In an earlier post, I noted Robert Nozick’s criticism of the view that the state may tax us because we are in part ‘social products’. Much of Nozick’s Anarchy, State, and Utopia reflects Rothbard’s influence, and this topic is no exception. As so often, Rothbard was there first, and Nozick did no more than restate his insights in more complicated
[ The Great Delusion: Liberal Dreams and International Realities . By John J. Mearsheimer. Yale University Press, 2018. Xi + 313 pages.] John Mearsheimer has written a book of great importance for those of us who believe in a free society, along the lines best laid out by Ludwig von Mises and Murray Rothbard. Mearsheimer, who is the leading
In a characteristically excellent post , the Bionic Mosquito calls attention to Murray Rothbard’s ethical “absolutism”. In this view, human beings can grasp what is objectively case in ethics. If, for example, stealing is wrong, its being wrong is not just an expression of individual or group preference. Rothbard held that an adequate defense of
In a series of outstanding posts, the Bionic Mosquito has written on “The Search for Liberty.” In these posts, he presents a penetrating analysis of natural law and metaphysics. I admire these posts and have learned a great deal from them In his latest post , he argues that Murray Rothbard’s defense of natural law fails. Rothbard thinks that
Neil Schulman, who passed away August 10, was best known as a science fiction writer, and his Alongside Night and The Rainbow Cadenza are libertarian classics. He was one of several brilliant writers and thinkers associated with the great Sam Konkin’s “anarcho—village.” I met Neil only a few times, but his commanding presence and vigorous defense
“Luck egalitarianism” is a philosophical fad, and in the past I have had some characteristically unkind things to say about it. I’d like today to discuss a new argument that concerns luck and government. The economist Robert H. Frank says in Under the Influence , Because successful people often fail to appreciate the importance of seemingly minor
[ Why Cities Lose: The Deep Roots of the Urban-Rural Political Divide. By Jonathan Rodden. Basic Books, 2019. 313 pages.] Jonathan Rodden is unhappy. In American elections, Democrats often receive a larger number of votes than their Republican rivals, but they nevertheless frequently fail to win elections. “In most democracies, the path to
Political Capitalism: How Economic and Political Power Is Made and Maintained Randall Holcombe Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018 x + 294 pp. Abstract: Randall Holcombe’s new book adds a historical dimension to public choice theory by combining it with “elite theory.” In doing this, he arrives at a controversial thesis: a new economic
Admirers of the work of Hans-Hermann Hoppe will be pleased by some news from our friend Youssif Almoayyed, an outstanding supporter of the Mises Institute who lives in Bahrain. Youssif informs us that books by Hans have been translated into Arabic and are selling very well. His A Short History of Man was brought out by a small Iraqi publisher
Todd McGowan, a professor of film studies at the University of Vermont, has done something remarkable. In his just published Emancipation After Hegel , he writes clearly and forcefully about Hegel, a notoriously difficult philosopher. People often view Hegel as an enemy of freedom, but McGowan says the critics have it all wrong. Hegel, far from
What is the Mises Institute?
The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.
Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.