Mises Book Club

Re: For a New Liberty - Murray N. Rothbard

Patrick — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:10:16 GMT

I will definitely read EoL at some point. I have a massive stack of books, growing far more quickly than I can read them. A couple years ago a friend of mine was reading FaNL and he talked to me often about it. I suppose his reading of it was my introduction to Anarcho-Capitalism. :)

Re: For a New Liberty - Murray N. Rothbard

Sir Irb — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 12:41:38 GMT

I have to say, FaNL is a great beginning book for AnCap. Rothbard covers many of the things that, at the time, had me wondering how it would accually happen. But EoL is my favorite. Mainly because, as mentioned in the discussion about Hayek's CoL, Rothbard attacks the flaws Hayek made. Not just him either, he attacks Nozik and Berlin.

Sorry about that, I should have started a thread on EoL.

FaNL, will be a great read. It was my intro into AnCap and I have since read it about 7 times. And just like Monty Python's Search for the Grail, you get something new you previously didnt notice or fully digest each time you read it.

Re: For a New Liberty - Murray N. Rothbard

Patrick — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:30:48 GMT

I'm not sure if I'm a novice or intermediate level! I will definitely read Ethics of Liberty. I am definitely a novice when it comes to discussing law in an anarcho-capitalist society. I am hoping this book gets me set on the right path.

Re: For a New Liberty - Murray N. Rothbard

Andrew Cain — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 13:44:48 GMT

Well this is a topographical account of explaining what society is now and what libertarianism would produce. I like to think of For A New Liberty as being a novice's book and Ethics of Liberty as something of an intermediate level.

For a New Liberty - Murray N. Rothbard

Patrick — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 04:04:36 GMT

I have read approximately the first 100 pages of this book. I thought it would be nice to have a discussion going while I read it. Sometimes I take notes while I read, but I feel so much information is covered that if I wait until I've completed a book, I forget much of the details of what really interested, confused or bothered me. So please, give your critiques, questions, anything at all about the book.

This is the first book by Rothbard that I have read. Surprisingly, I feel like the introductory portion of this book was a bit lacking in substance. Statements such as: "In all societies, public opinion is determined by the intellectual classes, the opinion moulders of society (p. 13)", are just so sweeping and general. That being said, the main reason for my choice of this book is it's discussion of a society without a group that has a monopoly on violence and taxation. For me, if this book is a little weak on explaining why the predatory state is a bad thing, I won't mind as long as it delivers on the Anarcho-capitalist vision of society.