KOL485 | The Brownstone Show, with Jeffrey Tucker: Defamation and Intellectual Property

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast: Episode 485. My recent appearance on The Brownstone Show, Ep. 17 (twitter video). https://youtu.be/n_HE_nXf3aM?si=3eYpF5jW5HadXwJD&t=1942 From Brownstone's shownotes: Jeffrey Tucker sits down with Stephan Kinsella...libertarian attorney, author of the seminal 2001 essay "Against Intellectual Property", and the massive treatise "Legal Foundations of a Free Society"...for a provocative discussion on why defamation (libel and slander) law should be rejected as just another form of intellectual property right. Kinsella argues that reputation is not ownable property. What others think of you cannot be controlled or turned into a legal entitlement. Defamation law, like patents, copyrights, and trademarks, rests on the flawed idea that the state should protect intangible "rights" through force. He explains how these laws create chilling effects, perverse incentives, and actually amplify the harm of false speech rather than reduce it. Topics covered include: Why intellectual property (including trademarks and defamation) is incompatible with true property rights and free markets The historical and common-law roots of defamation and how it morphed into reputation-as-property How the existence of defamation lawsuits gives lies more credibility ("If it weren't true, he would have sued") Free speech, threats, and the limits of state power Private alternatives: reputation markets, certification agencies, dueling culture, caveat emptor for information, and why a truly free society would be more (not less) regulated by voluntary rules Connections to patents destroying innovation (especially in pharma and software), NDAs, cancel culture, and the illusion of safety created by regulatory bodies like the FDA Why "buyer beware" should apply to both products and information in a free society This is a challenging, nuanced conversation that questions deeply held assumptions about law, harm, honor, and reputation. Even if you initially disagree, Kinsella’s razor-sharp property-rights analysis will make you rethink how we handle speech, lies, and "harm" in the digital age. Tweet: 👉The Brownstone Show: @jeffreytucker interviews @NSKinsella: Why defamation law is just another form of intellectual property—and why abolishing it would make lies less powerful, not more. Eye-opening take on reputation, free speech, and private alternatives. 🔏 pic.twitter.com/dY1JWagDoA — Brownstone Institute (@brownstoneinst) April 9, 2026 Related: “Defamation as a Type of Intellectual Property,” in A Life in Liberty: Liber Amicorum in Honor of Hans-Hermann Hoppe, edited by Jörg Guido Hülsmann & Stephan Kinsella (Houston, Texas: Papinian Press, 2024) "Against Intellectual Property" "Legal Foundations of a Free Society" “The Problem with Intellectual Property,” in Handbook of the Philosophical Foundations of Business Ethics, 2nd ed., Christoph Lütge & Marianne Thejls Ziegler, eds. (Springer, forthcoming 2026; Robert McGee, section ed.) On dueling: Libertarian Answer Man: Dueling, Stalking, Restraining Orders Review of Patrick Burke, No Harm: Ethical Principles for a Free Market (1994) Transcript below. As Tucker mentioned to me: I seriously doubt that any podcast ever has made this crucial point, namely that market forces can be more ferocious regulators than federal agencies that have been set up for the purpose of providing legal cover for unsafe products. So this discussion breaks important new ground in understanding what the free market really is. I hope people make it all the way through—it's a completely different take than I've ever seen. My comment: This is a good illustration of the power of cumulative ideas. I feel like Patrick Swayze in the movie Road House: tagline: "Bustin heads and breakin' hearts." Funny interchange: Kinsella: You could imagine if there was not the litigious, legal industry of defamation lawsuits and it was not a legal thing. You could imagine private solutions would emerge. In fact, the private solution used to be, “I challenge you to a duel.” You besmirch my honor. But of course, the state has outlawed dueling. Tucker: I keep imagining that there should be a resurrection of at least a rigorously constructed defense of dueling in history. I think it has gotten a bad name, actually. Kinsella: Do you think you and I would still be around if dueling was permitted? Jeffrey Tucker: Yeah. One of us would at least have a ... Kinsella: Kinsella and Tucker dead at 41. Tucker: I am not that good a shot, and I am not sure you are either. Stephan Kinsella: Right. I do not mean us either, you know? Transcript [Speaker names may not always be correctly attributed; blame Grok and ChatGPT, Gemini seemed to help] Introduction to Stephan Kinsella and His Views on Intellectual Property [0:10] Jeffrey Tucker: This is Jeffrey Tucker, President, Brownstone Institute. I am very pleased today to have with me St