Sheldon Richman Says the Moral Case for Freedom Is the Practical Case for Freedom

If
one says that a government activity—“public” schooling, perhaps, or
the war on selected drug merchants and users—helps turn the inner
cities into hellholes and otherwise makes people’s lives miserable,
is that a moral objection or a practical (utilitarian or generally
consequentialist) objection? Some libertarians are inclined to say
it’s a utilitarian objection, but Sheldon Richman has long been
uncomfortable with this answer. For one thing, as he points
out, utilitarianism is a moral theory, so utilitarian
objections cannot be excluded from the realm of moral
propositions.

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