Comments Elsewhere

Dare I return to the subject? Why, yes, I do!

“DiLorenzo’s claim was not simply that Calhoun put forth a few libertarian-sounding arguments, judged independently of his other beliefs. Rather, it was that Calhoun was one of the greatest libertarian philosophers of his time. Now, I could understand this claim if Calhoun lived at a time where everyone else was a rabid statist who supported slavery. Then it might make sense to say that Calhoun was one of the greatest — i.e. greater than others — libertarians of his time. But there were certainly other people who lived at the same time and did not support slavery.”

Indeed. In fact, here’s some quick dates:

John C. Calhoun: lived 1782 – 1850. Vice President 1824-1832. Served in Senate 1830-1850. Defended slavery as “a positive good” on the floor of the Senate in 1837. Spent his last days fighting for the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850.

Lysander Spooner: lived 1808 – 1887. Published [url=http://www.lysanderspooner.org/UnconstitutionalityOfSlaveryContents.htm]The Unconstitutionality of Slavery[/url] in 1845 and [url=http://www.lysanderspooner.org/DefenseOfFugitiveSlaves.htm]A Defence for Fugitive Slaves Against the Acts of Congress[/url] in 1850, in addition to numerous other libertarian writings.

William Lloyd Garrison: lived 1805-1879. Published The Liberator 1831-1865. Defended the Declaration of Independence and denounced the Constitution as “a covenant with death and an agreement with Hell”. Began to argue for peaceful Northern secession by 1844.

To describe Calhoun as one of the greatest libertarian theorists of his time is, quite frankly, a historical obscenity.