In this paper, I have examined the political philosophy of a left-libertarian, Michael Otsuka from his book Libertarianism Without Inequality, and a libertarian socialist, Nicholas Vrousalis from his article Libertarian Socialism: A Better Reconciliation between Equality and Self-Ownership. The goal of this examination is partially to explore and present a variety of positions on distributive justice within libertarian theory as well as defend libertarian socialism as a plausible form of libertarianism. The main question motivating this defense is “Can libertarian socialism be truly libertarian in its conception of self-ownership and autonomy?”. In this examination of both left-libertarianism and libertarian socialism I compared both theories to the works of prominent right-libertarian philosophers, primarily John Locke and Robert Nozick, to determine if the theories meet the standards set by traditional libertarianism in promoting individual autonomy as well as to determine if these standards can be reconciled with substantial material equality, either in terms of opportunity or welfare. The results of this examination showed that not only are left-libertarianism and libertarian socialism plausible theories of libertarianism, even exceeding potential for individual autonomy found in right-libertarian theory, but that they both successfully reconcile this autonomy with equality. In defending libertarian socialism, it was determined that it is a successful reconciliation of self-ownership and equality, though this comes at the expense of the potential for minor decreases in self-ownership among individuals when compared to Otsuka’s left-libertarianism. This was defended, however, as libertarian socialism seems more promising a theory for those who hold stronger commitments to equality as well as additional commitments, namely a commitment to democracy.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Ao aplicar o método genealógico a teorias que apresentam subsídios à reflexão sobre a democratização, infere-se a constituição de duas matrizes de pensamento, a demofóbica e a demofílica. A concepção da demofobia deriva da ideia spinozista de que o pensamento político moderno se constitui em torno do medo das massas e das multidões. Os termos dessa demofobia manifestam-se no pensamento de teóricos liberais como Constant, Tocqueville, Stuart Mill, Spencer, Schumpeter, Pareto, entre outros; mas também se insinua no de teóricos socialistas, como Marx, Engels e Lênin. A compreensão de que a demofobia resulta em obstáculo epistemológico ao conhecimento da dinâmica das massas na política leva a buscar nova base teórica. Para isso, esta tese explora as distinções entre a noção de multidão, em Spinoza, e o conceito de povo, em Hobbes. A concepção de demofilia baseia-se fortemente nas premissas spinozistas, como a ideia de que a potência da multidão excede o ordenamento jurídico-político, sendo composta por elementos extraídos das éticas de Spinoza, Aristóteles e Cícero, nas quais a philia ou amizade revela-se como fundamento da comunidade política. A partir da análise desses elementos, formula-se a proposição demofílica que, à maneira de imperativo categórico, sentencia agir como se a demofilia fosse o mundo a realizar na esfera ético-política. Entendendo a demofilia como um ideal a partir do qual se julga a política, estabelece-se como âmbito teórico para derivação de princípios demofílicos o pensamento utópico, do qual participam também, mas não exclusivamente, teorias identificadas como anarquistas, comunistas e socialistas, estudadas nas figuras de Bakunin, Thoreau, Winstanley e Fourier. / By applying the genealogical method to theories that reflect on democratization, the formation of two matrices of thought arises: demophobia and demophilia. The concept of demophobia is derived from the Spinozan idea that modern political thought is built on a fear of masses and multitudes. The terms of this demophobia manifest themselves in the work of liberal theorists such as Constant, Tocqueville, Stuart Mill, Spencer, Schumpeter, and Pareto, among others; as well as socialist theoreticians such as Marx, Engels and Lenin. Because demophobia creates an epistemological obstacle to accessing an understanding of the dynamics of masses in politics, we have been led to pursuing new theoretical bases. As such, this dissertation explores the distinctions between the notion of multitudes, according to Spinoza, and the concept of people as understood by Hobbes. The concept of demophilia relies heavily on Spinozan assumptions, such as the idea that the power of multitudes exceeds legal-political order, composed as it is of elements drawn from the ethics of Spinoza, Aristotle and Cicero, for whom philia, or friendship, is the foundation of the political community. By analyzing these elements, we can formulate the demophilic proposition that, in a categorically imperative manner, makes us act as though demophilia were a world to be created in the ethical-political sphere. Understanding demophilia as an ideal from which to judge politics, utopian thought establishes itself as a theoretical framework for deriving demophilic principles. This framework allows for the inclusion of theories considered to be anarquist, communist, and socialist, incorporating such thinkers as Bakunin, Thoreau, Winstanley and Fourier.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Ao aplicar o método genealógico a teorias que apresentam subsídios à reflexão sobre a democratização, infere-se a constituição de duas matrizes de pensamento, a demofóbica e a demofílica. A concepção da demofobia deriva da ideia spinozista de que o pensamento político moderno se constitui em torno do medo das massas e das multidões. Os termos dessa demofobia manifestam-se no pensamento de teóricos liberais como Constant, Tocqueville, Stuart Mill, Spencer, Schumpeter, Pareto, entre outros; mas também se insinua no de teóricos socialistas, como Marx, Engels e Lênin. A compreensão de que a demofobia resulta em obstáculo epistemológico ao conhecimento da dinâmica das massas na política leva a buscar nova base teórica. Para isso, esta tese explora as distinções entre a noção de multidão, em Spinoza, e o conceito de povo, em Hobbes. A concepção de demofilia baseia-se fortemente nas premissas spinozistas, como a ideia de que a potência da multidão excede o ordenamento jurídico-político, sendo composta por elementos extraídos das éticas de Spinoza, Aristóteles e Cícero, nas quais a philia ou amizade revela-se como fundamento da comunidade política. A partir da análise desses elementos, formula-se a proposição demofílica que, à maneira de imperativo categórico, sentencia agir como se a demofilia fosse o mundo a realizar na esfera ético-política. Entendendo a demofilia como um ideal a partir do qual se julga a política, estabelece-se como âmbito teórico para derivação de princípios demofílicos o pensamento utópico, do qual participam também, mas não exclusivamente, teorias identificadas como anarquistas, comunistas e socialistas, estudadas nas figuras de Bakunin, Thoreau, Winstanley e Fourier. / By applying the genealogical method to theories that reflect on democratization, the formation of two matrices of thought arises: demophobia and demophilia. The concept of demophobia is derived from the Spinozan idea that modern political thought is built on a fear of masses and multitudes. The terms of this demophobia manifest themselves in the work of liberal theorists such as Constant, Tocqueville, Stuart Mill, Spencer, Schumpeter, and Pareto, among others; as well as socialist theoreticians such as Marx, Engels and Lenin. Because demophobia creates an epistemological obstacle to accessing an understanding of the dynamics of masses in politics, we have been led to pursuing new theoretical bases. As such, this dissertation explores the distinctions between the notion of multitudes, according to Spinoza, and the concept of people as understood by Hobbes. The concept of demophilia relies heavily on Spinozan assumptions, such as the idea that the power of multitudes exceeds legal-political order, composed as it is of elements drawn from the ethics of Spinoza, Aristotle and Cicero, for whom philia, or friendship, is the foundation of the political community. By analyzing these elements, we can formulate the demophilic proposition that, in a categorically imperative manner, makes us act as though demophilia were a world to be created in the ethical-political sphere. Understanding demophilia as an ideal from which to judge politics, utopian thought establishes itself as a theoretical framework for deriving demophilic principles. This framework allows for the inclusion of theories considered to be anarquist, communist, and socialist, incorporating such thinkers as Bakunin, Thoreau, Winstanley and Fourier.