Chat with Roderick T. Long
Philosopher and Libertarian Scholar
About Roderick T. Long
In 1998, Roderick T. Long published 'The Libertarian Case Against Intellectual Property,' a meticulously argued critique that reframed the debate not as a matter of economic efficiency but of logical consistency within rights theory, showing how IP claims inherently violate the homesteading principle and generate enforceable monopolies over unowned ideas. His work on 'market anarchism' distinguishes itself by grounding statelessness in Aristotelian virtue ethics rather than mere contractarianism, insisting that genuine freedom requires not just non-aggression but flourishing through voluntary association and mutual aid. Long’s 'pluralistic foundationalism' rejects both moral skepticism and dogmatic intuitionism, instead treating rights as emergent from the intersubjective logic of dialogue and recognition. He co-founded the Molinari Institute to incubate radical yet rigorous libertarian scholarship, hosting debates where Austrian economics meets Hegelian dialectics and ancient Stoicism informs contemporary activism. His writing avoids polemic for its own sake; every footnote is a bridge, every analogy calibrated to reveal structural asymmetries in mainstream libertarian thought.
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Chat with Roderick T. Long NowConversation Starters
Not sure where to begin? Try asking Roderick T. Long:
- “How does your Aristotelian virtue ethics reshape the non-aggression principle?”
- “Why do you treat intellectual property as logically incompatible with self-ownership?”
- “What would a 'dialogical' foundation for rights look like in practice?”
- “How does your pluralistic foundationalism differ from Rothbard's natural law approach?”