Ever since the publication in 1974 of Robert Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia, libertarianism has been much discussed within political philosophy, science and economy circles. Yet libertarianism has been so strongly identified with Nozick's version of it that little attention has been devoted to other than Nozick's ideas and arguments. While Nozick's version of libertarianism has preoccupied the academic discussion Nozick himself did not respond to the many criticisms raised and yet other defenders of libertarianism have not remained silent. Jan Narveson, Loren Lomasky, Eric Mack, Douglas Rasmussen, Douglas Den Uyl and many others have contributed impressive arguments of their own in support of the libertarian idea that a political system is just when it successfully secures the rights of individuals understood within the Lockean classical liberal tradition. In this book Tibor R. Machan analyses the state of the debate on libertarianism post Nozick. Going far beyond the often cursory treatment of libertarianism in major books and other publications he examines closely the alternative non-Nozickian defenses of libertarianism that have been advanced and, by applying these arguments to innumerable policy areas in the field, Machan achieves a new visibility and prominence for libertarianism.
In "Neither Left nor Right," a collection of his columns, Machan, a relentless advocate of the political philosophy of libertarianism, offers his always well-reasoned, often controversial opinions on the variety of threats to individual liberty in the United States and around the world.
The author defends a libertarian conception of a free society, one in which negative rights - rights not to be interfered with in peaceful pursuits - are identified and protected.
Especially when there is a lot of political rhetoric in the air, those of us with strong political convictions are inclined to reflect on just why we hold certain views even as others who are basically like us hold very different ones. Social scientists and other thinkers struggle to explain it, but the puzzle remains—in part because they, too, disagree so much with one another. Whether the arena is politics, religion, business, scientific research, or education, individuals who operate in the same environment and experience the same conditions may have radically different interpretations of the facts and diametrically opposed convictions about how to react to them. When faced with a fundamental disagreement, we ask ourselves: Why are these folks so wrong? And how can they be so convinced that we are wrong? In this provocative monograph, Tibor Machan explores the principles of truth, reason, and ideology, with particular respect to the profound political, economic, and social crises gripping the world today. In so doing, he not only sheds light on the nature of “truth” but also suggests a framework for embracing differences to come up with creative solutions.
Government interference in free enterprise is growing. Should they intercede in business ethics and corporate responsibility; and if so, to what extent? The Morality of Business: A Profession for Human Wealthcare goes beyond the utilitarian case in discussing the various elements of business ethics, social policy, job security, outsourcing, government regulation, stakeholder theory, advertising and property rights.
In Neither Left nor Right, a collection of his columns, Machan, a relentless advocate of the political philosophy of libertarianism, offers his always well-reasoned, often controversial opinions on the variety of threats to individual liberty in the United States and around the world.
It is often assumed that because the contemporary welfare state is generous, its critics must therefore lack generosity, as well as compassion. Tibor R. Machan, a distinguished moral philosopher, demonstrates why that is a mistaken notion. He places generosity among the human virtues and shows why virtue requires moral choice rather than coercion. He argues that generosity can only be cultivated in freedom because there is no virtue in a compulsory act. This book is a valuable contribution to an important and continuing debate.
The Liberty Option advances the idea that for compelling moral as well as practical reasons it is the free society -- with the rule of law founded on the principles of private property rights, its complete respect for individual sovereignty and properly limited legal authorities -- not one or another version of statism that serves justice best, is most prosperous and encourages the greatest measure of individual virtue on the part of the citizenry. The work shows why this is so and lays out some of the most crucial implications of the idea. While the book presents a principled approach to politics, it is firmly grounded in the best and most up to date understanding of human community life and history as well as many of its complications, challenges, adversities and prospects.
The Man Without a Hobby is the memoir of Tibor Machan, a first generation refugee who escaped both a political and a personal tyranny early in his life and embarked upon a search for an understanding of what it means to live freely and wisely. The book is a record of the main events and some interesting tidbits of his life. Detailed are Professor Machan's reflections, interpretations, and lamentations of his riskiest judgments and noteworthy achievements. This candid account of Machan's fascinating and passionate life will interest not only those who know of his immensely prolific career as a writer and lecturer, but also anyone who finds it exciting to witness the unfolding of a life containing drama, love, devotion to ideals, foibles, and virtues.
