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Does Belief in Ethical Subjectivism Pose a Challenge to Classical Liberalism?

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Abstract

Classical liberalism stresses the desirability of free markets, limited government and the rule of law. As such, it builds on some moral judgments. According to ethical objectivism, such judgments (in themselves always personal and subjective) can be true or false since objective moral facts exist against which the judgments can be assessed. Ethical subjectivism denies the existence of objective moral facts. This paper asks: Does it matter whether people believe that objective moral facts exist – in general and for a defense of classical liberalism? It is argued that the answer is in the negative. The implication for classical liberal strategy is that attempts to argue that a certain metaethical foundation is needed should be abandoned.

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  • Berggren, Niclas, 2003. "Does Belief in Ethical Subjectivism Pose a Challenge to Classical Liberalism?," Ratio Working Papers 27, The Ratio Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:ratioi:0027
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    Cited by:

    1. Niclas Berggren, 2006. "Legal positivism and property rights: a critique of Hayek and Peczenik," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 217-235, September.
    2. Niclas Berggren, 2009. "Choosing one’s own informal institutions: on Hayek’s critique of Keynes’s immoralism," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 139-159, June.
    3. Niclas Berggren, 2016. "Does belief in objective morality lead to coercion? An analysis of the arguments of Kelsen and Buchanan," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 29(3), pages 315-326, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    metaethics; liberalism; values;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values

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