The fourth section of Lauren Hall's article "A Classical-Liberal Response to the Crisis of Bioethics" is entitled "Classical-Liberal Assumptions", in which the author reviews the fundamental classical-liberal "assumptions about the human condition."
Hall claims that classical-liberals share the following three basic assumptions about human nature: "humans have limited virtue", humans have "limited knowledge", and humans are imperfectable. Ok. I agree with all three assumptions, but I am not a classical-liberal. I am an anarcholibertarian (or libertarian anarchist if you prefer). Thus, one does not need to label oneself a classical-liberal to hold these particular beliefs. In fact, I think these 3 beliefs can theoretically be espoused by anyone (statist or non-statist) advocating any political system. Hall apparently does not understand that classical-liberalism is, at its core, a type of political theory rather than a type of social theory.
Hall ends this section of the paper by asserting that the primary problem with modern medicine "is that it attempts to eradicate the tragic aspect of life and places that eradication at the forefront of human achievement." What the hell? Uh, no. The actual primary problem with modern medicine is State intervention. Such silliness is the primary problem with modern classical-liberals, however.
Hall claims that classical-liberals share the following three basic assumptions about human nature: "humans have limited virtue", humans have "limited knowledge", and humans are imperfectable. Ok. I agree with all three assumptions, but I am not a classical-liberal. I am an anarcholibertarian (or libertarian anarchist if you prefer). Thus, one does not need to label oneself a classical-liberal to hold these particular beliefs. In fact, I think these 3 beliefs can theoretically be espoused by anyone (statist or non-statist) advocating any political system. Hall apparently does not understand that classical-liberalism is, at its core, a type of political theory rather than a type of social theory.
Hall ends this section of the paper by asserting that the primary problem with modern medicine "is that it attempts to eradicate the tragic aspect of life and places that eradication at the forefront of human achievement." What the hell? Uh, no. The actual primary problem with modern medicine is State intervention. Such silliness is the primary problem with modern classical-liberals, however.
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