Holcombe on Government

From: R
Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2019 1:15 AM
To: Walter Block <[email protected]>
Subject:

Here’s a nice analogy:

Holcombe (2004, p. 326) writes: “If people create their own government preemptively, they can design a government that may be less predatory than the one that outside aggressors otherwise would impose on them.” This is akin to the cowpox smallpox technique. Infect the patient with the former, which is a mild strain, so that his white blood cells can create antibodies to fight it off; then, when the stronger smallpox attacks, the defenses would already be set up and strengthened, able to fight off the disease. (thedorsetpage 2000).

From: Walter Block <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2019 9:21 AM
To: R

Subject: RE:

Yes, thanks.

Here are some of my critiques of Randy Holcombe on this topic:

Block, Walter E. 2005. “Governmental Inevitability: Reply to Holcombe.” Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol. 19, No. 3, 71-93; http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/19_3/19_3_4.pdf

Block, Walter E. 2007. “Rejoinder to Holcombe on the Inevitability of Government.” Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol. 21, No. 1, Spring, pp. 49-60; http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/21_1/21_1_4.pdf

Block, Walter E. 2010. “Libertarianism is unique; it belongs neither to the right nor the left: a critique of the views of Long, Holcombe, and Baden on the left, Hoppe, Feser and Paul on the right.” Journal of Libertarian Studies; Vol. 22: 127–70; http://mises.org/journals/jls/22_1/22_1_8.pdfhttp://www.mises.org/journals/scholar/block15.pdfhttps://mises.org/library/libertarianism-unique-and-belongs-neither-right-nor-left-critique-views-long-holcombe-and

Walter E. Block, Ph.D.

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11:28 am on October 8, 2019