism, logical positivism, legal positivism, and related matters.
Related material:
- What Libertarianism Is
- Argumentation Ethics and Liberty: A Concise Guide
- Logical and Legal Positivism
- Storey’s book The Uniqueness of Western Law: A Reactionary Manifesto
- Storey, THE ‘REACTIONARY’ LIBERTARIANISM OF FRANK VAN DUN
I enjoyed this podcast. I liked your discussion on private property and resource scarcity. I thought that was well argued and explained.
Libertarianism is always challenging to describe because it’s more about means than ends. It doesn’t have a defined, universal end state like, for example, communism. There are many ways communities adhering to libertarian principles can resolve problems. Each community might structure itself in a very different way. That’s the beauty of libertarianism and also what makes it hard to describe.
The one sour note was the comment on “scientism”. That’s a term commonly used by cranks like young-earthers and alternative medicine supporters. The scientific method is one of the great intellectual accomplishments of mankind. Its success above all other forms of inquiry is obvious and requires no other justification.