The dependence of libertarianism on the notion of sovereignty: rejoinder to morton

Abstract

G. E. Morton tries to defend libertarianism against my claim that it relies on an implausible secularization of ideas of divine sovereignty. But it is not true, as he claims, that morality itself entails human sovereignty: witness the moral theories of divine-command theorists and philosophical consequentialists. Nor is it true that sovereignty can be conceptually transferred from God to equal human individuals, since they would have no legitimate way to legislate over each other, short of a unanimous “general will.” Nor, finally, does the idea of first possession rescue private property rights, since it is as applicable to animals and children as to adult human beings.