The Problem of Victimless Crime in Walter Block’s Political Philosophy Cover Image

Problem przestępstw bez ofiar w filozofii politycznej Waltera Blocka
The Problem of Victimless Crime in Walter Block’s Political Philosophy

Author(s): Łukasz Święcicki
Subject(s): History of Philosophy, Political Philosophy
Published by: Instytut Studiów Politycznych PAN
Keywords: libertarianism; victimless crime; political philosophy; prostitution; drugs

Summary/Abstract: Walter Block, an American economist and political philosopher, is a special case among libertarians, including anarcho-capitalist ones. His defence of certain behaviours that are considered to be immoral and often unlawful, such as prostitution, drug trafficking, blackmail and voluntary slavery, makes a typical libertarian anti-state rhetoric quite moderate. In his work entitled Defending the Undefendable, Block defends those whom society has made scapegoats by assigning all the worst behaviours to them. He re-evaluates the traditional way of perceiving ‘villains’ who turn out to be the heroes of the free market in libertarian ideology. This article analyses two cases defended by Block and explains their grounding in the doctrine of libertarianism. These are prostitution and the distribution of drugs. The concept of victimless crime is used to explain the essence of the problem, which is radically different from the dominant images of some unlawful acts.

  • Issue Year: 2018
  • Issue No: 22
  • Page Range: 295-312
  • Page Count: 18
  • Language: Polish