Ep 39: Libertarians and Libertinism with Taylor Barkley

The popular perception of libertarianism is often skewed. While those on the left tend to think of libertarians as greedy and self-absorbed with no concern for the poor, those on the right --- and particularly the Christian right --- often conflate libertarianism with libertinism. What's worse, many libertarians have contributed to this error by mixing libertarianism with other elements of their ethics, giving the inaccurate impression that libertarians must be hedonists, abuse narcotics, or live licentiously, or that at the very least they must not object to someone else's questionable behavior. As we continue our interview series with the authors of Called to Freedom, Taylor Barkley joins us to talk about the differences between libertarianism and libertinism. What are the different shades of libertarianism? How do the distinctions between 'thin libertarianism' and 'thick libertarianism' come into play? Why do some libertarians mix libertinism into their libertarianism? How should we explain libertarianism to those on both the left and the right?