Associations
Senior Research Fellow, 1977-1994, Institute for Humane Studies
Writings
Herbert Spencer's Theory of Causation [PDF], Journal of Libertarian Studies, 1981
Related Topic: Herbert Spencer
"What are the social conditions best suited for the development of the justice sentiment? A free 'industrial' society, answers Spencer. An authoritarian 'militant' society, on the other hand, discourages this sentiment. ... This rather prosaic summary of Spencer's theory of justice ... points out the central role that the conduct/consequence doctrine plays in his theory of justice."
Related Topic: Herbert Spencer
"What are the social conditions best suited for the development of the justice sentiment? A free 'industrial' society, answers Spencer. An authoritarian 'militant' society, on the other hand, discourages this sentiment. ... This rather prosaic summary of Spencer's theory of justice ... points out the central role that the conduct/consequence doctrine plays in his theory of justice."
Objectivism as a Religion, The Daily Objectivist, 30 Mar 2000
Related Topic: Objectivism
Six essays, previously published in Atheism, Ayn Rand, and Other Heresies
Related Topic: Objectivism
Six essays, previously published in Atheism, Ayn Rand, and Other Heresies
The Case Against God Sequel, 31 Jul 1999
Related Topic: Atheism
Speech given at the Freedom From Religion Foundation mini-convention in San Francisco
Related Topic: Atheism
Speech given at the Freedom From Religion Foundation mini-convention in San Francisco
The Ethics of Voting: Part I [PDF], The Voluntaryist, Oct 1982
Related Topics: Voting, The State, Voluntaryism
Examines libertarian and anarchist theory to provide a critique of electoral voting, i.e., voting for government officials
"I shall accept vicarious liability as a given within libertarian theory and proceed from this foundation. ... Given this fact, it follows that voters, in some cases at least, are deemed accountable by libertarians for the results of their votes (e.g., legislators who vote for victimless crime laws)."
Related Topics: Voting, The State, Voluntaryism
Examines libertarian and anarchist theory to provide a critique of electoral voting, i.e., voting for government officials
"I shall accept vicarious liability as a given within libertarian theory and proceed from this foundation. ... Given this fact, it follows that voters, in some cases at least, are deemed accountable by libertarians for the results of their votes (e.g., legislators who vote for victimless crime laws)."
The Ethics of Voting: Part Three [PDF], The Voluntaryist, Apr 1983
Related Topics: Politicians, Government, Lyndon B. Johnson
Examines, among other things, whether a libertarian can be employed by or hold office in a State entity
"A particular Senator (e.g., a libertarian) may never actually vote for a tax bill, but he has the legal right nonetheless. The privilege resides in the office. A person elected to high political office allies himself with the power of leviathan. He voluntarily seeks and successfully achieves the privileges of political office which permit him to aggress against his neighbors — privileges enforced by the State."
Related Topics: Politicians, Government, Lyndon B. Johnson
Examines, among other things, whether a libertarian can be employed by or hold office in a State entity
"A particular Senator (e.g., a libertarian) may never actually vote for a tax bill, but he has the legal right nonetheless. The privilege resides in the office. A person elected to high political office allies himself with the power of leviathan. He voluntarily seeks and successfully achieves the privileges of political office which permit him to aggress against his neighbors — privileges enforced by the State."
The Ethics of Voting: Part Two [PDF], The Voluntaryist, Dec 1982
Related Topics: The State, American Revolutionary War, Politicians
An analysis of the State as an institution ("method of pursuing a social activity")
"The State is a designed institution, forcibly imposed. State-builders had specific objectives in mind, foremost of which was to secure territorial sovereignty. ... Virtually all functions of government ... may be seen as supports for the monopolization of power. ... Sovereignty is the 'product' of this association (or the most fundamental among many); a monopoly on legitimized coercion is the 'process.'"
Related Topics: The State, American Revolutionary War, Politicians
An analysis of the State as an institution ("method of pursuing a social activity")
"The State is a designed institution, forcibly imposed. State-builders had specific objectives in mind, foremost of which was to secure territorial sovereignty. ... Virtually all functions of government ... may be seen as supports for the monopolization of power. ... Sovereignty is the 'product' of this association (or the most fundamental among many); a monopoly on legitimized coercion is the 'process.'"
Books Authored
Atheism: The Case Against God, 1973
Related Topic: Atheism
Related Topic: Atheism
- ISBN 0840211155
: Hardcover, Nash, 1974
- ISBN 087975124X
: Paperback, Prometheus Books, 1st paperback edition, 1980
Atheism, Ayn Rand, and Other Heresies, Apr 1991
Related Topics: Ayn Rand, Atheism
Related Topics: Ayn Rand, Atheism
- ISBN 0879755776
: Hardcover, Prometheus Books, 1991
: Paperback, Prometheus Books, 2000The Lysander Spooner Reader
by Lysander Spooner, George H. Smith (Introduction), 1992
by Lysander Spooner, George H. Smith (Introduction), 1992
- ISBN 0930073061
: Hardcover, Fox & Wilkes, 1992
- ISBN 0930073266
: Paperback, Fox & Wilkes, 1992