<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The present paper takes on the question of whether the doctrine of unjust enrichment is compatible with libertarianism. Despite Walter Block’s recent arguments to the contrary, the paper argues that unless a gain is received in accordance with the libertarian principles of justice, it is without a basis and thus unjust. This fact alone proves that the concept of unjust enrichment is compatible with libertarianism. Besides, even though it is true — as Block claims — that forcing the recipient of an unjust gain to return it or pay for it involves positive duties and is therefore incompatible with libertarianism, the present paper argues that the practical consequences of this fact would be negligible, for compensatory schemes would develop on the free market anyway in justice-preserving steps.</p>
</abstract>

The present paper takes on the question of whether the doctrine of unjust enrichment is compatible with libertarianism. Despite Walter Block’s recent arguments to the contrary, the paper argues that unless a gain is received in accordance with the libertarian principles of justice, it is without a basis and thus unjust. This fact alone proves that the concept of unjust enrichment is compatible with libertarianism. Besides, even though it is true — as Block claims — that forcing the recipient of an unjust gain to return it or pay for it involves positive duties and is therefore incompatible with libertarianism, the present paper argues that the practical consequences of this fact would be negligible, for compensatory schemes would develop on the free market anyway in justice-preserving steps.

Unjust Enrichment And Libertarianism

Polish Political Science Review

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Unjust Enrichment And Libertarianism"}

The present paper takes on the question of whether the doctrine of unjust enrichment is compatible with libertarianism. Despite Walter Block’s recent arguments...

Unjust Enrichment And Libertarianism

Published Online: Dec 30, 2022

Page range: 1 - 13

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ppsr-2022-0009

Keywords
ill-gotten gains, unjust enrichment, libertarianism

© 2022 Łukasz Dominiak, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Unjust Enrichment And Libertarianism

Published Online: Dec 30, 2022

Page range: 1 - 13

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ppsr-2022-0009

Keywordsill-gotten gains, unjust enrichment, libertarianism

© 2022 Łukasz Dominiak, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
ill-gotten gains, unjust enrichment, libertarianism