Episode 09: Does Social Hierarchy or Economics Make The State Inevitable?

A discussion of the main points of Kerry Baldwin's article on economics, social relations, and the question of the inevitability of the state in a properly-functioning society. Robert Nozick's economic argument for the immaculate conception of the state, and Russel Kirk's social argument for states are both answered. A non-monopolistic view of civil governance is placed in terms of "sphere sovereignty" and a non-individualistic and non-collectivistic view of society.

https://reformedlibertarians.com/009/

00:00 Start

00:32 Episode description
Article: https://libertarianchristians.com/2018/04/11/economics-hierarchy-states-inevitability/
Part 1 on law and order and the question of civil governance legitimacy: https://reformedlibertarians.com/003
Part 2: on human sinfulness and the question of civil governance necessity: https://reformedlibertarians.com/005

01:45 Summary overview of article

03:20 The economic argument for the state's supposed inevitability, as presented by Robert Nozick in his book Anarchy, State, and Utopia
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0465051006?tag=kerrybaldwin-20

04:24 Murray Rothbard's refutation of Nozick's hypothetical "immaculate conception of the state"
Text: https://mises.org/library/robert-nozick-and-immaculate-conception-state
Audio: https://mises.org/library/29-robert-nozick-and-immaculate-conception-state

04:43 Nozick's false assumption about contract and Rothbard on title-transfer view of contract
Text: https://mises.org/library/property-rights-and-theory-contracts
Audio: https://mises.org/library/19-property-rights-and-theory-contracts

06:39 Nozick's false assumption about dispute resolution and Bob Murphy's "Wouldn't Warlords Take Over?" on the realistic alternative to combat
Text: https://mises.org/library/wouldnt-warlords-take-over
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7fJCtv90Pc

07:55 Nozick's false assumption about agreements and organizational merger and the counter-example of Ancient Ireland's non-monopolistic legal order
https://mises.org/library/private-law-emerald-isle

09:53 The social argument for the state's supposed inevitability, as presented by Russel Kirk in his 10 Conservative Principles, from the principle of variety
https://kirkcenter.org/conservatism/ten-conservative-principles/
from his book The Politics of Prudence
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1932236554?tag=kerrybaldwin-20

12:09 The Reformed Libertarianism statement
https://reformedlibertarians.com/reformed-libertarianism-statement/
Why the worst rise to the top of the state
https://fee.org/articles/hayek-was-right-the-worst-do-get-to-the-top/

13:10 The neocalvinist and reformational view of society (sphere sovereignty) as a superior alternative to individualistic and collectivistic views of society
https://www.academia.edu/32356017/Dooyeweerds_Societal_Sphere_Sovereignty_2017_revision_

14:56 Praxeological / methodological individualism (recognizing that only individual persons properly act) is not an individualistic view of society

16:35 Society is not a single thing, nor something normatively governed "overall"

18:44 No specific community normatively governs all the others of that same kind, whether familial, ecclesial, or civil (or any other kind)

The Reformed Libertarians Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute: https://libertarianchristians.com and a member of the Christians for Liberty Network: https://christiansforliberty.net

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