Social Justice and Libertarianism are Compatible

A lot happened in 2020, in fact, almost too much to unpack. The Covid pandemic reignited the conversation about what governments should do, and how they should do it. Some of this discussion started with Tyler Cowen’s blog post on what he called “State Capacity Libertarianism,” which combines a strong and capable state with an emphasis on free markets. This concept was controversial just last January, and the pandemic provided a valuable case study of sorts. Libertarians refined their views on what states should do and whether the state itself was the root of the crisis. But as much as the pandemic is an important event for libertarians to understand, other major events of 2020 are just as important; the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others, along with the Black Lives Matter protests that followed.

An Opening for Social Justice Libertarianism

Libertarians have long been a critical voice in the debate over police misconduct and criminal justice more generally, but most have stopped short of embracing slogans like “Black Lives Matter” and other ideas around social justice. Many social justice skeptical libertarians seem to be acting on defensible instincts: social justice means different things to different people. To these libertarians, social justice is the foundation for cancel culture and misguided government redistribution. 

But, to the extent that social justice means ending government oppression of historically disadvantaged groups, and expanding individual liberty to people regardless of race, class, and gender, certain aspects of social justice are also central to libertarianism. Breaking down some of the resistance among libertarians to think and talk about social justice would help reach people who may not otherwise be interested in libertarian philosophy. Not to mention, it is in line with principles of libertarianism. The oppression individuals experience based on race, class, and gender is mostly carried out by governments, and rolling back government as a way of curbing this oppression should be a natural goal for libertarians.

The Road to Social Justice

We must not forget the long history in libertarian thought of something similar social justice. More recently, a blog run by left-libertarian philosophy professors has been the best venue for discussion that explicitly links libertarianism and social justice. But perhaps the best example of the intersection between liberty and social justice comes from Friedrich Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom.  

Let’s focus on the way Hayek addresses questions on income inequality. He does not argue that income inequality is harmless, as some libertarians do today, but instead he argues that socialist policies would exacerbate, rather than alleviate, income inequality: “what [socialists] forget is that, in transferring all property in the means of production to the state, they put the state in a position whereby its action must in effect decide all other incomes.” He speaks directly to concerns about government oppression when he continues on the next page with, 

Who can seriously doubt that … the power which a multiple millionaire, who may be my neighbor and perhaps employer, has over me is very much less than that which the smallest fonctionnaire posses who wields the coercive power of the state and on whose discretion it depends whether and how I am allowed to live or work?

These passages indicate interest in the same types of issues that are central to today’s social justice debate. Hayek shows a deep concern for something that looks like social justice, and he argues that liberty, rather than socialism, is the best way to achieve it.

If being open to social justice is compatible with libertarianism, what does that mean for libertarians on policy? When engaging with the political system, it means not being afraid to use some of the language of social justice when advocating for libertarian policies. In politics, it could mean embracing new coalitions that would be hard to predict based on ideology alone. It also means protesting and organizing against injustices.

Libertarians have important contributions to make to policy and cultural conversations on a variety of different issues, but it’s our responsibility to make sure that these contributions are relevant to the discussion. This isn’t about adjusting libertarian principles to public opinion. On the other hand, communicating libertarian beliefs and policies in different ways can help reach out to new audiences and give libertarians a larger voice in the political and cultural forum. So, just as Cowen’s State Capacity Libertarianism is intended to address libertarianism’s need to reach new audiences and make new contributions to the debate, perhaps a new sort of “social justice libertarianism” can be similarly helpful.