Richard Miller, the Hutchinson Professor in Ethics and Public Life in the Sage School of Philosophy, writes in this Washington Post op-ed that understanding the philosophy of libertarianism provides a basis for abandoning libertarianism.
He writes that "a committed libertarian must condemn as wrong forcibly taking a life-preerver ornamenting another's flagpole to save someone from drowning and must support the enforcement of contracts to enter into slavery and clauses in home sales forbidding subsequent sales to African-Americans. What a relief to abandom such committments, while relying on moral foundations for political choice enriched by lessons learned by libertarianism."
Simon Wheeler for Cornell University
Cornell’s 2025 Bouchet Society inductees. Back row (left to right): Don Long, Andrea Robinson, Salma Rebhi and her son, Zhuang Han, and Aspen Omapang. Front row (left to right): Jamila Walida Simon, Marguerite Pacheco, Libby Indermaur, and Belen Sotomayor