In a #libertarian world, there would be no crime against an ill-defined ‘society’, and therefore no such person as a ‘district attorney’ who decides on a charge and then presses those charges against an alleged criminal. Someone who intentionally violates another person’s property rights through theft or violence forfeits his own property rights “to the extent that he deprives another of his rights.” These rights are forfeited to victims because the victims have had their property rights violated. 

Is there a theoretical flaw in Rothbard’s theory of proportionality? For instance, if you steal my car and refuse to compensate me, shouldn't you be forced to surrender your income until the debt is fully paid? Some might argue this sounds like slavery, but the 13th Amendment allows for involuntary servitude as a punishment for crime. So why doesn’t the current system operate this way? Is it because such an approach is difficult to enforce in practice, or is it a matter of humanity and ethics? What’s the real reason?

#Grownostr #AskNostr #Rothbard #Libertarianism #Law #PropertyRights