A serious confusion exists over government's proper role in society. Whatever is considered important has been presumed to be a "public" or government concern. But, what are the proper limits to this "public" sphere? Should government be limited to protecting individual rights, including the right to private property, under a Rule of Law applied uniformly throughout society? Many sincere and intelligent people answer in the negative and propose a broad scope for government, including the regulation of advertising, firearms ownership, drug use, teenage pregnancy, environment, health care, tobacco and alcohol consumption, AIDS research, employment, education, etc.
This book challenges the notion that humans aren't any more important than, say, ants, and ethics and politics must be adjusted accordingly as not to rank human concerns as primary.
Examining some of the special ethical dimensions of work, the contributors look at the basic issues of the labor market and offer some controversial alternatives to conventional ways of understanding that market. "Morality and Work" confronts issues with a bold, candid approach that is sometimes unsettling but always thought-provoking.
This book takes an unflinching look at the difficult, often emotional issues that arise when egalitarianism collies with individual liberties, ultimately showing why the kind of egalitarianism preached by socialists and other sentimentalists is not an option in a free society.
This book delivers concise, yet insightful summaries of the crucial political systems and the ideas of prominent political philosophers throughout history. It is designed to provide students new to the field with a familiarity of the various political viewpoints, as a matter of conscientious citizenship. From Conservatism, to Monarchism, to Socialism, Introduction to Political Philosophy examines a wide range of influential political systems and illustrates how most societies around the globe exhibit a blend of systems. Students will also learn about the influences and ideas of the great political philosophers, including Socrates, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, and Marx. This is an ideal supplement for introductory level courses dealing with the complexities of political thought, or anyone interested in developing a baseline understanding of political philosophy. Tibor R. Machan, Professor Emeritus at the Department of Philosophy at Auburn University, holds the R. C. Hoiles Chair in Free Enterprise and Business Ethics at the Argyros School of Business & Economics at Chapman University. He is also a Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. Machan is the author of 40+ books, editor of 20+ others, and is a syndicated and freelance columnist. He has also written over one hundred scholarly papers. He lectures in Europe, South Africa, New Zealand, the Republic of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Latin America on business ethics and political philosophy.
What special problems arise for managers and employees of companies when they do business in countries and cultures other than their own? The essays in this book identify universal principles of business ethics and spell out minimal legal and ethical absolutes in foreign trade. They examine human rights and analyze the cross-cultural aspects of two sexual harassment cases filed against Mitsubishi in America.
Tibor Machan's central political imperative in The Promise of Liberty is one that he has found borne out by history, analysis, and personal experience: to recognize that individuals have unalienable rights to their lives, liberty, and property (which includes, of course, the pursuit of their happiness, their life agendas), that the only limitations on these rights should be others' equal rights, and that the proper function or role of the legal authorities in a country is to 'secure' or protect these rights. As Machan points out, however, that imperative cannot survive scrutiny all on its own; it needs to be grounded on other true notions, on facts about us, the world, and the nature of community life. As a result, this book touches on a wide-ranging array of topics and addresses basic issues in ethics and the possibility of moral and ethical knowledge. This book will be of interest to students of politics and political economy, as well as those interested in what kind of human community is best suited for human living as such, with all its variety and multiplicity.
The contributors to this volume explore the implications of government funding of scientific research and offer alternatives to the heavy reliance on government support that research and development (R&D) currently enjoys. Each author squarely confronts the problems arising from the idea that government funding of R&D is and ought to be the norm.
In Liberty and Democracy, contributors grapple with the issue of the proper role of democracy in a society that is committed to respecting protecting the individual rights of all. They challenge conventional thinking, offering provocative ideas on democracy and individual freedom.
This introductory text in ethics by Tibor R. Machan aims to set forth, succinctly and systematically, the basic issues and positions of ethical inquiry with the goal of encouraging discussion, not providing answers. After considering such fundamental questions as What is ethics? Why study ethics? and How is ethics possible?, Machan familiarizes students with the basics of moral philosophy. Brief descriptions of various moral theories including hedonism, utilitarianism, altruism, and egoism are accompanied by criticisms and defenses of each theory. Because social and political philosophies are closely intertwined with personal ethics, the author describes various political systems. A chapter on ethics as a personal concern includes discussions of ethics based on common sense and on religion. The major challenges to ethics -- ethical subjectivism, ethical relativism, and nihilism -- are described and criticized. Finally, Machan applies ethics to such pertinent contemporary issues as abortion, advertising, assisted suicide, capital punishment, children's rights and obligations, gambling, the treatment of animals, racial discrimination, and sexual harassment.
