Gary William Chartier (born 1966) is an American legal scholar, philosopher, political theorist, and theologian. His work addresses anarchism and ethics. Chartier is a professor and serves as associate dean of
La Sierra University's business school.
Early life
Chartier was born in 1966, in
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles.
As of 2024, Glendale ha ...
, and raised in a conservative
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
(
Seventh-day Adventist
The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...
) home. His father was an accountant and physician. In high school, Chartier became interested in
economic libertarian authors, following his father's ideological lean.
He received his
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
from
La Sierra University in 1987 and his Ph.D. from the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
in 1991.
Academic career
After working as the editor of a newspaper in
Temecula, California
Temecula (; , ; Luiseño language, Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and was Municipal corpora ...
, Chartier enrolled at the
UCLA School of Law
The University of California, Los Angeles School of Law (commonly known as UCLA School of Law or UCLA Law) is the law school of the University of California, Los Angeles.
History
Founded in 1949, the UCLA School of Law is the third oldest of t ...
, graduating with a
J.D. in 2001. During his legal studies, he served as a lecturer in business ethics at La Sierra and began a full-time academic appointment there in September 2001. In 2015, the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
presented Chartier with an earned
higher doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...
, an
LLD, in recognition of his work in legal theory. He is currently Associate Dean and Distinguished Professor of Law and Business Ethics at La Sierra's Zapara School of Business.
[''Reason'' staff (February 13, 2012]
" 'Markets Not Capitalism', Says Professor Gary Chartier"
Reason.com
Philosophy
Chartier advocates for a variant of
natural law
Natural law (, ) is a Philosophy, philosophical and legal theory that posits the existence of a set of inherent laws derived from nature and universal moral principles, which are discoverable through reason. In ethics, natural law theory asserts ...
thinking, which he has employed in discussions of
anarchism
Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
, economic life, and the moral status and claims of non-human animals. Other topics he has discussed include
sexuality
Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...
and
lying
A lie is an assertion that is believed to be false, typically used with the purpose of deception, deceiving or misleading someone. The practice of communicating lies is called lying. A person who communicates a lie may be termed a liar. Lies ...
.
Kevin Carson
Mutualism is an anarchist school of thought and economic theory that advocates for workers' control of the means of production, a free market made up of individual artisans, sole proprietorships and workers' cooperatives, and occupation and u ...
's work, in particular, provided a model for Chartier's reconciliation of his
leftist politics with opposition to the state, and helped him to combine
left-libertarian market anarchism with insights from natural law theory.
Reception
Reviewing ''Anarchy and Legal Order'' in ''Common Knowledge'',
Peter Leeson described it as "intriguing" and classed it "among the most sophisticated ethical defenses of anarchy I have encountered." In ''Anarchist Studies'', Eric Roark wrote: "Gary Chartier's ''Anarchy and Legal Order'' offers nothing less than a tremendous contribution to contemporary libertarian and anarchist thought." Roark highlighted what he characterized as a "compelling and rich vision of anarchy forged by a just legal regime." Edward Stringham characterized the book as "well written, thought provoking, and a welcome addition to the literature."
Aeon Skoble of
Bridgewater State University
Bridgewater State University is a public university with its main campus in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest of nine state universities in Massachusetts. Including its off-campus sites in New Bedford, Massachusetts, N ...
suggested in a ''
Reason
Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, scien ...
'' review that Chartier's "arguments
n the bookare laid out with such elegance and precision that any intelligent lay reader should be able to understand them." Skoble writes: "''Anarchy and Legal Order'' is an impressive contribution to libertarian thought generally, and in particular to the ongoing debates on anarchism versus minarchism and on libertarianism's place vis-a-vis the left/right dichotomy. It's a must-read for those interested in political philosophy, and it may well challenge readers' long-held beliefs about the nature of government." In a symposium in ''Studies in Emergent Order'' devoted to the book, Skoble added: "Chartier's argument demonstrates not only that natural law theory is compatible with spontaneous order theory, but also that what this confluence points to is a voluntary, polycentric legal order. The book is thus valuable not only for offering a robust defense of polycentrism, but for doing so in a way that ties together two important threads from the liberal tradition, natural law and spontaneous order, and in doing so, enhances our understanding of both." Also writing in the symposium,
Jason Brennan criticized Chartier's reliance on the controversial
new natural law theory and objected to his embrace of the theory's view that basic aspects of well-being are incommensurable, a view Brennan suggested led to counterintuitive, implausible conclusions. While expressing some concerns about the feasibility of Chartier's proposals, Paul Dragos Aligica concluded: "''Anarchy and Legal Order'' is currently the book to read if one wants to explore the potential and limits of natural law, non-aggression maxim,
praxeology
In philosophy, praxeology or praxiology (; ) is the theory of human Action (philosophy), action, based on the notion that humans engage in purposeful behavior, contrary to Reflex, reflexive behavior and other unintentional behavior.
French socia ...
based doctrines of stateless social order. Austrian scholars of all persuasions will benefit immensely from engaging with its arguments and the intellectual precedent it creates."
