Some troubles with the self-ownership thesis considered as a principle of justice
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Many libertarian theorists argue that the redistribution of resources is an illegitimate policy because it violates the property rights that individuals enjoy over themselves. This idea is known in literature as the self-ownership thesis. In this article I attempt to show that three libertarian philosophies fail to justify the supposed incompatibility between self-ownership and redistribution. First, I present G. A. Cohen's critique of Robert Nozick and his principle of acquisitive justice. Later, I show that Rothbard and Mack, despite their different theories, fail to overcome the difficulties that beset libertarianism.
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