Libertarianism from the ground up

John Hasnas' new book Common Law Liberalism : A New Theory of the Libertarian Society.

Peter Bergen : The book's core idea is that the philosophers have screwed us all up.

He says common law provides law without legislation; society can do fine without the state itself.

Bergen says Hasnas argues that justice should be thought as a kind of traffic management institution like property rights.

Julian Zelizer says libertarianism is not as radical as libertarianism.

He says common law respects property rights, contracts, individual autonomy, but is not absolutism characteristic of libertarian creed.

Zelizer: Common law is full of exceptions to broader rules, but libertarians can admire it.