[cross-posted at BHL]
Over at C4SS I’ve posted the abstract to a paper on Left-Libertarianism: Its Past, Its Present, Its Prospects that I’ll be presenting at the MANCEPT 2014 Workshop on the Current State of Libertarian Philosophy in Manchester UK in September.
As it happens, Kevin Carson has a more detailed post up on the same topic: What Is Left-Libertarianism?
Read them both – or be left out of all the cool conversations among the cool people in the corridors of counterpower!
Race, gender, post-scarcity utopianism, and the philosophy of personal identity in my second Oz post.
Call for Abstracts
for the Molinari Society’s Year 11 Symposium to be held in conjunction with the American Philosophical Association Eastern Division meeting, December 27-30, 2014, in Philadelphia.
Symposium Topic:
Libertarianism and Privilege
Submission Deadline:
26 May 2014
In recent years, “privilege” has become the default model for most of the Left’s critical discussion of structural oppression, resistance, and challenges to social justice. Critical discourse today recognizes many forms of structural social privilege, including white privilege, male privilege, and privilege based on heterosexuality, gender identity, and economic or political class. Privilege is said not only to touch on political power but also to have interpersonal and epistemic dimensions – informing social interactions and cultural expressions, and raising concerns about the position of social critics and limitations or distortions of knowledge.
In addition, the relationship between libertarianism and privilege has begun to attract increased interest, both within and beyond libertarian circles. Libertarianism has been described both as essentially an opposition to privilege, and as essentially a rationalization of privilege. Does libertarian theory have the resources to address questions of structural privilege – especially those forms of social privilege that do not appear to derive from state action? Should it address such questions? What unique insights or contributions might it offer to critical discussions of privilege? How might an account of structural social privilege modify or develop libertarian approaches?
Abstracts should be submitted for the 2014 Symposium by 26 May, 2014. Submissions from any point of view are welcome. Please submit an abstract only if you expect to be able to present the paper in person at the Symposium. (Final papers should be of appropriate scope and length to be presented within 15-30 minutes.) Submitting authors will be notified of the acceptance or rejection of their papers by 31 May, 2014.
Submit abstracts as e-mail attachments, in Word .doc format, PDF, or ODT, to longrob@auburn.edu.
For any questions or information, contact Roderick T. Long at the above email address.
Here are the powerpoint slides for my presentation at the AERC this past weekend, “Surrogacy Contracts and Inalienable Rights: A Rothbardian Analysis.”
I have a book review up at Reason, about the pink-robed, staff-wielding feminist vigilantes of India.
Two out-takes from the review:
I strongly suspect that the pink-skinned, staff-wielding, Indian-accented character of Peppi Bow in the Clone Wars television cartoon is inspired by Sampat.
Perhaps the Pink Gang could be seen as a low-tech, and non-anonymous, version of Anonymous.
My favourite line that survived into the final version: “Picture, if you can, Ayn Rand as an illiterate altruist.”
Pro-Choice Auburn (of which I’m one of the organisers) is hosting a screening of the movie Juno tonight (Unitarian Church here in Auburn, at 6:00), followed by a panel discussion (including your humble correspondent) on the film’s treatment of abortion and related issues. Details here; film trailer here.
There Will Be Blood Food.