Springtime of Nations did this fun analysis of the history of anarchism and how ancaps are rightful heirs of the term. The term is traced all the way from Proudhon to Murray Rothbard.
Yes, Ancaps Are Anarchists
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happy birthday Murray Rothbard
Murray Rothbard would have been 95 years old today. Here is a photo of him in 1927 at the tender age of 20 months.
Credits to Jeff Deist of the Mises Institute.
Review of The Micronation Revolution
William Otey’s book The Micronation Revolution is a showcase of government injustices and an exploration of possible solutions. Otey takes a strong minarchist position, advocating the privatization of “most” government functions. Further, he envisions this happening via the spread of small, independent communities, called micronations, that will compete for citizens by moving closer and closer to a classical-liberal utopia.
This free-market approach to developing a better government is reminiscent of Panarchy, Zach Weinersmith’s Polystate, and other competition-in-government approaches. Unfortunately, Otey never considers anarcho-capitalism. His libertarian instincts bring him close at times, but ancaps will be amused at his calls for “near-complete political freedom” and recoil at statements like, “of course some government and some laws are obviously necessary and desirable.”
Continue readingWalter Williams
Walter Williams passed away this morning. He was a well-known professor of economics at George Mason University, having written, lectured, and debated extensively in defense of libertarianism. His contributions to the movement were enormous, and all those who value freedom should be grateful for the ideas he spread and the people he inspired.
If you are not familiar with Williams, please take some time to read his writings and view his media appearances. And if you are familiar, please honor his memory by spreading his wisdom to friends and family.
Anatomy of the State Film
Richard James sends along his new film based on Murray Rothbard’s classic piece Anatomy of the State. In addition to Murray’s excellent prose, it has animations, video clips, and guest appearances by such greats as Walter Williams, Thomas Sowell, and Milton Friedman.
Murray Rothbard on Keynes
The Mises Institute has Murray Rothbard’s copy of John Maynard Keynes’ The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money. Rothbard was not afraid to make comments in the margins, so looking inside is like listening in on Murray’s private thoughts. A quite a few thoughts there are:
If you liked the portrait of Keynes on the top of page 316, you’ll love the doodles on the cover pages:
One of my favorite comments is Rothbard’s reply to Keynes when Keynes wrote, “Those who are strongly wedded to what I shall call ‘the classical theory’, will fluctuate, I expect, between a belief that I am quite wrong and a belief that I am saying nothing new.”
To see more, visit the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama.
Who are the great ancaps?
Walter Block mentions in a blog post on LewRockwell.com that he takes issue with our review of the book Justice. Specifically, this sentence:
Michael J. Sandel‘s book Justice, is a worthwhile read for anarcho-capitalists who have already read the greats in their own tradition: Murray Rothbard, David Friedman, etc., and are ready to hone their thinking by exploring some different viewpoints.
Block says:
Oy vey. I hardly think that David Friedman deserves such praise. Yes, he is a libertarian, and an anarchist, but this is what Murray has written about him
and suggests: Continue reading
Less Common Photos of Murray Rothbard part 2
continued from the original post, these were sent along by Simon, who says he got them from Jeff Deist. If you know any of the other people in the photos, please let us know so we can update the captions.
Murray Rothbard and Leonard Liggio
Portrait of Murray Rothbard by utokart
The State is, and always has been, the great single enemy of the human race, its liberty, happiness, and progress. – Murray Rothbard
Review of For a Libertarian Communism
For a Libertarian Communism is a collection of translations from the French communist writer Daniel Guerin. The title implies that the theory inside will include or at least make use of libertarianism, but this is not the case. Instead, Guerin has a slightly different flavor of communism that he is trying to sell.
Unfortunately, Guerin’s brand of communism is not novel enough that the average ancap needs to learn about it. Only those who are doing historical research are likely to benefit from reading this book. You can read the full text here.
Guerin says that, in pursuit of equality and liberty, the libertarian communist movement must resign itself to:
…imposing its will on the majority, first and preferentially through persuasion, and, if persuasion fails, by force.
Needless to say, the closest Guerin comes to libertarian ideas is Continue reading
Rothbard.com 