The Non-Aggression Principle Is Realistic and Not an Abstract Concept

In his book the Ethics of Liberty, Murray Rothbard sets out the links between individual liberty, property rights, and the non-aggression principle. Rothbard’s explanation of property rights as the essence of liberty has greatly influenced the libertarian understanding of the NAP, but there is often a great deal of confusion as to what amounts to an act of aggression. As David Gordon has pointed out, some libertarians have gone so far as to say that the NAP should be rejected altogether for havi...