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Entry: The Relativist Roots of Libertarianism Link: http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/the_relativist_roots_of_libertarianism#25540 Post contents: I think that Christopher Roach overestimates the extent t0 extent to which libertarians rely on a relativist view of morality. Certainly Murray Rothbard did not. Rather his position was that there is objective moral knowledge, but that force is justifiable only as a response to force or fraud. Mr. Roach refers to this view, or a variant of it, in his sentence, "And, moreover, even if there were some moral knowledge in any of these areas. . .". (I'm not sure whether he intends this to be read as a counterfactual conditional)But he treats this as a side point when, to Rothbard,it is of prime importance. Rothbard's libertarianism allows for the small communities and common community values that Mr. Roach praises. People in his view are free to form communities in which the sale of pornography and dangerous drugs, e.g., aren't allowed. Sent at: 2008 07 24