A Libertarian Theory of Threat
A Libertarian Theory of Threat

Summary/Abstract: This politico-philosophical paper presents the libertarian theory of threat. It is claimed that the concept of threat is logically dependent on the concept of natural property rights. First of all, the common account of threat, according to which the difference between threats and offers depends on decrements and increments in the subjective well-being of an individual, is dismissed as untenable. The authors demonstrate, in a logical and deductive manner, that threat and property rights or, more specifically, violation of these impact each other logically and therefore the libertarian theory of threat or, more broadly, the natural rights account of threat is the only possible consistent theory of threat. The second section presents the so-called common account of threat (CAT) and the third section criticizes CAT as counterintuitive and based on an unsound background theory. The fourth section characterizes the so-called libertarian account of threat (LAT) and shows that it matches our considered moral judgements better than CAT. The theory of natural property rights is identified as the background theory of LAT and it is demonstrated that LAT is the only consistent account of threat. These investigations are conducted using the method of reflective equilibrium.

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