Libertarians typically argue that particular obligations, at least under normal circumstances, must be created by consent; they cannot be unilaterally imposed by others.

At George Mason University I saw Hoppe present a lecture in which he claimed that Ludwig von Mises had set the intellectual foundation for not only economics, but for ethics, geometry, and optics, as well. This bizarre claim turned a serious scholar and profound thinker into a comical cult figure, a sort of Euro Kim Il Sung.

But there is no obvious reason for holding that some normal adults are entitled to make choices for other normal adults, as paternalists of both left and right believe.

It is obvious that different individuals require different things to live good, healthy, and virtuous lives.

Guardians are necessary for children and abnormal adults, because they cannot make responsible choices for themselves.

Group personification obscures, rather than illuminates, important political questions.

Obviously, all of us have been influenced by those around us.