Hunting Down Social Darwinism Will This Canard Go Extinct

Preface xix

Chapter13 comesfull circle,returningto the questionthatopenedBookOne:Can liberty
be properlyjustifiedon a philosophicbasisotherthaninductivereason?I addresswhetherlibel,
slander,and defamationare permissiblein a trulyfree society,and alsowhethera liber-
tariantrulysupportslibertyif he believesthatlibertydoesnot requirea philosophic
justificationbasedon inductivereasoningor an ethicalcodefoundedon self-interest.
Followingchapter13 is a conclusionthat summarizesthe findingsof the trilogy.
As I mentionedin the prefaceof BookOne,I writein a timeof socialupheaval.The
Westernrealmis at a crossroads.We can persistin condoningthe mannerin whichthe
Statehas thwartedfree enterprise,for fearof beinglabeledsocialDarwinistsif we reject
this unsustainablesystemof coercivetaxationandmountingnationaldebt.On the con-
verse,we can considerwhetherthe accusationof socialDarwinismis but a canard.Then,
no longerpermittingsuchan epithetto intimidateus, we can standfirmin the conviction
thatfree enterpriseis just and necessary,not to be killedoff by thosewhoclaimto know
of the evilsthat socialDarwinismbrings.

NOTES

1. BarackObama,KnoxCollegecommencementaddress,June4, 2005,republishedas Obama2006,
   36–40.