Reading Questions:
John Hospers - The Libertarian Answer
1. According to Hospers, what is the basic libertarian doctrine? What
would Mill say about this doctrine?
2. According to Hospers, what is wrong with state-subsidized arts projects?
Would Hospers support federal interstate highways?
3. What does Hospers think about your right to property? If you knew
I was an addicted gambler and was extremely likely to waste all my money
and your family was starving to death, would Hospers think you were justified
in stealing money from me to buy your family food? What do you think?
4. According to Hospers, where do our rights come from?
5. According to Hospers, why are individual property rights necessary? Can
you think of any counter-examples to Hospers' view? That is, can you think
of any cases where we now protect property rights, where if we chose not
to do so, but allowed everyone equal right to said property, none of the
consequences Hospers mentions would occur?
6. According to Hospers, what is the proper role of government? What benefits
do citizens receive when government fulfills this role?
7. What three types of laws does Hospers identify and which type(s) does
he support? For each type he rejects, why does he reject it?
8. Hospers claims that if controls were taken off of businesses, the economy
would flourish as never seen before and our needs and desires would be fulfilled
as never before. Can you think of any negative consequences of taking off
all controls on businesses?