Hillel Steiner

This book contains the historically most important discussions of the philosophical foundations of left-libertarianism. Like the more familiar right-libertarianism (such as that of Nozick), left-libertarianism holds that agents own themselves (and thus owe no service the others expect as the result of voluntary action). Unlike right-libertarianism, however, left-libertarianism holds that natural resources are owned by the members of society in some egalitarian manner, and may be appropriated only with their permission, or with a significant payment to them.

The authors of this volume engage in essay form in a lively debate over the fundamental characteristics of legal and moral rights. Each author considers whether rights essentially protect individuals' interests or whether they instead essentially enable individuals to make choices. The book addresses many questions including: What are the necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a right? What is the connection between the existence and the enforcement of a right (i.e., between rights and remedies)? Does the identification of rights inevitably involve value judgements? To what extent can rights be in conflict? The answers to these and related questions can illuminatingly clarify, though not finally resolve, some of the present-day controversies over abortion, euthanasia, and animal rights. Anyone interested in the basic nature of rights and other entitlements will profit from reading this book.