Liberty, Property and Markets

Libertarianism attempts to establish a set of property rights as a complete political morality, its argument proceeding from liberty tout court, as the unique foundational aspect of well being that grounds rights. In this book, Attas presents a sympathetic reconstruction of the libertarian argument and then brings to bear a critical evaluation leading to an ultimate rejection of libertarianism. Exposing the limitations of libertarianism and disclosing its errors, Attas argues that the rights which libertarians adopt with respect to persons (self-ownership), natural resources (original acquisition) and products are indefensible given what liberty must be.'Daniel Attas presents one of the most sustained and insightful critiques of libertarianism to date. After analyzing the notions of freedom and property rights, he argues against the thesis of self-ownership, the foundational right to appropriate unowned natural resources, and the right to one's products. Although I disagree with many of his conclusions, his arguments are profound and require a careful response from libertarians.' Peter Vallentyne, Department of Philosophy, University of Missouri