To Tyrants the Answer is “No”: Conceptualizing a Confident, Muscular, and Cosmopolitan Libertarianism
Abstract This paper critiques the growing tendency among some libertarians, particularly those influenced by national-conservatism, to treat individual liberty and property rights as culturally contingent "Western" values unsuitable for export beyond the West. The authors argue that libertarianism is inherently cosmopolitan: it posits universal, inalienable rights of self-ownership and property that apply to all individuals regardless of nationality, culture, or tradition. Drawing on FA Hayek, the paper rejects the nation-state's claim to collective "self-determination" through majoritarian legislation, favouring instead universal rules of just conduct (cosmos) over particularistic commands (taxis). National-conservative critiques - that libertarianism undermines tradition, community, and non-Western values - are countered by showing that libertarian principles accommodate voluntary associations, intermediary institutions, and cultural diversity, while requiring only that no group impose its vision on others. The authors advocate…