Talk:Economic libertarianism

The creation of this article seems kind of nutty. "Libertarian economics"? The economic system favored by libertarians is capitalism, and a capitalism article already exists. RJII 04:28, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC)


 * Are you suggesting I should integrate this information with that article and link there? Dave 04:35, Mar 29, 2005 (UTC)


 * I think so. Capitalism is itself a libertarian system by definition. I don't see a need for a separate article on "libertarian economics." Yes, it seems to me that much of the info here can be incorporated into that article (and a reference to "libertarians" not even necessary there). Libertarian economics *is* capitalism. RJII 06:53, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC)

No, it isn't. Libertarian economics is, at most, laissez-faire capitalism. Libertarians don't have a monopoly on the name "capitalism". They didn't even invent it. The kind of system that libertarians support is just one form of capitalism. -- Mihnea Tudoreanu 21:13, 4 August 2005 (UTC)
 * "Laissez-faire" capitalism IS capitalism. Capitalism is, by definition a system where ecnonomic decisions are made in a free market rather than by government control --that's what laissez-faire is. It's laissez-faire by definition. "Laissez-faire capitalism" is a pleonasm. RJII 03:49, 5 August 2005 (UTC)

I did some slight rewording on this part, but it's still iffy:


 * inconsistent if it simply ignores theft that occurred a certain amount of time ago (because this might imply that if a person steals something and that object is kept in his family long enough, it suddenly becomes legitimate property at some arbitrary point), or wildly impractical if it doesn't ignore theft in the past (because this implies, for example, that much of the land in North America should be given back to the Native Americans).

The time when a stolen good becomes legitimate property is not necessarily arbitrary; I would say that it occurs when the item is no longer in the possession of the person who stole it (unless you believe that families are guilty of crimes) and when the victim no longer has any identifiable living heirs to claim it. Also, it doesn't necessarily imply "that much of the land in North America should be given back to the Native Americans", unless you think of "U.S.A." and "Native Americans" as two big homogenous units that can owe things to each other. - Nat Krause 10:00, 12 September 2005 (UTC)

Move to Economic libertarianism
How about we move the article to Economic libertarianism? That's a real term and would make sense as the title for the article. Also, keep in mind that not everyone who is an economic libertarian is a libertarian. The title of this article kind of gives the impression that only libertarians have these views. RJII 22:12, 1 December 2005 (UTC)


 * Sounds good to me. --Serge 16:09, 20 December 2005 (UTC)
 * You got it. My notice has been there long enough. I guess the two of us makes a consensus, then. RJII 20:56, 20 December 2005 (UTC)