A grabs B to use as a shield; A forces B to stand in front of him, and compels him to walk wherever A wishes. A then hunts C in order to murder the latter by shooting him. C also has a gun. Is it legally permissible for C to shoot at A in self defense under libertarian law? Were C to do so he would have to kill B, the innocent shield, in order to
In this paper, Walter Block considers several of the criticisms leveled at Hoppe (1988, 1989) by Murphy and Callahan (2006). Volume 22, Number 1 (2011) Block, Walter. “Rejoinder to Murphy and Callahan on Hoppe’s Argumentation Ethics.” Journal of Libertarian Studies 22, No. 1 (2011):
Kinsella and Tinsley (2004) is beautifully written, infused with keen insights, in some ways solidly predicated upon libertarianism and praxeology, and yet, and yet, much as I enthusiastically agree with goodly portions of it and am even inspired by them, I cannot see my way clear to accepting all of their insights. The present paper is devoted to
This paper is an attempt to combine the insights of Van Creveld (1999) concerning statism with libertarian theory in order to forge a theory of justified punishment for the crime of engaging in statist, governmental or other gangster activity. Volume 22, Number 1 (2011) Block, Walter. “Toward a Libertarian Theory of Guilt and Punishment for the
In this article, Walter Block reviews Bryan Caplan’s The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies. Volume 22, Number 1 (2011) Block, Walter. “Reveiw of The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies by Bryan Caplan.” Journal of Libertarian Studies 22, No. 1 (2011):
Muetze Hellmer is a former student of mine at Loyola University New Orleans. The first draft of Hellmer (2005) started out as a term paper for a course she took with me. I am very proud of her for having an article she wrote while a mere undergraduate published in a prestigious scholarly journal such as The Journal of Libertarian Studies . While I
There has been for many years a tension between the anarcho-capitalist or free market anarchist, and the limited government or minarchist wings of the libertarian movement. This dispute has both enriched debate within such institutions as the Libertarian Party, the International Society of Individual Liberty, the Mises and Cato Institutes and
The present paper is the continuation of an intra-libertarian debate over immigration. Previous contributions to this dialogue on the open borders side include Block, 1998, 2004A, 2011; Block and Callahan, 2003; Gregory and Block, 2007. The restricted borders argument includes Hoppe 1995, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002. Volume 22, Number 1 (2011) Block,
In his seminal work, “The Problem of Social Cost,” Coase held that in cases of private property right disputes involving what have been called externalities, “with costless market transactions, the decision of the courts concerning liability for damage would be without effect on the allocation of resources.” I shall try to show that this view is
There are two views of monopoly within what might be called the broad Austrian camp. According to the Mises-Kirzner view, monopoly price can exist on the free market, and a necessary part of its definition is a purposeful withholding of resources on the part of the monopolist. Rothbard, however, defines monopoly as an exclusive government grant of
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.
