Mapping the Ethical Minefield

David Friedman, David Boaz, and Scott Olmsted tackle a minefield of issues relating to ethics and strategy of the Libertarian Party.

David Boaz

David Boaz was a distinguished senior fellow of the Cato Institute and played a key role in the development of the Cato Institute and the libertarian movement. He was the author of The Libertarian Mind: A Manifesto for Freedom and the editor of The Libertarian Reader.

Boaz was a provocative commentator and a leading authority on domestic issues such as education choice, drug legalization, the growth of government, and the rise of libertarianism. Boaz was the former editor of New Guard magazine and was executive director of the Council for a Competitive Economy prior to joining Cato in 1981. The earlier edition of The Libertarian Mind, titled Libertarianism: A Primer, was described by the Los Angeles Times as “a well-​researched manifesto of libertarian ideas.” His other books include The Politics of Freedom and the Cato Handbook for Policymakers.

His articles have been published in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, National Review, and Slate, and he wrote the entry on libertarianism for Encyclopedia Britannica. He was a frequent guest on national television and radio shows and has appeared on ABC’s Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, CNN’s Crossfire, NPR’s Talk of the Nation and All Things Considered, The McLaughlin Group, Stossel, The Independents, Fox News, BBC, Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and other media.

David D. Friedman

David D. Friedman, son of Nobel laureate Milton Friedman, is a leading proponent of anarcho-​capitalism, the theory that the state is an unnecessary evil and that all services, including the law itself, can be provided by voluntary cooperation in the private economy.

While Friedman holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago, he is chiefly known for his scholarly contributions to economics and law. He is the author of five books of non-​fiction as well as the novels Harald and Salamander. In The Machinery of Freedom: Guide to a Radical Capitalism, Friedman argued that an economic analysis of impact of state action points to an anarchist conclusion. In Law’s Order: What Economics Has to Do with Law and Why It Matters, he shows how directing the law to seek economic efficiency can lead to the achievement of justice.

Friedman stands in contrast to many other anarchists because of his “consequentialist” approach. Rather than argue that humans have inviolable natural rights which it is always wrong to violate, he uses cost-​benefit analysis to assert that a world without government is measurably better than one ruled by states.

Scott Olmsted

Scott Olmsted is a longtime Libertarian Party member, serving on the central committee of the Libertarian Party’s Radical Caucus. Olmsted also served as the Secretary for the Students for a Libertarian Society. At the time of this recording Olmsted was completing his Ph.D in Engineering and Economic Systems at Stanford.

David Boaz is the executive vice president of the Cato Institute, and has played a key role in both the Institute’s development and the growth of the American libertarian movement at large.

David D. Friedman is an economist, professor, political philosopher, and the author of many books including The Machinery of Freedom: Guide to a Radical Capitalism, wherein he lays the groundwork for a society based exclusively on voluntary transactions.

Scott Olmsted is a longtime Libertarian Party member, serving on the central committee of the Libertarian Party’s Radical Caucus. Olmsted also served as the Secretary for the Students for a Libertarian Society. At the time of this recording Olmsted was completing his Ph.D in Engineering and Economic Systems at Stanford.

The panel is moderated by John Northrup.

Boaz, Friedman, and Olmsted debate a variety of ethical issues at the 1983 Libertarian Party Presidential Nominating Convention in New York. Issues raised include conflicts between pragmatic and ethical political strategies, what the Libertarian Party’s policies would be if it successfully elected a candidate to the presidency, whether or not the Libertarian Party should take federal matching funds, and whether libertarian politicians should take salaries.