From: R
Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2018 9:49 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Libertarian Questions
Professor Block,
My name is R and I’m a big fan of your writings. I’ve finished The Case for Discrimination, Defending the Undefendable, and Toward a Libertarian Society. I just finished Toward a Libertarian Society and thought your take on abortion and stem-cell research was fascinating. Your “evictionist” approach to both topics is brilliant and very original!
I have two questions for you:
–In Toward a Libertarian Society, you state in chapter 46 (Federalism: Is It Libertarian?) that the Constitution is “illicit” and suggest that it has no authority. Can you please explain that to me or direct me to a book or some other writing for further explanation?
–Can you recommend any good books about how a libertarian society would address the “public goods” issue?
I’ll be starting Water Capitalism in about a month; I can’t wait to read it!
Thanks for your time, R
Dear R:
Thanks for your kind words.
Which Defending the Undefendable? There are now two of them.
The best thing to read on the Constitution of no authority is this:
Spooner, Lysander. (1870) 1966. No Treason, Larkspur, Colorado: Ralph Myles
http://www.lysanderspooner.org/notreason.htm
On public goods, go here:
Barnett and Block, 2007, 2009; Block, 1983, 2000, 2003; Cowen, 1988; De Jasay, 1989; Holcombe, 1997; Hoppe, 1989; Hummel, 1990; Osterfeld, 1989; Pasour, 1981; Radnitzky, 1989; Rothbard, 1997; Schmidtz, 1991; Sechrest, 2003, 2004A, 2004B, 2007; Tinsley, 1999.
Barnett, William II and Walter E. Block. 2007. “Coase and Van Zandt on Lighthouses,” Public Finance Review, Vol. 35, No. 6, November, pp. 710-733
Barnett, William and Walter E. Block. 2009. “Coase and Bertrand on Lighthouses,” Public Choice; 140(1–2):1–13, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11127-008-9375-x
Block, Walter E. 1983. “Public Goods and Externalities: The Case of Roads,” The Journal of Libertarian Studies: An Interdisciplinary Review, Vol. VII, No. 1, Spring, pp. 1-34; http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/7_1/7_1_1.pdf
Block, Walter E. 2000. “Word Watch,” April 20; http://www.mises.org/fullstory.asp?control=414&FS=Word+Watch
Block, Walter E. 2003. “National Defense and the Theory of Externalities, Public Goods and Clubs.” The Myth of National Defense: Essays on the Theory and History of Security Production, Hoppe, Hans-Hermann, ed., Auburn: Mises Institute, pp. 301-334; http://www.mises.org/etexts/defensemyth.pdf
Block, Walter E. 1983. “Public Goods and Externalities: The Case of Roads,” The Journal of Libertarian Studies: An Interdisciplinary Review, Vol. VII, No. 1, Spring, pp. 1-34; http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/7_1/7_1_1.pdf
Bibliography. Undated. http://www.googlesyndicatedsearch.com/u/Mises?hl=en&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&q=public%20goods
Cowen, Tyler, ed. 1988. The Theory of Market Failure: A Critical Examination, Fairfax, VA: George Mason University Press; http://www.amazon.com/Theory-Market-Failure-Critical-Examination/dp/0913969133/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200191409&sr=1-1
De Jasay, Anthony. 1989. Social Contract, Free Ride: A Study of the Public Goods Problem. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press; http://www.amazon.com/Social-Contract-Free-Ride-Paperbacks/dp/0198239122/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200191531&sr=1-1
Holcombe, Randall. 1997. “A Theory of the Theory of Public Goods,” Review of Austrian Economics, Vol. 10, No. 1: 1-10; http://www.mises.org/journals/rae/pdf/RAE10_1_1.pdf
Hoppe, Hans-Hermann. 1989. “Fallacies of the Public Goods Theory and the Production of Security,” The Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol. IX, No. 1, Winter, pp. 27-46; http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/9_1/9_1_2.pdf
Hummel, Jeffrey. 1990. “National Goods vs. Public Goods: Defense, Disarmament and Free Riders,” The Review of Austrian Economics, Vol. IV, pp. 88-122; http://www.mises.org/journals/rae/pdf/rae4_1_4.pdf
Osterfeld, David. 1989. “Anarchism and the Public Goods Issue: Law, Courts and the Police,” The Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol. 9, No. 1, Winter, pp. 47-68; http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/9_1/9_1_3.pdf
Pasour, Jr., E.C., 1981, “The Free Rider as a Basis for Government Intervention,” The Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol. V, No. 4, Fall, pp. 453-464; http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/5_4/5_4_6.pdf
Radnitzky, Gerard. 1989. Review of De Jasay, Anthony. 1989. Social Contract, Free Ride: A Study of the Public Goods Problem. Cato Journal, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 263-270 (Spring/Summer).