St. John's University economist
Charles Clarke
Charles Rodway Clarke (born 21 September 1950) is a British Labour Party politician who held various Cabinet positions under Prime Minister Tony Blair from 2001 to 2006, lastly as Home Secretary from December 2004 to May 2006. Clarke was th ...
criticized ''Economic Justice and Natural Law'' anarchism, evaluating it as insufficiently attentive to the need for governmental involvement in the economy and as unduly similar in tone to the work of
Austrian economists
The Austrian school is a Heterodox economics, heterodox Schools of economic thought, school of economic thought that advocates strict adherence to methodological individualism, the concept that social phenomena result primarily from the motivat ...
. The book was the focus of a
Molinari Molinari is an Italian language occupational surname for a miller. Notable people with this surname include:
* Adriana Molinari, American (née Argentine) pornographic actress
* Alberto Molinari (born 1965), Italian actor, producer, and director ...
Society session at the April 2011
San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
convention of the
American Philosophical Association
The American Philosophical Association (APA) is the main professional organization for philosophers in the United States. Founded in 1900, its mission is to promote the exchange of ideas among philosophers, to encourage creative and scholarl ...
's Pacific Division.
''The Analogy of Love'' received mixed reviews. In the course of a tepidly favorable assessment,
Timothy Gorringe
Timothy Jervis Gorringe (born 1946) is an English Anglican priest and theologian who is St Luke's Professor of Theological Studies at the University of Exeter, Devon, England.
''Public theology for the 21st century: essays'',
Duncan B. For ...
maintained that some passages disposed him to "reach for the whiskey bottle," though he also observed that the book did "not parade its erudition" and suggested that it was "consistently on the side of the angels." Paul Ballard described ''Analogy'' as "extremely well informed and researched," as "comprehensive," and as "rich, sensitive and insightful." Ballard evaluated the book's "style of presentation" as "remarkably lucid and jargon free" and as "spare, simple, direct and logical, cutting to the heart of a discussion." Mike Higton of the
University of Durham
Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...
observes that "Chartier draws on impressively wide reading in the modern secondary literature . . . ." While unconvinced by Chartier's depiction of God as a moral agent, and evidently doubtful about his greater reliance on contemporary than on biblical or classical sources, Higton suggests that "his insistence on coming back again and again to love is salutary, and the book as a whole issues a thought-provoking challenge to take love seriously in every domain of theology."
Selected publications
Authored books
* ''The Analogy of Love: Divine and Human Love at the Center of Christian Theology''. Exeter: Imprint Academic (2007) . . . 2d. ed. Ann Arbor, MI: Griffin 2017.
* ''Economic Justice and Natural Law''. Cambridge: CUP (2009)
* ''The Conscience of an Anarchist''. Apple Valley, CA: Cobden (2011) .
* ''Anarchy and Legal Order: Law and Politics for a Stateless Society''. New York: CUP (2013) .
* ''Radicalizing Rawls: Global Justice and the Foundations of International Law''. Philosophy, Public Policy, and Transnational Law 2. New York: Palgrave (2014)
* ''Vulnerability and Community: Meditations on the Spiritual Life''. Ann Arbor, MI: Griffin (2015)
* ''Public Practice, Private Law: An Essay on Love, Marriage, and the State''. New York: CUP (2016)
* ''The Logic of Commitment''. New York: Routledge (2018)
* ''An Ecological Theory of Free Expression''. New York: Palgrave (2018)
* ''A Good Life in the Market: An Introduction to Business Ethics''. Great Barrington, MA: American Institute for Economic Research (2019)
* ''Flourishing Lives: Exploring Natural Law Liberalism''. New York: CUP (2019)
* ''The Idea of an Adventist University''. New York: Griffin (2020)
* ''Understanding Friendship: On the Moral, Political, and Spiritual Meaning of Love''. Minneapolis: Fortress (2022)
* ''Loving Creation: The Task of the Moral Life''. Minneapolis: Fortress (2022)
Edited books
* Chartier, Gary, and Johnson, Charles W., eds. ''Markets Not Capitalism: Individualist Anarchism against Bosses, Inequality, Corporate Power, and Structural Poverty''. New York: Minor Compositions-Autonomedia (2011).
* ''The Future of Adventism: Theology, Society, Experience.'' Ann Arbor, MI: Griffin (2015)
* Hart, David M., Chartier, Gary, Kenyon, Ross Miller, and Long, Roderick T., eds. ''Social Class and State Power: Exploring an Alternative Radical Tradition''. New York: Palgrave (2018)
* Chartier, Gary, and Van Schoelandt, Chad, eds. ''The Routledge Handbook of Anarchy and Anarchist Thought''. New York: Routledge (2020)
References
External links
Blogger.com Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chartier, Gary
1966 births
Living people
20th-century American essayists
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century American philosophers
20th-century anarchists
20th-century Protestants
21st-century American essayists
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American philosophers
21st-century anarchists
21st-century Protestants
Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge
Alumni of the University of Cambridge
American anarchist writers
American anti-capitalists
American legal scholars
American libertarians
American male bloggers
American male essayists
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American philosophy writers
American political philosophers
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American Seventh-day Adventists
Anarchist theorists
Christian anarchists
Christian libertarians
Christians from California
Claremont Graduate University alumni
Free-market anarchists
Individualist anarchists
La Sierra University alumni
La Sierra University faculty
Left-libertarians
Libertarian theorists
Loma Linda University faculty
Seventh-day Adventist theologians
Seventh-day Adventist writers
UCLA School of Law alumni
Writers from Glendale, California