Authoritarian Libertarianism

A thought-provoking post inspired by a discussion on this blog — For Old Authority and New Liberty. A particularly inspired excerpt:

The rhetorical problem for libertarians (and I am just using Rothbard as the prime example here) is that they cannot state the implicit premise in their argument, for if they did they would have to call themselves “authoritarians.” Yes, libertarianism is ultimately dependent on the authority of law, natural law, and in the most profound and benevolent sense could be called authoritarianism. The choice is not between liberty and authority, but rather “each together with the other.” This is the secret of libertarianism, or at any rate the paleolibertarian tradition that characterizes Albert J. Nock, Garit Garrett, Isabel Patterson and, if you read him closely, Murray Rothbard. Authority is the stable solution into which the elixir of liberty is poured, thus producing a free society.