Rothbard, Murray N. 1997. The Logic of Action: Applications and Criticism from the Austrian School, Vol. II, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar
Rothbard’s (1997, 178) reductio absurdum of public goods is as follows: “A and B often benefit, it is held, if they can force C into doing something. . . . [A]ny argument proclaiming the right and goodness of, say, three neighbors, who yearn to form a string quartet, forcing a fourth neighbor at bayonet point to learn and play the viola, is hardly deserving of sober comment.”
Schmidtz, David. 1991. The Limits of Government: An Essay on the Public Goods Argument, Boulder Co: Westview Press
Sechrest, Larry. 2003. “Privateering and National Defense: Naval Warfare for Private Profit”, pages 239-74, The Myth of National Defense: Essays on the Theory and History of Security Production, edited by Hans-Hermann Hoppe, published by the Ludwig von Mises Institute, Auburn, Alabama, 2003.
Sechrest, Larry. 2004A. “Public Goods and Private Solutions in Maritime History.” The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics. Vol. 7, No. 2. Summer, 3-27.
http://www.mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae7_2_1.pdf; https://dev.mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae7_2_1.pdf
Sechrest, Larry. 2004B. “Private Provision of Public Goods: Theoretical Issues and Some Examples from Maritime History,” ICFAI Journal of Public Finance, August, Vol. II, No. 3, 45- 73; http://www.mises.org/journals/scholar/Sechrest7.pdf
Sechrest, Larry. 2007. “Privately Funded and Built U.S. Warships in the Quasi-War of 1797-1801,” The Independent Review, Summer, Vol. 12, No. 1: 101-113.
Tinsley, Patrick. 1998-1999. “With Liberty and Justice for All: A Case for Private Police,” Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol. 14, No. 1, Winter, pp. 95-100; http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/14_1/14_1_5.pdf
National defense::
Block, 2003; Cowen, 1988; De Jasay, 1989; Hoppe, 1989; Hummel, 1990; Pasour, 1981; Rothbard, 1997; Schmidtz, 1991; Sechrest, 2003, 2004A, 2004B, 2007
Block, Walter E. 2003. “National Defense and the Theory of Externalities, Public Goods and Clubs.” The Myth of National Defense: Essays on the Theory and History of Security Production, Hoppe, Hans-Hermann, ed., Auburn: Mises Institute, pp. 301-334; http://www.mises.org/etexts/defensemyth.pdf
Cowen, Tyler, ed. 1988. The Theory of Market Failure: A Critical Examination, Fairfax, VA: George Mason University Press; http://www.amazon.com/Theory-Market-Failure-Critical-Examination/dp/0913969133/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200191409&sr=1-1
De Jasay, Anthony. 1989. Social Contract, Free Ride: A Study of the Public Goods Problem. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press; http://www.amazon.com/Social-Contract-Free-Ride-Paperbacks/dp/0198239122/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200191531&sr=1-1
Hoppe, Hans-Hermann. 1989. “Fallacies of the Public Goods Theory and the Production of Security,” The Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol. IX, No. 1, Winter, pp. 27-46; http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/9_1/9_1_2.pdf
Hummel, Jeffrey. 1990. “National Goods vs. Public Goods: Defense, Disarmament and Free Riders,” The Review of Austrian Economics, Vol. IV, pp. 88-122; http://www.mises.org/journals/rae/pdf/rae4_1_4.pdf
Pasour, Jr., E.C., 1981, “The Free Rider as a Basis for Government Intervention,” The Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol. V, No. 4, Fall, pp. 453-464; http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/5_4/5_4_6.pdf
Rothbard, Murray N. 1997. The Logic of Action: Applications and Criticism from the Austrian School, Vol. II, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar
Schmidtz, David. 1991. The Limits of Government: An Essay on the Public Goods Argument, Boulder Co: Westview Press
Sechrest, Larry. 2003. “Privateering and National Defense: Naval Warfare for Private Profit”, pages 239-74, The Myth of National Defense: Essays on the Theory and History of Security Production, edited by Hans-Hermann Hoppe, published by the Ludwig von Mises Institute, Auburn, Alabama, 2003.
Sechrest, Larry. 2004A. “Public Goods and Private Solutions in Maritime History.” The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics. Vol. 7, No. 2. Summer, 3-27.
http://www.mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae7_2_1.pdf; https://dev.mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae7_2_1.pdf
Sechrest, Larry. 2004B. “Private Provision of Public Goods: Theoretical Issues and Some Examples from Maritime History,” ICFAI Journal of Public Finance, August, Vol. II, No. 3, 45- 73; http://www.mises.org/journals/scholar/Sechrest7.pdf
Sechrest, Larry. 2007. “Privately Funded and Built U.S. Warships in the Quasi-War of 1797-1801,” The Independent Review, Summer, Vol. 12, No. 1: 101-113.
12:37 pm on September 12, 2018
