KOL045 | “Libertarian Controversies Lecture 1” (Mises Academy, 2011)

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 045. This is lecture 1 (of 6) of my 2011 Mises Academy course “Libertarian Controversies.” This lecture contained an overview of basic austro-libertarian concepts and started discussing various libertarian "misconceptions," regarding the left-right spectrum, coercion and force vs. aggression, the jurisdiction of private defense agencies, and related issues. I’ll release the remaining lectures here in the podcast feed in upcoming days. This course followed on my speech "Correcting some Common Libertarian Misconceptions," from the 2011 Annual Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society (May 27-29, 2011; see KOL 044 | “Correcting some Common Libertarian Misconceptions” (PFS 2011)). That talk  engendered a good deal of discussion and interest, but in the time allotted for a single speech I was able to cover only a small number of the topics I had assembled over the years. In the 6 week Mises Academy course, “Libertarian Controversies” (Sept. 19-Oct. 23, 2011), I covered these and related topics in greater depth. The course was planned for 5 weeks initially, but I added a sixth "bonus" lecture at student request. The course is discussed in my Mises Daily article “Libertarian  Controversies” (Aug. 25, 2011); here are the audio and slides for all six lectures. The “suggested readings” for this lecture are appended below. Update: see also KOL185: Clarifying Libertarian Theory (Liberty.me, July 2014) KOL 044 | “Correcting some Common Libertarian Misconceptions” (PFS 2011) SUGGESTED READING MATERIAL General background readings are below; other particular links are provided in the slides for each lecture: Recommended Background Readings Kinsella, “What Libertarianism Is" Kinsella, "Libertarian  Controversies" Hoppe, A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism [TSC], chapters 1-2, 7 Optional Background Readings Rothbard, For A New Liberty [FaNL] and Ethics of Liberty [EoL] (both strongly recommended) Huebert, Libertarianism Today (Scribd free version; Vance’s review; Kinsella review Rockwell & Rothbard, eds., The Free Market Reader Walter Block, Defending the Undefendable Frederic Bastiat, The Law Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom Linda & Morris Tannehill, The Market for Liberty Lysander Spooner, No Treason No. VI: The Constitution of No Authority Ayn Rand, Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal Kinsella What It Means To Be an Anarcho-Capitalist How We Come To Own Ourselves Causation and Aggression Punishment and Proportionality: The Estoppel Approach Inalienability and Punishment: A Reply to George Smith Argumentation Ethics and Liberty: A Concise Guide Defending Argumentation Ethics: Reply to Murphy & Callahan New Rationalist Directions in Libertarian Rights Theory Against Intellectual Property The Case Against IP: A Concise Guide The Trouble with Libertarian Activism Legislation and the Discovery of Law in a Free Society Summary version: Legislation and Law in a Free Society Recommended Background Readings: Other David Friedman, The Machinery of Freedom Gary Chartier, The Conscience of an Anarchist Bruno Leoni, Freedom and the Law Bastiat, The Law; Economic Sophisms and Economic Harmonies Charles Murray, What it Means to be a Libertarian David Boaz, Libertarianism: A Primer; The Libertarian Reader: Classic and Contemporary Writings from Lao Tzu to Milton FriedmanRichard Epstein, Simple Rules for a Complex World Jeffery Miron, Libertarianism, from A to Z Optional Background Readings: Bibliographies Hoppe, Anarcho-Capitalism: An annotated bibliography Kinsella, The Greatest Libertarian Books David Gordon on Liberty Lew Rockwell on Reading for Liberty Others at LRC Bibliographies Update: The videos of all six lectures are now available here; the video for this particular lecture is embedded below.