Home / Political objections / Libertarianism and anarcho-capitalism
"What's mine is mine: animals are property, and the freedom to use property is sacred."
Libertarianism and anarcho-capitalism: the principle
Self-ownership and the non-aggression principle: no one may initiate violence against another individual.
Why excluding animals contradicts the principle
- Self-ownership rests on being a subject, someone whose life can go well or badly. Sentient animals are subjects in this sense too.
- The non-aggression principle forbids initiating violence against someone who threatened no one. Breeding, mutilating and killing an animal is initiating violence.
- Saying the animal is property is the conclusion in dispute, not a premise. Beings who can be victims do not become property without an argument, and that argument is missing (A17).
The strongest counter-reply
The most serious version says rights come from agreements between agents able to respect non-aggression, and that animals, who cannot respect it, are outside the agreement.
See also
A17 Animals are property.A23 Morality exists to protect us from each otherE4 The state can't ban what I eat.