—–Original Message—–
From: F
Sent: Fri 11/18/2016 11:30 AM
To: wblock@loyno.edu
Subject: How would an anarchocapitalistic society solve these problems?

Please comment on these four issues:

1. Global Warming- factories, livestock farms, and automobiles along with many more things are releasing greenhouse gases into the air which is causing a process called Global Warming which is said to cause more floods, stronger hurricanes and tsunamis, droughts, and permanent flooding of coastal areas along with a host of other problems including the spread of disease carrying mosquitos.

2. The evolution of antibiotic resistant bacteria aka superbugs- Factory Farms are feeding massive amounts of antibiotics to animals and this is said to cause the evolution of bacteria to resist these antibiotics.

3. Noise Pollution- Is this a violation of the NAP? If so how much is too much noise pollution?

4. Homesteading theory of property- I find it ridiculous that someone can claim an area such as the ocean and suddenly own it, I think this is really a flawed theory. Can you explain the reasoning behind this theory of the origin of property?

Dear F: Here are my comments:

1. Global Warming. I’m an economist, not a meteorologist. I have to take seriously what the experts in the field say. I’m a believer in specialization and the division of labor. For example, the physicists, to my understanding debate whether matter is more like a wave or a particle. I have no dog in that fight. Whatever they finally come up with I’ll accept, given my state of ignorance about the entire subject. What of global warming. Again, there is a debate among the specialists on this, too. However, I note that the participants on one side of this debate, the alarmists, are trying to get members of the other fired from their jobs, even incarcerated, and maintain that “settled science,” is on their side. As far as I’m concerned, there is no such thing as “settled science,” and I tend to disbelieve them solely on this basis. If their claims were true, I reason, they wouldn’t have to resort to such tactics. (It is the same with interrupting opponents in a debate. That is an indication that your side is weak. See on this a recent debate in which I took part: http://www.thesohoforum.org/; then here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNHcqc6jNrg (the debate starts at the 19 minute mark)). So, I’m an opponent of the global warming claim. I note, too, that those who make this claim are on many other issues “watermelons”; green on the outside, but red on the inside.

2. Antibiotics. We can safely rely on the FDA to take care of this problem for us. Waitasec! Did I really write that? I must have been drunk then. Ignore that, as the ravings of a lunatic, me, in this case. What I should have said is that this is all the fault of the FDA. Under an unregulated free enterprise system, the market would take care of it. People who feared this eventuality would patronize those who did not give antibiotics to their barnyard animals. Of course, mainstream economists would criticize what I just said, muttering, “public goods,” and “externalities.” For an Austro libertarian response to that charge, here are some readings:

Barnett and Block, 2007, 2009; Block, 1983, 2000, 2003; Cowen, 1988; De Jasay, 1989; Holcombe, 1997; Hoppe, 1989; Hummel, 1990; Osterfeld, 1989; Pasour, 1981; Rothbard, 1985, 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. 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. 2000. “Word Watch,” April 20; http://www.mises.org/fullstory.asp?control=414&FS=Word+Watch

Block, Walter. 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. 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

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

3. Noise Pollution

This is the best essay ever written on environmental issues in general, and, specifically, on noise pollution:

Rothbard, Murray N. 1982. “Law, Property Rights, and Air Pollution,” Cato Journal, Vol. 2, No. 1, Spring; reprinted in Economics and the Environment: A Reconciliation, Walter E. Block , ed., Vancouver: The Fraser Institute, 1990, pp. 233-279; http://mises.org/story/2120; http://www.mises.org/rothbard/lawproperty.pdf; https://mises.org/library/law-property-rights-and-air-pollution-0

4. Homesteading oceans

Read this book of mine:

Block, Walter E. and Peter Lothian Nelson. 2015. Water Capitalism: The Case for Privatizing Oceans, Rivers, Lakes, and Aquifers. New York City, N.Y.: Lexington Books; Rowman and Littlefield; https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498518802/Water-Capitalism-The-Case-for-Privatizing-Oceans-Rivers-Lakes-and-Aquifers.

The Best of Walter E. Block