Rothbard explains that it is not enough to read an author's work. You have to understand his intentions, which means that you have to understand who he's talking to, who his friends are, who his enemies are, and who he's reacting against.
Pictures of the Socialistic Future tells an engrossing story about a socialist paradise that swiftly degenerates into a societal dungeon. It was originally published in an English translation in 1893—which adds immeasurably to its resonance.
If there is anything that government is actually good at doing, it is destroying things. Strangely, love for this destruction has become a popular cause, revealed in the push for "sustainability" and the banning of technologies that improve our lives.
"The Randist analysis of the nature of crime implies the necessity for a minimal government."
"Let the banks perish. … Now is the time for the complete emancipation of trade from legislative thralldom."
William Leggett (1801–1839)
It is Republicans, not libertarians, who favor handouts to and special privileges for big corporations. And Republicans are not libertarians.
And to wind up at my own doctrine about history, following Albert Jay Nock, history is essentially a race or a conflict between state power and social power.
It is very difficult to convince someone that if they refuse free money they will be better off.
It takes a lot of PhDs to convince the public that their systematic looting at the hands of politicians is actually for their own good.
"The idealist … sees the state as a neutral tool. If it can be used for the benefit of the rulers, it can be used for the benefit of the people, as if a slaughterhouse for the benefit of the farmer could be used for the benefit of the animals."
