Deep Charity
The Libertarian Failure
As libertarianism grows more popular among conservatives of all kinds, including Christian conservatives, it is important for us to understand the logic of the position. Some of it is compatible with Christian orthodoxy (which does not make it true) and some is not. The libertarian position on charity is not.
Christians believe that we are under an obligation to share our goods with those in need. Libertarians, however, claim that no such obligation of charity can exist, and they rest their case on a forceful argument. If you have a financial obligation to the poor, they say, then the poor must have a corresponding right to some portion of your worldly possessions. But if they had such a right, it would involve the absurdity that property could simultaneously be yours by possession and theirs by right. Therefore, no such obligation exists.
THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:
Graeme Hunter is a contributing editor to Touchstone and Research Professor of Philosophy at Dominican University College in Ottawa. He is the author of Radical Protestantism in Spinoza's Thought (Ashgate).
Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more from the online archives
36.1—Jan/Feb 2023
A History of the Protestant Debate over Contraception by James A. Altena
31.6—November/December 2018
on Childhood Encounters with a Christmas Icon by Rebecca Sicree
21.10—December 2008
Early Christian Teaching on the Incarnation & Redemption by Patrick Henry Reardon
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
