Reading the "Public Use" clause

[Scott Gerber]

John Locke's classical liberalism can be read to support "safety-net 
libertarianism."  That concept also can be applied to American 
constitutionalism through the "pursuit of happiness" right articulated 
in the Declaration of Independence.  Again, I address this issue in TO 
SECURE THESE RIGHTS (NYU Press).

Scott Gerber
Law College
Ohio Northern University


RJLipkin at aol.com wrote:


> 
>It should be noted for  whatever relevance it might have to this thread 
but 
>more importantly for  its relevance to libertarian theory generally 
that such 
>relatively recent  classical libertarians as Ayn Rand, Nathaniel 
Brandon, John 
>Hospers, and, if I  remember correctly, Robert Nozick reject the idea 
that 
>redistribution for the  benefit of the poor is compatible with 
libertarianism. 
>Now there might be more  contemporary forms of "libertarianism" that 
permit the 
>creation of a social  safety-net through taxation and spending; indeed, 
some 
>libertarians might not  wince at embracing a theory whose coherence is 
>questionable.  But classical  libertarians embrace this theory not only 
for its 
>commitment to liberty, but  also for its conceptual coherence. 
> 
>       As someone who at one time was  committed to classical 
libertarianism 
>and who even now still admires the unity  and coherence of the theory, 
it's 
>difficult to apprehend how "safety-net  'libertarianism'" is a form of 
>libertarianism at all. 
> 
>Bobby
> 
>
>Robert Justin  Lipkin
>Professor of Law
>Widener University School of  Law
>Delaware
>


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--------------------------------------

Scott Gerber
Law College
Ohio Northern University
Ada, OH 45810
419-772-2219
http://www.law.onu.edu/faculty/gerber/