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From: laura@utzoo.UUCP (Laura Creighton)
Newsgroups: net.politics.theory
Subject: Re: McKiernan's last-ditch ad hominem attack
Message-ID: <5517@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 22-Apr-85 03:53:33 EST
Article-I.D.: utzoo.5517
Posted: Mon Apr 22 03:53:33 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 22-Apr-85 03:53:33 EST
References: <891@wucs.UUCP>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 34

Hello there.

1. Nozick presents a position which could be considered libertarian. However
   his reasons for coming to his conclusions are his own -- and a lot of them
   do not wash -- which leaves a good many libertarians wishing he had not
   made them at all. Rand is closer to ``mainstream libertarian thought''
   (a great deal of which she inspired, if nothing else). Still there are
   libertarians who want to disassociate themselves from the Objectivists as
   well. Murray Rothbard is in much the same boat - he is too much of an
   anarchist for many libertarians.

2. I have read *Anarchy State and Utopia*. I can discuss its virtues and
   flaws at great length. I am glad that it was widely read -- it got people
   thinking in ways that had not been common. But I think that Nozick ends up
   making a case for a welfare state (though Nozick, of course, doesn't think
   so!) This means that there is either something wrong in his principles, or
   in his understanding of them (I think both). It would have been really nice
   if Nozick had bothered to understand the Randian Argument before he tried
   to improve on it (though not, I think in ASaU -- I have lots of Nozick and
   I get them confused and htey are all packed now...) 'cause he made a royal
   mess of it, and it is a rather beautiful argument.

3. I have *The Libertarian Reader* which was edited by Tibor Machin. 2 articles
   in it refer to *New Indian Claims for Land* and one of them centres around
   land claims of Indians which are rather well recongnised as valid -- and what
   to do about restoring their land to them. Tehre are references to other
   papers, but I forget where they are published and what they are and I
   am not going to rummage through 15 boxes of books to find them...)

Sorry that I can't repond more, but I am gone in 5 days... Yippee!

Laura Creighton
utzoo!laura