Josh Mitteldorf on Science, Values, and Politics

Josh’s libertarianism does not extend to property rights absolutism

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Anti-aging scientist Josh Mitteldorf has a somewhat different take on libertarianism from my live show’s first hour guest Etienne de la Boetie, as Josh explains in “Science and Politics, Libertarian and Socialist.” While aligned with Libertarians in support of free speech and opposition to war and government surveillance, Josh writes, “I part company when it comes to the libertarian credo of the sanctity of private property…Private property is not a God-given right, and it is certainly not ‘natural law.’ The earth doesn’t belong to me, and the fact that I dig up a diamond doesn’t imply that my ownership is an unalienable right. Not only doesn’t the earth belong to me, it doesn’t belong to Bill Gates or Exxon Mobil or the Bureau of Land Management.”

Do you agree with the libertarianism of Etienne, Josh, or neither/nor? Drop a comment when this show is archived at my Substack.

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