ments I make on such topics as vegetarianism, open borders,
government regulation, and anarchism.
One might hope that libertarians would be more receptive to
vegetarianism, since we tend to reflect on moral principles in a
way free from status quo bias. Unfortunately, we libertarians are
subject to other biases. Most of us have some discomfort with the
political left, and animal welfare is seen as a “left-wing” cause.
In addition, we tend to be relatively low in empathy even for our
fellow human beings, and empathy for other species is more dif-
ficult than empathy for one’s own.
Despite these stumbling blocks, libertarians should choose
vegetarianism. Almost all meat comes from factory farms. No
one who looks at the practices of such farms disagrees that
they are extremely inhumane. They would be uncontroversially
labelled “torture” if any person were subjected to them.
In view of the vast numbers of animals involved, this could
be the greatest problem in the world today even if human welfare
is thousands of times more important than animal welfare. Yet
whether or not it is literally the worst, it is hard to see how factory
farming could fail to be an extremely serious problem. Those of
us who are disposed to act from moral principle should take a
stand here and stop going along with the status quo.NEGATIVE:
Don’t Prioritize the Well-
Being of Animals Over
Humans
DANIEL J. D’AMICO
LIBERTARIANS SHOULDN’T BE vegetarians.
Adhering to religious dietary customs is totally legiti-
mate, perhaps even admirable, behavior. Thus, when I say
“vegetarians,” I don’t mean Catholics during Lent, Jews
avoiding pork, Muslims keeping to halal, and so on. I’m
instead referring to that newly popular category of secu-
lar killjoys who avoid meat because of their moral beliefs
about animal rights. I include all forms of non–meat eating
under this broad umbrella term. For my purposes, if you
only eat fish, you’re a vegetarian. If you’re a vegan who
also abstains from eggs and dairy, you’re a vegetarian.
Vegetarians prioritize the well-being of animals
over people, and there is nothing moral about that.
How many baby seals would you club to death to save the life
of a human child? Presume, for argument’s sake, a lifeboat
scenario where this is a real trade-off. I think the right answer
is “all of them.”
Most people don’t want to club baby seals, and many would
find it deeply unpleasant. But even they would likely concede
that a human child is more valuable. In my mind, this calcu-
lus doesn’t change if it’s the first seal, the hundredth, or the
thousandth. If you clubbed 99 seals only to then say, “That’s
my limit—I can’t in good conscience do any more,” from my
perspective, a human baby is dead because of you. The point
is simply that human well-being is vastly more important than
animal well-being, and the vast majority of adults express this
truism in their daily behaviors when they eat meat.
Here’s where these debates get weird. Vegetarians will pro-
claim, “But that’s how society used to think about slavery.” Yes,
but animals are not humans. Many species are intelligent, feel
pain, and exhibit complex ranges of emotions, but these are not
sufficient criteria for establishing or enforcing animal rights.
Humans can hold other people accountable for damage or
harm done to animals they own, which is to say that animals
can “borrow” human rights. But animals do not have the capac-
ity to possess rights themselves. That is why the slavery anal-
ogy breaks down. Even the most oppressed slave was capable
of living in human society as a moral and political equal. Pigs,
chickens, and cows cannot do that, because nonhuman animals
are incapable of learning, abiding by, and being held account-
able to human laws. Rights are more than just the outgrowth of
moral populism.
The abolitionists were acting on moral concerns, but their
activism was reinforced by the practical reality that slaves were
human beings with full potential to contribute as free members
of society. Economic growth increased after enslaved people
were freed. Emancipation improved the well-being not only of
the former slaves but of humanity as a whole, which has sub-
sequently enjoyed the benefits that spill over from generalizedPhoto: @julochka REASON 31