Defending the Undefendable

A libertarian political economy

by Walter E. Block

Contra Left-Wing Libertarianism Part 3

In my previous posts on left-wing Libertarianism, I discussed Roderick Long. I now discuss two other thinkers. Read More

Contra Left-Wing Libertarianism Part 2

Last week in Part 1, I discussed Roderick Long in regards to rape and the wage gap. We now continue with my analysis of Long and the problems with left-wing libertarianism. Read More

Contra Left-Wing Libertarianism Part 1

The libertarian political economic philosophy is unique. It belongs neither to the right or left hand part of the political economic spectrum. Read More

May a Libertarian Take Money From the Government?

I get many, many letters from people on this very question, or closely related issues. And, for every letter of this sort I get, there are probably dozens of others who either do not take jobs they would relish, or do so, and feel guilty about this since they think they are violating libertarian principles. Read More

It’s Ayn Rand Bashing Time, Once Again

It’s Ayn Rand bashing time once again. Our "friends" on the left are on the warpath for a change, and have Miss Rand in their crosshairs. Read More

The Case for Discrimination

In the days of yore, to say that a man was discriminating was to pay him a compliment. It meant that he had taste; he could distinguish between the poor, the mediocre, the good and the excellent. His ability to make fine distinctions enabled him to live a better life than otherwise. Read More

Capitalism Is Compassionate

To many people, the slumlord—alias ghetto landlord and rent gouger—is proof that man can, while still alive, attain a satanic image. Recipient of vile curses, pincushion for needle-bearing tenants with a penchant for voodoo, perceived as exploiter of the downtrodden, the slumlord is surely one of the most hated figures of the day. Read More

Defending the Speculator

"Kill the speculators!" is a cry made during every famine that has ever existed. Uttered by demagogues, who think that the speculator causes death through starvation by raising food prices, this cry is fervently supported by the masses of economic illiterates. Read More

All Hail the Miser

The miser has never recovered from Charles Dickens's attack on him in A Christmas Carol. Although the miser had been sternly criticized before Dickens, the depiction of Ebenezer Scrooge has become definitive and has passed into the folklore of our time. Read More

10 Books of Influence

Here, with a few comments on each, are the top 10 books which have influenced me in my career as an Austro-libertarian economist. Read More

Is 'Capitalism' Politically Incorrect?

There are some new kids on the libertarian block. Their group is called Libertarians Against Capitalism. They describe themselves as follows: Read More

Is "Academic Freedom" a Special Kind of Freedom?

From the name itself, academic freedom would seem to be innocuous enough. All it would seem to mean would be that academics, like anyone else, should have freedom. Freedom of speech, freedom to come and go, and freedom to quit a job. The usual freedoms that everyone has. Such is not the case, however. Read More

The Privatization of Highways

I advocate the complete, total, and full privatization of all roads, streets, highways, byways, avenues, and other vehicular thoroughfares. And I am serious about this—deadly serious. Read More

Dear MADD

Although I shall be criticizing you, even severely, please do not take this amiss. I mean your organization no harm. Quite the contrary. My two children, in their early twenties, are both new drivers. I would suffer more than I can tell you if anything were to happen to them as a result of drunken driving. I am thus a supporter of yours. I am on your side. Read More

Ayn Rand Was Wrong

The relationship of libertarianism and religion is a long and stormy one. Read More

Shills for World Government

Doctors without borders. Journalists without borders. Educators without borders. Librarians without borders. Rivers without borders. Potters without borders. Hydrogeologists without borders. Facilitators without borders. Builders without borders. Life without borders. Students without borders. Veterinarians without borders. Friends without borders. MBAs without borders. Words without borders. Read More

The Jews and Capitalism

There is no doubt that at least in some sense, there is a love hate relationship between Jews and Capitalism. On the one hand, there is a strong tradition of support for socialism, communism, labor unionism, feminism, affirmative action, within the Jewish community. On the other hand, there can be little doubt that capitalism has been very good to Jews. Read More

My Daughter and Tibet

My daughter Hannah will soon receive her Ph.D. in neuroscience from a prestigious graduate school on the East coast. She tells me what she is working on, but, doofus that I am on all such matters, I haven't got the slightest idea of what she is talking about. Something to do with spines, or brains? Maybe lesions on the brain? Something like that. Read More

Should Ron Paul Accept Matching Funds?

Should Ron Paul apply for, or accept, matching funds from the government for his political campaign? Would he be justified in doing so? Or, more generally, what is the libertarian position on anyone accepting any monies from the state for whatever reason? Read More

Economic Ignoramuses

For zillions of years, the human race lived in small groups of 25-50 people or so. We became hard wired to appreciate explicit cooperation: I scratch your back, you scratch mine; I'll feed you when you're hungry and/or sick; you reciprocate. Those who wouldn't or couldn't do this didn't tend to leave their genes to the next generation. Read More

Review of "The Myth of the Rational Voter"

Caplan, Bryan. 2007. The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 276 pages

I. Introduction Read More

Memo to the NTU

From time to time, I am asked to sign petitions, mostly of a free market orientation (those that oppose economic freedom are quickly consigned by me to the delete file). Whenever I can, I do sign them; I am convinced that they do no harm, may do some good, and take very little time to read and add my name to them in any case. So, the opportunity costs are small. Read More

National Basketball Association Newest Target of EEOC

Following what NBA Commissioner David Stern has called, "one of the best drafts in recent memory," the league has come under fire from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. EEOC Commissioner Naomi Earp cited the NBA's, "blatant and unconscionable bigotry against one of America's largest minorities—the unathletic." Read More

Justice Department Goes After Gates’ Foundation

After the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced plans to donate five billion dollars to help rebuild libraries destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division launched a formal investigation into the Foundation. Read More

Was the US Attack on Afghanistan Libertarian?

I recently wrote an essay claiming the Randy Barnett was wrong in claiming that libertarians could support our side of the war in Iraq. Read More

Libertarianism vs. War

Suppose Paul Ehrlich was to renounce his views on overpopulation. Or a leading Marxist was to accept the legitimacy of capitalism. Or a rabbi was to claim that eating pork is compatible with the Talmud. Or Dick Cheney was to advocate an immediate US withdrawal from Iraq. Read More

Cut the Murder Rate in New Orleans

New Orleans is now undergoing an unprecedented murder rate, even for the Big Uneasy. How can we dig our way out of this morass? Read More

The Nanny Corporation

All libertarians of whatever ilk are heartily sick and tired of the nanny state. We have rightfully had it up to "here" with governmental nagging about smoking, drinking, eating fatty foods, using seat belts, motorcycle helmets (in Canada, an even more "progressive" country than ours, it is against the law to ride a bicycle without wearing headgear). Read More

Passing the Torch of Liberty

I have of late become embroiled with a colleague and friend of mine who shall remain nameless in order to protect the guilty. Read More

Saving Language

This is another chapter in my long-running series on language in politics and economics.

Today, I am concerned to examine, and reject the practice of all too many libertarians who have "cut and run" on the language issue. These fair weather "patriots" are giving aid and comfort to the enemy. I hope to convince them to "stay the course" on this issue. Read More

Walter Block, Ph.D., is Harold E. Wirth Endowed Chair and Prof. of Economics, College of Business, Loyola University New Orleans, and the author of Defending the Undefendable.

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