http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-libertarianismLeft-libertarianism (sometimes synonymous with left-wing libertarianism and libertarian socialism[1][2]) is a term that has been used to describe several different libertarian political movements and theorists.
Left-libertarianism, as defended by contemporary theorists such as Peter Vallentyne, Hillel Steiner, and Michael Otsuka, is a doctrine that has a strong commitment to personal liberty and has an egalitarian view concerning natural resources, believing that it is illegitimate for anyone to claim private ownership of resources to the detriment of others.[3][4] Some left-libertarians of this type support some form of income redistribution on the grounds of a claim by each individual to be entitled to an equal share of natural resources.[4] Social anarchists, including Murray Bookchin[5], anarcho-communists[6] such as Peter Kropotkin and anarcho-collectivists such as Mikhail Bakunin, are sometimes called left-libertarian.[7] Noam Chomsky also refers to himself as a left libertarian.[8] The term is sometimes used synonymously with libertarian socialism[9] or used in self-description by geoists who support individuals paying rent to the community for the use of land. Left libertarian parties, such as Green, share with "traditional socialism a distrust of the market, of private investment, and of the achievement ethic, and a commitment to expansion of the welfare state."[10]
In contrast, right libertarianism holds that there are no fair share constraints on use or appropriation.[11] Radical right libertarians hold that individuals have the power to appropriate unowned things by claiming them (usually by mixing their labor with them), and deny any other conditions or considerations are relevant. Thus they believe there is no justification for the state to redistribute resources to the needy or to overcome market failures.[12]
Differing from the above definition, some anarchists who support private ownership of resources and a free market call themselves left libertarian and also use a different definition for right libertarianism. These individuals include Roderick T. Long[13] and Samuel Edward Konkin III[14] Others, such as scholar David DeLeon, do not consider free-market private property anarchism to be on the left.[15]
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Topic: A place for people like me? (Read 22186 times)