|
|
Dewey Decimal Number: 323.4401 EAN: 9780391023710 ISBN: 0391023713 Label: Humanities Pr Manufacturer: Humanities Pr Number Of Pages: 268 Publication Date: 1981-10 Publisher: Humanities Pr Studio: Humanities Pr Editorial Review: Product Description: In recent years, libertarian impulses have increasingly influenced national and economic debates, from welfare reform to efforts to curtail affirmative action. Murray N. Rothbard's classic The Ethics of Liberty stands as one of the most rigorous and philosophically sophisticated expositions of the libertarian political position. What distinguishes Rothbard's book is the manner in which it roots the case for freedom in the concept of natural rights and applies it to a host of practical problems. An economist by profession, Rothbard here proves himself equally at home with philosophy. And while his conclusions are radical--that a social order that strictly adheres to the rights of private property must exclude the institutionalized violence inherent in the state--his applications of libertarian principles prove surprisingly practical for a host of social dilemmas, solutions to which have eluded alternative traditions. The Ethics of Liberty authoritatively established the anarcho-capitalist economic system as the most viable and the only principled option for a social order based on freedom. This edition is newly indexed and includes a new introduction that takes special note of the Robert Nozick-Rothbard controversies. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Must read for libertariansThe Rothbardian brand of libertarianism can be somewhat extreme, but if anyone could explain and sell every page of it well--it would be Murray Rothbard. Anyone interested in really breaking down libertarian philosophy, this is an excellent starting point. I do no recommend this book for people who aren't familiar with the philosophy though, this book can be a bit heavy and somewhat confusing for someone who doesn't have a good foundation of knowledge to work with. Eventually though, ... Read More Rating:  - The framework of libertyThe Ethics of Liberty is Murray Rothbard's philosophical contribution to the intellectual domain, and is akin and in many facets superior to Ayn Rand's The Virtue of Selfishness. In this work, Rothbard lays out his ethical frame of natural rights, and from there on shows the importance of the principles of self-ownership, non-aggression and property (via homesteading), and their logical conclusion, market anarchism. He skilfully reformulates "human" rights as component rights of property rights (beginning ... Read More Rating: - An Incisive Introduction To Libertarianism This is my choice for the best introduction to libertarianism for the serious student of political economy. Randy Barnett's _The Structure of Liberty_ and Frederic Bastiat's _The Law_ are excellent as well, but second to _The Ethics of Liberty_. Rothbard builds the structure of liberty one brick at a time. After laying the foundation, he then applies the basics to deconstructing the state. He proceeds further with trenchant critiques of utilitarianism, Mises, Hayek, Berlin, and Nozick. (As an ... Read More Rating:  - Preaching to the Choir!I read this book when I was a recovering Randian. His arguments were very much like Rand's. This though, Rand did not cover half the material that he does in this book. Rothbard's mode of argumentation was to create false choices in order to show that only his premises were valid. In short, Rothbard always sought to force his reader to accept libertarian axioms. Though a great economist who I have learnt a lot from; he is a poor political theorist. His ability to put an economic perspective on certain issues ... Read More Rating:  - Poor Work, From a Brilliant AuthorThis was the first work of Rothbard's that I found to be highly displeasing. It is a mix of poor philosophy and legal construction. While the author is a brilliant economists, one of the best in the twentieth century, this work on philosophy takes away from his overarching beliefs as put forth in his other writing. Don't read this for an argument on natural rights. He admits that is not his purpose. Don't read this for a picture of a legal system in a free society (see Benson- Enterprise of Law). Instead, ... Read More |
