ABSTRACT
In the above passage Michael Oakeshott set out the belief that libertarianism begins from the hedonistic enjoyment of “a free way of living.” Liberty is deemed valuable because it is conducive to human happiness, not because it fulfills certain abstract, logical criteria. The philosophical and political project of libertarianism follows from this enjoyment of a free way of living, leading to the desire to better understand it, defend it where necessary and make it more widely available.
