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Framing Left Libertarianism: A First Pass

… Left libertarianism (hereinafter LL) is authentically libertarian both because it is anti-statist (the LLs who come readily to mind are all anarchists; I take it as a given here that the LL is an anarchist or something close enough for the difference to be irrelevant) and because it affirms the value of markets and property rights. At the same time, LL is authentically leftist because it seeks to challenge privilege, hierarchy, exclusion, deprivation, and domination—both ideologically and practically—and because it can exhibit a genuine commitment to inclusion, empowerment, and mutual respect.

And it can do this, not by redefining terms—so that, for instance, freedom from physical coercion turns out to be the only kind of freedom that really matters—but instead by demonstrating the consonance between libertarian ideals and principles and a good-faith embrace of the left’s central concerns. …