The Myth of Natural Rights and Other Essays

305 Pages·2008·3.64 MB·English

by  L.A. Rollins

ISBN: 978-0-615-19298-7 $13.00 th the
e
MYTH
M
No, it won’t stop bullets. It won’t keep people from ripping off your prop-
erty. It won’t even stop the government from putting you in a concentration Y
T of
camp, or executing you. About the only thing a “natural right” will stop is
H
enlightened thinking on the ethics of liberty. Once you’ve read The Myth of
NATURAL
Natural Rights and Other Essays, you’ll be able to put those imaginary o
f
protectors of freedom back in the museums where they belong. N RIGHTS
A
Libertarian scholars have had a difficult time being taken seriously in T
and
U
intellectual circles. There’s a good reason for this. While they have gained
R OTHER ESSAYS
recognition and acclaim for their staunch defense of the free market,
A
compelling advocacy of civil liberties and devastating condemnation of
L
interventionism, their stubborn reliance on the ancient myth of natural N
R
rights leaves them in philosophical disrepute. The doctrine of natural rights I
G
L. A. R O L L I N S is a freelance writer has persisted among libertarians, because there has never been a systematic
H
whose work has appeared in Grump, and thorough critique of all it implies. Until now. L.A. Rollins
T
Playboy, The Personalist, Book News, Books S
for Libertarians, Reason, The Journal of In one compact work, L.A. Rollins shatters the myth of natural rights, while a
exposing the “bleeding-heart libertarians” that promote it. With careful n
Historical Review, New Libertarian, d
research and ample documentation, he shows that O
Critique, The Spotlight, Prima Facie,
thinkers like Ayn Rand, Murray Rothbard, Tibor T
Arrival, Boing Boing, Slugfest, and Revisionist
H
Machan and Samuel Konkin not only violate
History. At one time he published and E
edited the journal, Invictus: A Journal of reason and logic in their defense of natural R
Individualist Thought. He is the author rights, but also violate the standards they set E
for themselves. S
of Lucifer’s Lexicon, which is currently S
A
out-of-print. He has also worked as a Y
Back in print for the first time in years, this
dishwasher, chef’s helper, carpenter’s S
newly revised edition features an insightful
helper, security monitor, convenience store
introduction by the Stirnerite-libertarian
clerk, paste-up artist, and for the past
upstart,TGGP, along with a new afterword by the
couple of decades as a copy editor and L
author. Bonus material includes an updated selection .A
proofreader. Mr. Rollins is a bachelor. His of sardonic jeu de mots from the underground classic, . N
hobbies include sucking his thumb and R
Lucifer’s Lexicon, as well as Rollins’ never-before- o
thumbing his nose, but not at the same l L.A. Rollins is an aphorist, or rather, an
published writings on poetic insurrection, the li
time. He lives in the Pacific Northwest n againstist. He is of the fraternity of those
Holy Qur’an and Holocaust revisionism. s who deny both sides of every question,
region of the United States of America.
the refusniks who are always untimely. . . .
Other than that, his private life is none of For him, there isn't a department of
your business. There is a Fifth Amendment, human experience that won't sell you a
bill of goods.
after all.
Nine-Banded Books “A scathing, all-out attack.”
www.ninebandedbooks.com – Bob Black, Beneath the Underground
9BB – George H. Smith, New Libertarian
Praise for The MyTh of NaTural righTs
Rollins has made hash of the logical connections in
Rothbard’s argument.
— Robert Anton Wilson, Natural Law
An important book, which every reader interested in
libertarian theory should acquire.
— Jeff Riggenbach, New Libertarian
Rollins does a fabulous job of making fools out of many
a libertarian’s philosophical heroes.
— Justin Weinberg, Guillotine
An argument could be made that a book like this is
potentially pretty damn dangerous.
— Pat Hartman, Salon: A Journal of Aesthetics
Rollins’ brief work is packed with enough analytical
insight to send proponents of natural-law theory into
hiding.
— Jorge Amador, The Pragmatist

The
M
yth

of
N r
atural ights
and
O e
ther ssays
L . A . R o l l i n s

NiNe-BaNded Books
CharlestoN, West VirgiNia
U.s.a.
MMVIII
The Myth of Natural Rights and Other Essays
Copyright © 2008 L.A. Rollins
Introduction © 2008 Conor Hartin
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form or by any means without written
permission of the author.
ISBN-10: 061519298X
ISBN-13: 978-0-615-19298-7
Cover Design by Joseph Clagg
Nine-Banded Books
Charleston, WV
www.ninebandedbooks.com
This book is dedicated to the two I love.
C
ONTENTS
Publisher’s Preface 9
PART 1:
the Myth of NatUral rights
Introduction, by TGGP 19
The Myth of Natural Rights 31
A Reply to My Reviewers 100

Instead of an Afterword 114
PART 2:
NothiNg saCred: rolliNs oN the
holoCaUst
The Holocaust as Sacred Cow 125
Revising Holocaust Revisionism 155
Deifying Dogma 203
PART 3:
lUCifer’s lexiCoN
Lucifer’s Lexicon: An Updated Abridgment 227
PART 4:
the eNd is Near
An Open Letter to Allah 291
Ode to Emperor Bush 297
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
3 01

Publisher’s Preface
It was the summer of 1988 and I had just flunked
out of high school. With few prospects and no clue as to
what I would do with “my future,” I signed on for back-to-
back summer classes. The idea was to belatedly collect my
diploma, then buy some time by enrolling at a low-rung
state college. I don’t remember much about summer school,
except that it was grim. I kept a low profile. I took the work
seriously enough to secure the requisite marks. There was a
lot of down time. So I read.
Two books are nestled up with my recollection of this
time. The first was a dog-eared paperback edition of Ayn
Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. I remember it was set in miniscule
typeface on age-oxidized high-acid paper. I would read a few
pages and my eyes would itch from the strain. But having
recently made my first acquaintance with the wily world
of libertarianism, I was determined. I was seeking out the