Is Justice Timeless? Yes.

From: A
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2018 9:44 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Question about death penalty

Dear Mr. Block, I’m a Brazilian student of Austrian Economics and I’ve read your excellent argument about the death penalty using Nozick’s example of the life transfer machine. Some people I’ve spoke with still think that the criminal’s life is only forfeit in the presence of the machine (they think the concept of justice is somehow dependent of the technology of the time). I’d like to humbly ask you some suggestion of arguments or reading material to answer to these claims, proving that the morality/justice of the death penalty does not depend on the actual existence of the machine. Please help, Thank you ! A

From: Walter Block [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2018 10:41 PM
To:
Cc:
Subject: RE: Question about death penalty

Dear A: I argue here that justice is timeless, independent of technology:

Block, Walter E. 1986. The U.S. Bishops and Their Critics: An Economic and Ethical Perspective, Vancouver: The Fraser Institute. (127 pages) isbn: 0-88975-085-8; http://www.fraserinstitute.org/researchandpublications/publications/7221.aspx; http://www.amazon.com/U-S-Bishops-Their-Critics-ebook/dp/B00BGJDHDG/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1

Block, Walter E. 1983. Focus on Economics and the Canadian Bishops, Vancouver: The Fraser Institute. (76 pages) isbn: 0-88975-057-2; http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1349328; http://www.amazon.com/Focus-Economics-Canadian-Bishops-ebook/dp/B00BH3T20S/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1

Here is my case for the death penalty:

Block, 2003A, 2003B, 2003C, 2006, 2015; Rothbard, 2010; Whitehead and Block, 2003

Block, Walter E. 2003A. “The Death Penalty.” November 11; http://archive.lewrockwell.com/block/block34.html

Block, Walter E. 2003B. “Death Penalty Essential for Social Justice.” Loyola University New Orleans Loyola University New Orleans The Maroon; October 10; http://maroon.loyno.edu/news/2003/10/10/Editorial/Death.Penalty.Essential.To.Social.Justice-525232.shtml

Block, Walter E. 2003C. “Libertarianism vs. Objectivism; A Response to Peter Schwartz,” Reason Papers, Vol. 26, Summer, pp. 39-62; http://www.reasonpapers.com/pdf/26/rp_26_4.pdf

Block, Walter E. 2006. “Radical Libertarianism: Applying Libertarian Principles to Dealing with the Unjust Government, Part II” Reason Papers, Vol. 28, Spring, pp. 85-109; http://www.walterblock.com/publications/block_radical-libertarianism-rp.pdf; http://www.walterblock.com/wp-content/uploads/publications/block_radical-libertarianism-rp.pdf; http://www.reasonpapers.com/pdf/28/rp_28_7.pdf; (net taxpayer, ruling class analysis p. 87)

Rothbard, Murray N. 2010. “The Libertarian Position on Capital Punishment.” July 13;
http://mises.org/library/libertarian-position-capital-punishment

Block, Walter E. 2015. “The Death Penalty: Response to Ron Paul.” Criminal Justice Ethics, Vol. 34, No. 3; pp. 339-349; http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0731129X.2015.1109786;

Whitehead, Roy and Walter E. Block. 2003. “Taking the assets of the criminal to compensate victims of violence: a legal and philosophical approach,” Wayne State University Law School Journal of Law in Society Vol. 5, No. 1, Fall, pp.229-254; http://www.walterblock.com/publications/block_taking-assets.pdf (death penalty justified)

Best regards,

Walter

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3:04 pm on November 13, 2018