Rothbard introduces Molinari's essay as a pioneering work that took free-market principles to their logical conclusion by questioning the state's monopoly on defense.
The Production of Security
Murray Rothbard called French radical Gustave de Molinari (1819–1912) the great innovator in the market provision of security—and perhaps the first anarcho-capitalist. Steeped in the liberal tradition of Bastiat, Molinari championed private property and free markets. But he went further, arguing that the service the state claimed as its monopoly privilege—security itself—could be better provided by markets.
His singular contribution was to overturn the Hobbesian assumption that the state was necessary to prevent chaos. The voluntary society, Molinari argued, is the source of order that comes from freedom itself. If free enterprise works well in one sector, it can work well in all of them. Perhaps there was a time when people could regard the government monopoly on police and courts as benign. The march of the police state has changed that. Narrated by Millian Quinteros.
Molinari opens by establishing that humans have a fundamental need for security of their persons and property.
Molinari argues that the division of labor and voluntary cooperation form the natural basis of social organization.
Molinari applies the general principle of free competition directly to the provision of security services.
Molinari confronts the common objection that security is somehow different from other goods and must be exempted from market provision.
Molinari frames this choice as the central political question that determines whether a society will be free or oppressed.
Molinari draws a parallel between monopoly and communism, arguing that both represent departures from the principle of free competition.
Molinari describes how coercive control over defense led to the familiar abuses of taxation, war, and the suppression of individual liberty.
Molinari distinguishes between society, which arises naturally from voluntary human cooperation, and government, which imposes itself through force.
Molinari argues that majority rule is no more legitimate than royal absolutism when it violates individual rights.
Molinari describes the inevitable consequences of monopolized security: rising costs, declining quality, and the use of force against the very citizens the government claims to protect.
In his concluding argument, Molinari envisions a society where security is provided by competing private firms chosen voluntarily by consumers.
