TOWARD A LIBERTARIAN THEORY OF CHARITABLE DONATIONS TO CRIMINALS, GOVERNMENTS

ABSTRACT. Libertarianism is the political philosophy according to which it is illegitimate, and thus a punishable crime, to initiation violence against another person or his private property. But what about donating money to criminals? Is this, too, to be considered criminal behavior under libertarianism? The present paper explores this question. It also argues that donations to criminals, and even donations to certain state institutions that are deemed criminal by libertarian lights, are illegitimate. pp. 9–28
JEL Classification: H10, H11, Z10

Keywords: charity, donations, libertarianism, criminality