The Liberty Option advances the idea that for compelling moral as well as practical reasons it is the free society - with the rule of law founded on the principles of private property rights, its complete respect for individual sovereignty and properly limited legal authorities - not one or another version of statism that serves justice best, is most prosperous and encourages the greatest measure of individual virtue on the part of the citizenry. The work shows why this is so and lays out some of the most crucial implications of the idea. While the book presents a principled approach to politics, it is firmly grounded in the best and most up to date understanding of human community life and history as well as many of its complications, challenges, adversities and prospects.
When members of the media address politicians or report on social problems they assume that whatever issues are important in society must be a matter of public or state concern. Yet, the state or government is but a small part of any human society. Machan asserts that while the exact nature of government is a complicated question, only a totalitarian government aims to assume responsibility for every possible concern of its citizenry. Machan believes that the concept "public" is too broadly used to mean any problem that vocal citizens want government to address. Private Rights, Public Illusions focuses on the proper scope of government authority, especially in regard to people's economic or commercial affairs. The public realm is one wherein we must act collectively and subordinate individual will to a common purpose. But, according to Machan, in the rest of our spheres of concern no such subjugation is necessary or even desirable. Because he sees the public realm as smaller than is generally believed, he argues that if government continues to intervene in affairs outside this public realm, then restrictions on individual liberties will become an obstacle to society's important progress. Private Rights, Public Illusions combines empirical with philosophical analysis and argument. Its radical critique of government intervention will be of interest to policymakers, philosophers, and political scientists, and theorists. From the foreword by Nicholas Rescher, "[Machan] clearly sees that the state that protects is a state that controls, and that an all-controlling state is to all intents and purposes a prison. Deeply rooted in a widely informed background in political philosophy and American constitutional thought, Machan's book issues a clarion call against such an assault on citizen sovereignty and individual rights . . . [He] proceeds to examine a great host of issues in the domain of contemporary public policy disputes: governmental regulation, prior restraint, occupational health and safety, the right to know, pollution control, product liability, freedom of expressions, and various others. His discussion does not simply ride some ideological hobby horse—as so many in this area do—but is deeply concerned to ground its deliberations in a combined care for philosophical principles, empirical realities, and contemporary texts.
Ever since the publication in 1974 of Robert Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia, libertarianism has been much discussed within political philosophy, science and economy circles. Yet libertarianism has been so strongly identified with Nozick's version of it that little attention has been devoted to other than Nozick's ideas and arguments. While Nozick's version of libertarianism has preoccupied the academic discussion Nozick himself did not respond to the many criticisms raised and yet other defenders of libertarianism have not remained silent. Jan Narveson, Loren Lomasky, Eric Mack, Douglas Rasmussen, Douglas Den Uyl and many others have contributed impressive arguments of their own in support of the libertarian idea that a political system is just when it successfully secures the rights of individuals understood within the Lockean classical liberal tradition. In this book Tibor R. Machan analyses the state of the debate on libertarianism post Nozick. Going far beyond the often cursory treatment of libertarianism in major books and other publications he examines closely the alternative non-Nozickian defenses of libertarianism that have been advanced and, by applying these arguments to innumerable policy areas in the field, Machan achieves a new visibility and prominence for libertarianism.
Libertarianism: For and Against offers dueling perspectives on the scope of legitimate government. Tibor R. Machan, a well-known political philosopher with libertarian convictions, argues for a minimal government devoted solely to protecting individual rights to life, liberty, and property. Stressing the sovereignty of each individual, Machan argues in favor of limiting democracy's scope and against the redistribution of wealth, or any other sort of taxation. In opposition to libertarianism, philosopher Craig Duncan defends democratic liberalism, which aims to ensure that all citizens have fair access to a life of dignity. This requires measures to protect equality of opportunity, as well as measures to ensure all have access to a decent minimum standard of living. In a dynamic exchange of arguments, critiques, and rebuttals, the two philosophers cut to the heart of this important debate, articulating and defending competing conceptions of such core values as political freedom and equality.
