This article is adapted from a talk presented at the Entrepreneurship Beyond Politics Mises Circle on February 21, 2026, in Oklahoma City.

Conflict over the natural world often originates in people’s different conceptions of how the natural world can and should be used. I like the many useful things people can make with the resources extracted from the land. Many people, like me, also enjoy wild land and views of wildlife. I like forests and rivers, and I like knowing that some species of antelope or whale is still with us, even if I never see one of them myself

Murray N. Rothbard is one of the all-time greats in Austrian economics and libertarianism. Period. When one studies his work and comprehends the overarching system he built, one immediately recognizes that Rothbard is indeed a giant whose shoulders free market scholars should aspire to stand on.

2026: The Year of Rothbard

We clearly live in a time when the idea of freedom is not exactly popular in Washington. The US government has gotten itself into another costly war, and federal spending is at historic highs. Federal deficits are running at levels that rival the worst year of the covid panic. The president has raised taxes on millions of Americans, and now the White House is even talking about drafting people into the military. Although price inflation is well above the Fed’s arbitrary 2% target, Trump and other federal politicians are demanding more easy money.

I have been dismayed by libertarians arguing for immigration as a human right. The saying, “No human is illegal” has a warm feeling to it. But the rights claim conflicts with the property rights of others. Here’s my hypothetical. Suppose one of America’s large, privately-owned ranches became an independent country. As part of the United States, the owner clearly possesses the right to exclude others; persons entering without permission would be trespassing. How can gaining sovereignty take this property right away from the owner?

In their book Who Killed the Constitution, Thomas E. Woods and Kevin C.R. Gutzman argue that the demise of constitutionalism—the principle of limited government—is by no means a recent development. It can be traced back several decades, “close to a century.” It is not the work of just one political party or another, but an assault from multiple sources:

In entrepreneurship theory (and practice), uncertainty is usually treated as a backdrop—something founders must act within. But entrepreneurs rarely operate alone. They must enroll others, especially financial backers, into their projects. This simple observation shifts the analytical focus from decision-making under uncertainty to agreement under uncertainty.