From: C
Sent: Sunday, April 30, 2017 1:30 PM
To: Walter Block; Tal
Subject: Re: Austrian school monetary and banking theory
Dear Friend, I have a question, a challenging one I presume, regarding the intersection of the “free bankers” and the anti-IP adherents. What would stop someone in the “free bankers” ideal world from copying the fractional reserve banks’ notes? After all, they say copying isn’t theft, even in the case of trespass, extortion, or contract fraud. Cheers, C
Dear C: I think you are raising the issue of the libertarian view of counterfeiting. Is it licit to counterfeit the notes of fractional reserve bankers, given that they are illicit in the first place? I first raised this issue, well, a very similar one, in my book Defending the Undefendable I. My chapter in that book on counterfeiting was criticized by three very well know Austro-libertarians, each of whom has made important contributions to our economic philosophy; each of whom I highly respect (Murphy, Machaj, and Davidson). But I think they are all wrong in this one case. See that debate in the refereed journal literature below. And, also, see my claim that since I published last in this series, this “proves” that I am right, and my three critics wrong.
Anderson, 2001; Block, 1976, 2010; Murphy, 2006, 2010; Machaj, 2007; Davidson, 2010; North, 2013.
Block, Walter E. 2008 [1976]. “The (Non-Groverment) Counterfeiter,” Defending the Undefendable. Auburn, AL: The Mises Institute; http://mises.org/books/defending.pdf
Murphy, Robert P. 2006. “A Note on Walter E. Block ’s Defending the Undefendable: The Case of the ‘Heroic’ Counterfeiter”American Journal of Economics and Sociology, April, Vol. 65 Issue 2, pp. 463–467 http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0254/is_2_65/ai_n26906651/?tag=content;col1
Machaj, Mateusz. 2007. “Against both private and public counterfeiting.” American Journal of Economics and Sociology,November, Vol. 66 Issue 5, pp. 977–984; http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0254/is_5_66/ai_n27485641/?tag=content;col1
Block, Walter. 2010. “In Defense of Counterfeiting Illegitimate Money: Rejoinder to Murphy and Machaj,” American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Vol. 69, No. 2, 867-880; April; attached as a pdf
Davidson, Laura. 2010. “The ethics of countering the private counterfeiter: rejoinder to Block.” American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Vol. 69, No. 4, October, pp.http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0254/is_4_69/ai_n56257929/
Block, Walter. 2010. “Rejoinder to Davidson on Counterfeiting,” American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Vol. 69, No. 4, October, pp. 1328-1331; http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0254/is_4_69/ai_n56257930/
Anderson, William L. 2001. “The Case for Counterfeiting.” December 11;
http://mises.org/daily/843 (“As Ludwig von Mises pointed out, money is the only commodity that does not confer a social benefit when its supply increases.”)
Murphy, Robert P. 2010. “The Fed as Giant Counterfeiter.” February 1;
http://mises.org/daily/4029
North, Gary. 2013. “How Keynesians Hijacked Milton Friedman’s Helicopter.” January 15; http://archive.lewrockwell.com/north/north1247.html
Here’s my “proof” that he who publishes last is necessarily correct. Thus, Murphy, Machaj and Davidson are in error in this matter:
Block, Walter E., Christopher Westley and Alex Padilla. 2008. “Internal vs. external explanations: a new perspective on the history of economic thought,” Procesos De Mercado: Revista Europea De Economia Politica; issue 2, pp. 35-132; http://www.jsu.edu/depart/ccba/cwestley/Internal.2008.pdf; https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Walter_Block2/publications/?dbw=true; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228175537_Internal_vs._External_Explanations_A_New_Perspective_on_the_History_of_Economic_Thought?ev=prf_pub
Bryan Caplan comment: http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2006/03/making_a_virtue.html
