Busting Myths about the State and the Libertarian Alternative

Reading Guide

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Reading Guide

I have set out below (in publication date order) a list of the books that I have read on philosophy, economics, history, and other subjects which provided me with the intellectual foundation to write this book.1

However, these books were not my only resources. I have also learned much from listening to podcasts recorded by, and reading articles written by, a number of intellectuals whom I highly respect. They include (in alphabetical order) Walter Block, Don Boudreaux, Jeff Deist, Tom DiLorenzo, Peter Van Doren, David Friedman, Roger Garrison, Jeff Herbener, Bob Higgs, Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Jacob Hornberger, Jörg Guido Hülsmann, Stephan Kinsella, Peter Klein, Brion McClanahan, Ryan McMaken, Bob Murphy, James Otteson, Lew Rockwell, Murray Rothbard, Joe Salerno, George Smith, Thomas Sowell, John Stossel, Mark Thornton, Walter Williams, and Tom Woods.

* * * * *

  • The Law by Frederic Bastiat (1850)
  • No Treason: The Constitution of No Authority by Lysander Spooner (1870)
  • War is a Racket by General Smedley Butler (1936)
  • The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich Hayek (1944)
  • Human Action by Ludwig von Mises (1949)
  • America’s Great Depression by Murray Rothbard (1963)
  • Education and the State by E.G. West (1965)
  • Education Free & Compulsory by Murray Rothbard (1971)
  • For a New Liberty by Murray Rothbard (1973)
  • Defending the Undefendable by Walter Block (1976)
  • The Ethics of Liberty by Murray Rothbard (1982)
  • Civil Rights: Rhetoric or Reality? by Thomas Sowell (1984)
  • A Theory of Socialism & Capitalism by Hans-Hermann Hoppe (1988)
  • Governing the Commons by Elinor Ostrom (1990)
  • Public Goods and Private Communities by Fred Foldvary (1994)
  • Separating School & State by Sheldon Richman (1995)
  • The Economic Laws of Scientific Research by Terence Kealey (1996)
  • Secession, State & Liberty edited by David Gordon (1998)
  • The Rise and Decline of the State by Martin van Creveld (1999)
  • The Costs of War edited by John Denson (1999)
  • From Mutual Aid to the Welfare State by David Beito (2000)
  • Democracy—The God That Failed by Hans-Hermann Hoppe (2001)
  • The Real Lincoln by Thomas DiLorenzo (2002)
  • Chaos Theory by Robert Murphy (2002)
  • The Myth of National Defense edited by Hans-Hermann Hoppe (2003)
  • The Not So Wild, Wild West by Terry Anderson and Peter Hill (2004)
  • The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History by Thomas Woods (2004)
  • The Economics and Ethics of Private Property by Hans-Hermann Hoppe (2006)
  • 33 Questions About American History You’re Not Supposed to Ask by Thomas Woods (2007)
  • Anarchy and the Law edited by Edward Stringham (2007)
  • Inclined to Liberty by Louis Carabini (2008)
  • Hamilton’s Curse by Thomas DiLorenzo (2008)
  • The Ethics of Money Production by Jorg Guido Hülsmann (2008)
  • The Case for Discrimination by Walter Block (2010)
  • More Guns, Less Crime by John Lott (2010)
  • Great Wars & Great Leaders by Ralph Raico (2010)
  • Nullification by Thomas Woods (2010)
  • The Enterprise of Law by Bruce Benson (2011)
  • The Conscience of an Anarchist by Gary Chartier (2011)
  • Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell (2011)
  • Intellectuals and Society by Thomas Sowell (2011)
  • Race & Economics by Walter Williams (2011)
  • Rollback by Thomas Woods (2011)
  • Libertarian Anarchy by Gerard Casey (2012)
  • Organizing Entrepreneurial Judgment by Nicolai Foss and Peter Klein (2012)
  • The Great Fiction by Hans-Hermann Hoppe (2012)
  • South Carolina Civilians in Sherman’s Path by Karen Stokes (2012)
  • No, They Can’t by John Stossel (2012)
  • Defending the Undefendable II by Walter Block (2013)
  • War and Delusion by Laurie Calhoun (2013)
  • The Problem of Political Authority by Michael Huemer (2013)
  • Intellectuals and Race by Thomas Sowell (2013)
  • Environmental Markets by Terry Anderson and Gary Libecap (2014)
  • Toward a Libertarian Society by Walter Block (2014)
  • Playing by the Rules by Tracey Brown and Michael Hanlon (2014)
  • The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels by Alex Epstein (2014)
  • The Machinery of Freedom by David Friedman (2014)
  • Anarchy Unbound by Peter Leeson (2014)
  • Peace, Love, & Liberty edited by Tom Palmer (2014)
  • Out of Poverty by Benjamin Powell (2014)
  • Northern Opposition to Mr. Lincoln’s War edited by D. Jonathan White (2014)
  • Real Dissent by Thomas Woods (2014)
  • Water Capitalism by Walter Block and Peter Nelson (2015)
  • We Kill Because We Can by Laurie Calhoun (2015)
  • Chasing the Scream by Johann Hari (2015)
  • The Primal Prescription by Doug McGuff and Robert Murphy (2015)
  • Choice by Robert Murphy (2015)
  • Wealth, Poverty and Politics by Thomas Sowell (2015)
  • Private Governance by Edward Stringham (2015)
  • The Problem with Socialism by Thomas DiLorenzo (2016)
  • Nature Unbound by Randy Simmons, Ryan Yonk and Kenneth Sim (2016)
  • An Austro-Libertarian Critique of Public Choice by Thomas DiLorenzo and Walter Block (2017)
  • 1All references to the “state” in this book include all arms of the state: the legislature, executive, judiciary, bureaucracy, agencies, etc. While they each have different functions, substantively they are all funded in the same manner, they all have the same inherent characteristics, and they are all responsible for appointing one another and/or working together. The differences between these different arms of the state are trivial compared with the differences between how the state acts and how private citizens act, which is one of the key points of this book.
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