Free State Challenge activist Dennis Pratt and Soho Discussion board Director Gene Epstein debate the decision, “A greater option to persuade extra individuals of libertarianism is to persuade them of the ethics stemming from self-ownership and the non-aggression precept, with out relying totally on consequentialist/utilitarian arguments.”
Dennis Pratt, a libertarian author and activist in New Hampshire, took the affirmative, arguing that the consequentialist arguments typical of libertarian economists are solely narrowly efficient, do not characterize the core of libertarianism, and are too troublesome for most individuals to shortly grasp. The philosophy of self-ownership, he stated, has way more power in its means to steer the most individuals.
Soho Discussion board Director Gene Epstein disagreed. Whereas he espouses the identical philosophy as his opponent, he made the argument that the empirical info associated to the poor outcomes of presidency interventions can get many individuals to rethink their anti-libertarian assumptions.
The talk occurred on June 20, 2024, on the Porcupine Freedom Pageant in Lancaster, New Hampshire, and was moderated by Free State Challenge founder Jason Sorens.
