I’ve posted before on libertarian professor Matt Zwolinski’s left-of-center libertarianism (see, from the Daily Caller, Seven reasons progressives should be more libertarian).
Here’s a video where he discusses so-called ‘bleeding heart’ libertarianism. Although I don’t think of myself as more of a left or more of a right-of-center libertarian, there’s nothing in Zwolinski’s emphasis on social justice that I wouldn’t support. (I think he’s surely mistaken to deprecate natural-law libertarianism, but that’s a different matter.)
In any variety, libertarianism offers genuine hope to the poor and distressed, free from the self-interested schemes and machinations of government officials, each successive scheme only increasing the misery and reducing the liberty of our fellow citizens.
Most libertarians naturally care about social justice, beginning in their steadfast support of the rights and equal opportunities of each and every person. From our concern for individuals comes also our concern for society.
We are not – and we should never be – reticent about our concerns for the poor or disadvantaged.