One of the great weaknesses of standard libertarian theory is that it tends to push too hard by elevating presumptions into absolutes.
Richard Allen EpsteinSecuring, not prohibiting, the orderly transfer of wealth from A to B, based on wealth differentials, is the raison d'รชtre of the [New Deal programs]. The contrast between the modern progressive and classical liberal agendas could not be more explicit.
Richard Allen EpsteinThe pillars of classical liberalism call for flat taxes, with revenues put to limited uses; strong property rights; and free markets.
Richard Allen EpsteinWhen you are young in this world, you believe that the class of deductive truths about social matters is larger than it turns out to be. [...] I have discovered, to my infinite regret, that most of the serious debates over the basic principles of any political order have an irreducible empirical content.
Richard Allen Epstein