Preface xiAt the end of the CivilWar,whenfarmersand theirfamiliesbeganmovinginto the cities
to workin the big factoriesthatweresproutingup all acrossAmerica,we had to decide:
Do we do nothingandallowcaptainsof industryandrobberbaronsto run roughshod
overthe economyand workersby competingto see whocan pay the lowestwagesat the
worstworkingconditions?Or we do try to makethe systemworkby settingup basic
rulesfor the market,institutingthe first publicschools,bustingup monopolies...?
We choseto act, and we rosetogether....
Today,at the beginningof this youngcentury,we haveto decideagain.... Onceagain,
thereare thosewhobelieve...that the bestideais to giveeveryoneone big refundon their
government...in the formof tax breaks,...and encourageeveryoneto use theirshareto go
buytheirownhealthcare,theirownretirementplan,theirownchildcare,theirown
education,and so on.
In Washington,theycall thisthe OwnershipSociety.But in our pasttherehas been
anothertermfor it—SocialDarwinism—everymanor womanfor him-or herself.It’s a
temptingidea,becauseit doesn’t requiremuchthoughtor ingenuity.It allowsus to say
[to] thosewhosehealthcare[costs]or tuitionmayrise fasterthantheycan afford—tough
luck.It allowsus to say to the... workerswholost theirjob—life isn’t fair.It lets us say to
the childwhowasbornintopoverty—pullyourselfup by yourbootstraps.Andit is
especiallytemptingbecauseeachof us believeswe willalwaysbe the winnerin life’s
lottery,that we’re the oneswhowill be the nextDonaldTrump...Suchan idea,continuedthen-SenatorObama,“is a problem.It won’t work.It ignoresour
history.” Then,uponproclaimingthatsupportfor the freemarketis socialDarwinism,
then-SenatorObama promoted, as a wonderfulalternative,his version of intrusive
governmentcontroland socialcollectivism.^1
Thiscommondenunciationof free-marketadvocatesas socialDarwinists—a codefor
classist,elitist,sexist,racist,right-wingbigots—is of concernto me, as it containsimplica-
tionsfor the workyou are currentlyreading.Thiswork,HuntingDownSocialDarwinism,
is the finalinstallmentof the trilogyThe Natureof Liberty, whichprovidesa secular,
philosophicaldefenseof free enterpriseagainstthe regulatory-entitlementstate.
BookOneof Three
To review,the firstinstallmentof the trilogywasThe Freedomof PeacefulAction:On the
Originof IndividualRights(FOPA). Thisfirstbookwasdividedintotwoparts.PartI
arguedthat therecan be no casefor free enterpriseexcepta rationalone.To begin,thereis
no sortof truthexceptthatwhichis ascertainedthroughthe proceduresof inductive,
observationalreason.On thatfoundation,thisworkdefendsthe veracityof inductive
cogitationagainstthe criticismsof the philosophersDavidHumeandImmanuelKant.
Havingdefendedthe propositionthattruthis foundexclusivelythroughinductiverea-
soning,I proceedto arguethatthe principleappliesto moraltruth—ethicaltruthcan be
determinedby no meansotherthaninductivereason.Thismeansthat ethicaltruthcannot
be ascertainedthroughreligiousrevelationor throughinborn,emotionalintuition.In
proposingthatethicalprinciplesmustderivefromobservationalreason,I challengeDa-
vid Hume’s dictumthatethicalprinciplescannotproperlybe discoveredfromthe facts.
Onceestablishingthatethicsoriginatesfromfacts,I cite an argumentfromthe twentieth-
centuryRussian-bornauthorAynRand,whosephilosophy—calledObjectivism—bears
considerableinfluenceoverthis entiretrilogy.Ethicsis aboutdecipheringwhichgeneral
principlesare bestfor guidingone’s actions,andthe firstquestionto ask of ethicsis,
“WhyshouldI careaboutethicsto any degree?” The rationalansweris thatit is in one’s
long-rangeself-interestto careaboutethics.Suchself-interestdoesnot consistin indulg-
ing everywhim—doingso wouldresultin manyterriblyuncomfortableanddangerous
consequences—but in attaininga long-range generalhappinessandwell-being. That