Tibor Machan's central political imperative in The Promise of Liberty is one that he has found borne out by history, analysis, and personal experience: to recognize that individuals have unalienable rights to their lives, liberty, and property (which includes, of course, the pursuit of their happiness, their life agendas), that the only limitations on these rights should be others' equal rights, and that the proper function or role of the legal authorities in a country is to 'secure' or protect these rights. As Machan points out, however, that imperative cannot survive scrutiny all on its own; it needs to be grounded on other true notions, on facts about us, the world, and the nature of community life. As a result, this book touches on a wide-ranging array of topics and addresses basic issues in ethics and the possibility of moral and ethical knowledge. This book will be of interest to students of politics and political economy, as well as those interested in what kind of human community is best suited for human living as such, with all its variety and multiplicity.
The author defends a libertarian conception of a free society, one in which negative rights - rights not to be interfered with in peaceful pursuits - are identified and protected.
This book challenges the notion that humans aren't any more important than, say, ants, and ethics and politics must be adjusted accordingly as not to rank human concerns as primary.
In Classical Individualism, Tibor R. Machan argues that individualism is far from being dead. Machan identifies, develops and defends what he calls classical individualism - an individualism humanised by classical philosophy, rooted in Aristotle rather than Hobbes. This book does not reject the social nature of human beings, but finds that every one has a self-directed agent who is responsible for what he or she does. Machan rejects all types of collectivism, including communitarianism, ethnic solidarity, racial unity, and gender identity. The ideas expressed here have important social and political implications, and will be of interest to anyone concerned with the notion of individuality and individual responsibility.
A Primer on Business Ethics is an accessibly written, engaging introduction to the fundamental questions of business ethics, for use in the undergraduate classroom. Machan and Chesher approach the business enterprise in a friendly, pro-business spirit, and identify the virtue of prudence as its moral foundation. Various branches of business including advertising, financial services, management, employment, corporate ethics, responsibilities of corporate management, public policy matters, and political economy are considered at length. The book is supplemented with an overview of various moral and political theories relevant to the subject matter, as well as a collection of useful case studies to inspire further discussion. An electronic instructor's manual enhances the material in the book with chapter abstracts, a bank of true/false questions for each chapter, essay questions, and mini-essays. This manual can be requested directly from the publisher for instructors using the book in the classroom. To request a copy, send an email to textbooks@rowman.com. Instructor Manual
The question of objectivity is whether human beings are capable of knowing reality just as it is, or whether there is some necessary distortion in our grasp of the nature of things imposed either by the very nature of our cognitive mechanism, or by such factors as language, culture, personal ambitions, psychological disorders, and class interests. Could it be that we do not see the world at all, since we see it from a particular point of view? Can we ever satisfactorily establish that our understanding of reality is accurate, or must that always remain in doubt? In this book Professor Machan defends objectivity in philosophy, science, and everyday life from its many critics. Objectivity stands in need of a defence because it is a difficult ideal to serve, especially in an era of multiculturalism, deconstructionism, feminism, and diversity. People from different cultures report having radically different experiences, indeed radically different worlds. They usually claim that their experiences are as true as anyone else‘s. Deconstructionists tell us that we know nothing determinate beyond language, i.e., that we don‘t know what we are talking about. Feminists often maintain that women and men see the world in significantly different ways. The idea of diversity gains much of its plausibility from the idea that people from diverse backgrounds all have their own valid ways of seeing the world. The most prominent movements in Anglo-American and continental philosophy are against objectivity. Such figures as Richard Rorty and Jacques Derrida unambiguously deny that human beings are capable of knowing the world as it is. This book considers and responds to these and similar challenges to objectivity.
This book takes an unflinching look at the difficult, often emotional issues that arise when egalitarianism collies with individual liberties, ultimately showing why the kind of egalitarianism preached by socialists and other sentimentalists is not an option in a free society.
This work focuses on the topic of freedom. The author starts with the old issue of free will - do we as individual human beings choose our conduct, at least partly independently, freely? He comes down on the side of libertarians who answer Yes, and scorns the compatibilism of philosophers like Daniel Dennett, who try to rescue some kind of freedom from a physically determined universe. From here he moves on to apply his belief in radical freedom to areas of life such as religion, politics, and morality, tackling subjects as diverse as taxation, private property, justice and the welfare state.
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