Libertarianism, Natural Rights and the Constitution: A Commentary on Recent Libertarian Literature

Cleveland State University EngagedScholarship@CSU Cleveland State Law Review Law Journals 1996 Libertarianism, Natural Rights and the Constitution: A Commentary on Recent Libertarian Literature David Bergland Follow this and additional works at: https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clevstlrev Part of the Law and Politics Commons How does access to this work benefit you? Let us know! Recommended Citation David Bergland, Libertarianism, Natural Rights and the Constitution: A Commentary on Recent Libertarian Literature, 44 Clev. St. L. Rev. 499 (1996) available at https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clevstlrev/vol44/iss4/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at EngagedScholarship@CSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Cleveland State Law Review by an authorized editor of EngagedScholarship@CSU. For more information, please contact . LIBERTARIANISM, NATURAL RIGHTS AND THE CONSTITUTION: A COMMENTARY ON RECENT LIBERTARIAN LITERATURE DAVID BERGLAND 1 Why Government Doesn't Work By Harry Browne. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995 What It Means To Be A Libertarian By Charles Murray. New York: Broadway Books, 1997 Libertarianism: A Primer By David Boaz. New York: The Free Press, 1997 I. IN RODUCTION .................................... 500 II. W HO ARE LIBERTARIANS? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502 III. FALLACY OF LEGISLATIVE OMNICOMPETENCE ................ 503 A. M oral Element ................................ 1. The War on Ingestion ...................... 2. Enabling the Nanny State ................... 3. Natural Rights v. Legal Positivism ........... 4. Limiting Leviathan ........................ B. PragmaticElement ............................ 1. Justifiable Uses of Force .................... 2. The Dictator Syndrome ..................... 3. Destroying Market Signals .................. IV. TIE AUTHORS' PROPOSALS FOR CHANGE ................. A. Social Security ................................ B. Health Care .................................. C. Education .................................... D. Foreign Policy and National Defense .............. E. Persuasionv. Force ............................ F. Implementation ............................... V. CONCLUSION ..................................... 504 504 505 507 509 511 511 512 513 514 514 515 516 516 517 518 519 1 B.A., University of California at Los Angeles, 1966; J.D., University of Southern California School of Law, 1969; Order of the Coif; Editor-in-Chief, Southern California Law Review, 1968-69. Adjunct Professor of Law, Western State University College of Law, 1970-1993. Mr. Bergland is a commercial litigator and is the author of "Libertarianism In One Lesson," now in its sixth printing. Published by EngagedScholarship@CSU, 1996 1 CLEVELAND STATE LAW REVIEW [Vol. 44:499 I. INTRODUCTION During his 1996 presidential re-election campaign, Bill Clinton told us: "The era of big government is over." Consummate politician that he is, Mr. Clinton knew that was what the people wanted to hear. Of course, Mr. Clinton's specific policy proposals tend toward more government, not less. His "budget balancing" plan is for the federal government to continue growing for the next seven years. Programs to help the elderly, the poor, families, working parents, college students and others will expand, the War on Drugs will expand, regulation of the work place and cyberspace will expand, and big government will get bigger. The fact that the Republicans control both houses of Congress will not likely affect the trend. What's going on here? Why do voters nod their heads in agreement when reminded that government is too big, too expensive, too intrusive, and woefully inefficient and then support more of the same kinds of programs that have proven to be so ineffective and counter-productive before? More important, is it actually possible to reduce the size, cost and intrusiveness of the federal government and would that be a good thing? Harry Browne, the Libertarian candidate for president in 1996, addresses these questions in Why Government Doesn't Work. 2 (Browne, 64, is the author of numerous financial books, including three New York Times best sellers. His 1973 How I FoundFreedom in an Unfree World3 is considered a libertarian classic.) As a libertarian, Mr. Browne does not hesitate to declare that a smaller government would bring substantial improvement to the lives of all of us. The tricky part is to understand why government programs never seem to achieve the stated ends of their supporters, actually making things worse in the process, and to come up with a plan to get the support of the majority for radical elimination of large parts of the government. The modest market success of Harry Browne's book, and his presidential campaign, generate some questions about the libertarian segment of American politics in the late twentieth century. Who are these libertarians? What do they want? Where did they come from? Should we listen to them? Mr. Browne's book and two other recent additions help answer these questions. Charles Murray's What It Means To Be A Libertarianis sub-titled "A Personal Interpretation." In this slim book (178 pages) Murray gives his personal response to the "who are the libertarians" question (he differs from other, more strictly rational, principled libertarians, in that he is "fond of tradition and the nonrational aspects of the human spirit.")4 He also tells us what he seeks to accomplish with a number of succinct policy prescriptions. (Murray is a respected social scientist associated with the American Enterprise Institute and 2 HARRY BROWNE, WHY GOVERNMENT DOESN~r WORK (1995). 3 HARRY BROWNE, How I FoUND FREEDOM INAN UNFREE WORLD (1973). 4 CHARLES A MURRAY, WHAT IT MEANS To BE A LIBERTARIAN: A PERSONAL INTERPRETATION (1997) [hereinafter WHAT IT MEANS]. https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clevstlrev/vol44/iss4/6 2 1996] COMMENTARY ON RECENT LIBERTARIAN LITERATURE 501 an author well known for Losing Ground: American Social Policy 1950-1980, 5 In Pursuit: Of Happiness and Good Government 6 and, with Richard J. Herrnstein, The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structurein American Life. 7 To Murray, the importance of seeking limited government is: Not just because freedom is our birthright, but because limited government leaves people with the freedom and responsibility they need to mold satisfying lives both as individuals and as members of families and communities. To substitute the phrase that the Founders used so often and so respectfully, limited government enables people to pursue happiness.8 David Boaz, Executive Vice President of the CATO Institute, a prominent Washington libertarian think tank, tells us (among much else) from whence the libertarians, ancient and modern, have come. He takes us on a fascinating historical journey from ancient China (Lao-Tzu), the Bible (First Book of Samuel), through cla (...truncated)