Frank Chodorov adored the work of Albert Jay Nock, particularly Nock’s writings on the State. And so Chodorov set out to do something implausible: to rework the Nock book in his own style.
Rothbard wrote of this book: “Frank’s final flowering was his last ideological testament, the brilliantly written The Rise and Fall of Society, published in 1959, at the age of 72.”
One reason it was overlooked is that it appeared after the takeover of the American right by statists and warmongers. The Old Right, of which Chodorov was a last survivor, had died out, so there was no one to promote this work. It is amazing that it was published at all. But thank goodness it was!
For a book so overlooked, the reader will be surprised to find that it might be Chodorov’s best work overall. Certainly it is suitable for classroom use, or as a primer on economics and society. Insight abounds herein.
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Frank Chodorov was an advocate of the free market, individualism, and peace. He began as a supporter of Henry George and edited the Georgist paper the Freeman before founding his own journal, which became the influential Human Events. He later founded another version of the Freeman for the Foundation for Economic Education and lectured at the Freedom School in Colorado.
NY: Devin-Adair, 1959. Print on Demand
