Society & the individual

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ^ | December 28, 2007 | Donald J. Boudreaux

[LowCountryJoe]

I argued previously that liberty means the freedom of each adult to do or not do whatever he or she chooses as long as he or she accords the same freedoms to others. The most powerful justification for government in a land of true liberty is to prevent individuals from stepping on the same rights and freedoms of others.

And while no one this side of sociopathy doubts the importance of keeping each of us from infringing willy-nilly on each other's rights, too many people regard organized infringement to be just fine. Indeed, some call it "progressive."

"Progressives" yearn to control society consciously rather than permit it to be organized spontaneously according to the plans of countless individuals, each adjusting his or her actions toward others constrained by the boundaries of private property rights and equality before the law.

The "spontaneously ordered society" (to steal a phrase from the Nobel economist F.A. Hayek) is what emerges from the ongoing voluntary actions of free men and women. In such a society the individual is the relevant benchmark for evaluating that society's goodness. If individuals have ample opportunity to flourish -- to gain material wealth, to live longer lives, to become better educated, to enjoy a richer range of experiences -- the society is good.

Not that each person will take advantage of these opportunities, or even that there will never be some unlucky persons who are denied such opportunities. Perfection is not an appropriate standard by which to judge anything human.

But if in a spontaneously ordered society the number or persons who flourish in these ways is larger than in other kinds of society, the correct conclusion is that such a society is good.

[MNJohnnie]

I argued previously that liberty means the freedom of each adult to do or not do whatever he or she chooses as long as he or she accords the same freedoms to others

Nope. For example, Just because you accord others the right to murder you does not grant you the right to commit murder. Liberty also requires the acceptance of the burdens required to maintain a free, civil society. This is where most Libertarians fail, they confuse Liberty with License.

[William Terrell]

Just because you accord others the right to murder you does not grant you the right to commit murder.

Did you think this through?

[dcwusmc]

Of course not. They never do... fear of freedom is endemic (or pandemic, not sure which) amongst his set. It’s a classic liberal/”progressive” trait!

[dcwusmc]

Pandemic: occurring over a wide geographic area and affecting an exceptionally high proportion of the population [pandemic malaria] endemic: (b) occurring over a wide geographic area and affecting an exceptionally high proportion of the population I guess either one would fit...