Law, Voluntaryism, and Being Libertarian in Uninviting Africa

Abstract

South Africa has a small consciously libertarian community, but a flourishing voluntaryist scene necessarily brought about by the collapse of government services and public confidence in the political process. Martin van Staden converted to libertarianism in 2013 while studying law at the University of Pretoria, and has since then been active in both the country’s libertarian (or classically liberal) institutions, the Free Market Foundation and the Institute of Race Relations, as well as those entities actively interested in private governance, like Sakeliga (Business League). As he elaborates on the unique challenges libertarians face in South Africa, Martin further discusses how libertarian theory—rich in economic thought—requires more intellectual legwork in the field of jurisprudence and legal philosophy.