Debates within libertarianism

=== Voluntary slavery ===

=== Voluntary slavery ===

Libertarians generally believe that [[voluntary slavery]] is a contradiction in terms.<ref>{{citation|title=A Crusoe Social Philosophy|author=Murray Rothbard|date=16 January 2007 |author-link=Murray Rothbard|url=https://mises.org/daily/2459#ixzz0nx4DiTmB}}</ref> However, certain right-libertarians dispute the [[Lockean]] claim that [[Inalienable rights|some rights are inalienable]] and maintain that even permanent voluntary slavery is possible and contractually binding.<ref>[https://mises.org/journals/jls/17_2/17_2_3.pdf "Toward a Libertarian Theory of Inalienability: A Critique of Rothbard, Barnett, Smith, Kinsella, Gordon, and Epstein"].</ref><ref>Casey, G.(2011), "Can You Own Yourself?", Analysis and Metaphysics, Vol. 10, pp. 60-66. https://researchrepository.ucd.ie/entities/publication/d53b4dab-f934-41a4-81c2-e73ad97b9865/details</ref> Famous libertarian [[Murray Rothbard]] argued that libertarians seeing children as property of the parents left the platform open to sales of children as slaves, when parents needed finances, and that people entering into voluntary slavery would most likely be when there was no alternative available to pay debts, but this was not coercive as under the libertarian platform only the government could engage in coercion. Detractors maintain that there is no such thing as a morally-binding "slavery contract".

Libertarians generally believe that [[voluntary slavery]] is a contradiction in terms.<ref>{{citation|title=A Crusoe Social Philosophy|author=Murray Rothbard|date=16 January 2007 |author-link=Murray Rothbard|url=https://mises.org/daily/2459#ixzz0nx4DiTmB}}</ref> However, certain right-libertarians dispute the [[Lockean]] claim that [[Inalienable rights|some rights are inalienable]] and maintain that even permanent voluntary slavery is possible and contractually binding.<ref>[https://mises.org/journals/jls/17_2/17_2_3.pdf "Toward a Libertarian Theory of Inalienability: A Critique of Rothbard, Barnett, Smith, Kinsella, Gordon, and Epstein"].</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Casey |first=Gerard |date=2011 |title=Can You Own Yourself? |journal=Analysis and Metaphysics |volume=10 |pages=60–66 |url=https://researchrepository.ucd.ie/entities/publication/d53b4dab-f934-41a4-81c2-e73ad97b9865/details |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250708051642/https://researchrepository.ucd.ie/server/api/core/bitstreams/57fdcbf7-645a-4b61-8f16-b607e02d22ab/content |archive-date=8 July 2025 |access-date=8 July 2025 |url-status=live }}</ref> Famous libertarian [[Murray Rothbard]] argued that libertarians seeing children as property of the parents left the platform open to sales of children as slaves, when parents needed finances, and that people entering into voluntary slavery would most likely be when there was no alternative available to pay debts, but this was not coercive as under the libertarian platform only the government could engage in coercion. Detractors maintain that there is no such thing as a morally-binding "slavery contract".

Meanwhile, critics of capitalism question the libertarian premise, arguing that the capitalist wage system is [[wage slavery]].<ref>{{citation | title=Property and Contract in Economics: The Case for Economic Democracy |author=David P. Ellerman |url=http://www.ellerman.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Ellerman-Property-and-Contract-Book.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last = McKay |first = Iain |date = 2012 |orig-date = 2008 |title = An Anarchist FAQ – Appendix: Anarchism and "Anarcho"-capitalism – 2.6 “Do Libertarian-capitalists support slavery?” |url = https://anarchism.pageabode.com/book/2-what-do-anarcho-capitalists-mean-by-freedom/ |publisher = AK Press |location = Edinburgh and Oakland |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250127212945/https://anarchism.pageabode.com/book/2-what-do-anarcho-capitalists-mean-by-freedom/ |archive-date = 27 January 2025 |url-status = live |access-date = 30 April 2025}}</ref>

Meanwhile, critics of capitalism question the libertarian premise, arguing that the capitalist wage system is [[wage slavery]].<ref>{{citation | title=Property and Contract in Economics: The Case for Economic Democracy |author=David P. Ellerman |url=http://www.ellerman.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Ellerman-Property-and-Contract-Book.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last = McKay |first = Iain |date = 2012 |orig-date = 2008 |title = An Anarchist FAQ – Appendix: Anarchism and "Anarcho"-capitalism – 2.6 “Do Libertarian-capitalists support slavery?” |url = https://anarchism.pageabode.com/book/2-what-do-anarcho-capitalists-mean-by-freedom/ |publisher = AK Press |location = Edinburgh and Oakland |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250127212945/https://anarchism.pageabode.com/book/2-what-do-anarcho-capitalists-mean-by-freedom/ |archive-date = 27 January 2025 |url-status = live |access-date = 30 April 2025}}</ref>