Against the Left: A Rothbardian Libertarianism

After reading this book, a question might come to your mind. We criticized “thick” pseudo-libertarians for trying to force egalitarian clichés onto libertarianism. Libertarians, we argued, are committed to people’s property rights. So long as they respect the rights of others, people are free to do as they wish.

“If you say this, though,” an objector might say, “aren’t you guilty of the same fault from the other side? You denounce those who poison libertarianism with leftist ideology, but aren’t you saying that libertarianism is right wing?”

This objection misses the point of the book. We are not trying to add to libertarianism. Precisely the opposite is the case. We are defending libertarianism as intended by Mises and Rothbard from those who want to undermine it. We do not think the State, or anyone else, should force people to accept anti-egalitarian values. Our contention is that, left alone, people will naturally be pro-family, devoted to Western culture, and unequal in all significant respects.

In sum, you don’t have to accept conservative values to be a libertarian. But it helps.

Those who want to read more about these issues should consult our previous works, including Against the State. The books of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard are essential for understanding in depth what liberty is about. For the topics of this book, we recommend in particular two books: Mises, Socialism, and Rothbard, Egalitarianism as a Revolt Against Nature and Other Essays.