—–Original Message—–
From: NG
Sent: Thu 10/13/2016 7:33 AM
To: wblock@loyno.edu
Subject: 2 Questions

Hello Professor Walter Block,

I have two questions for you. My first one deals with libertarianism. In a complete libertarian society, one with no aggression, how would people control noise rights? Could I theoretically have a loudspeaker that blasts out curse words and everybody within that area would just have to deal with it? What if I built some speakers that made it impossible for my neighbors to talk, to the point where they couldn’t even tell me to turn it down? Seems like a potentially big problem.

My next question is about my future. I’m a freshman in College at a community college local to where I attended high school. I want to transfer to a 4-year university after next semester. What schools do you suggest I look at? Since I am a Texan, would it make more sense to attend a local school that will be cheaper, like the University of Texas Austin or Texas A&M, as opposed to a small private school like the University of the South, which is where I’m thinking I would like to go. Would it be smart to be closer to home over the next few years if SHTF?

Thanks a lot, I hope you can take the time to respond. I’m a Big fan. NG

Dear NG:

1.on noise rights, read this:

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

This is the best article ever written on environmentalism.

2. on where to go to college:

Please disregard the form letter format of this message. I don’t know how else to get out this information.

If you are an adult past school age, please send this to young people on whose behalf you want to promote free enterprise: Are you a student? What school? What major? What year? I ask because I am an economics professor at Loyola University New Orleans, and I am looking for students to come study with me. Loyola must be one of the very few universities in the entire world where all the professors in the economics department are heavily oriented towards Austrian (free market) economics and libertarianism. An incomparable advantage of our program is that we ensure students are taught ALL schools of economic thought (including Keynesianism and neo-classical economics) and political philosophy (including socialism and communism). Unlike many other economics departments, however, we critique the various schools of thought and through this process provide students with all sides of these issues. We are constantly on the lookout for bright students who would benefit from studying with professors who appreciate economic freedom, free markets, private property rights and laissez faire capitalism. If you are a high school or college student, please get in touch with me so that I can urge you to consider applying or transferring to Loyola New Orleans. If you are past school age but know any young person who would be interested our program, please pass this note on to them. Why attend Loyola, and not a more prestigious place like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Chicago, Stanford? The difference is we focus on undergraduate students, placing emphasis on individual attention, no teaching assistants here! Second, if you want to go on for advanced study, get a Ph.D., prestige matters for your graduate school, not so much for your undergraduate education. Third, if you want to learn the case in favor of Austrian economics, free enterprise, laissez faire capitalism, you’ll need the scope and depth our faculty can provide you, you’ll find what you want at Loyola. Why the emphasis on Austrian economics? Read this on that: Rockwell, Llewellyn H., Jr. 1995. Why Austrian Economics Matters. Auburn AL: The Mises Institute; http://www.mises.org/etexts/why_ae.asp

Open letter to college aged students interested in Austrian economics (the economics of Ron Paul, Friedrich Hayek, Murray Rothbard and Ludwig von Mises) and libertarianism (the political philosophy of Ron Paul, Ayn Rand, Robert Nozick and Murray Rothbard).

Please consider enrolling at Loyola University New Orleans. I’d LOVE to have you as a student. If you are interested and would like to know more about applying or transferring, CONTACT ME NOW!!

If you are seriously interested, I will connect you directly to our admissions office where they will assist you with admission, transfer options and scholarships.

I think it would be a big mistake for any student who appreciates Austrian economics and the libertarian political philosophy to go to any college or university without at least a few Austro-libertarian professors. All of my colleagues in our four member economics department are very free market oriented. Two others of them, apart from me, are also Austrian economists (Bill Barnett, and Leo Krasnozhon). The one non-Austrian in the department (John Levendis) is very sympathetic to this school of thought. Plus a colleague in the finance dept, Stuart Wood, a former student of eminent Austrian Israel Kirzner’s, is a staunch Austrian; another finance prof, Ron Christner, is also a supporter of markets. There are also two solid libertarian professors in our law school (Jim Viator, David Gruning). Nick Capaldi, another libertarian, teaches business ethics. We even have a professor of chemistry, Bill Walkenhorst, who is supportive of our free enterprise initiatives, and attends many of our events. It is also possible to earn a BA in economics, which, instead of business courses, you take courses in humanities and social sciences.

An added benefit of enrolling at Loyola is that we encourage students to publish in refereed scholarly journals and regularly succeed in so placing their writings. This is the “publish or perish” syndrome that determines promotion and tenure for professors – so being published in venues of this sort is an unusual honor for undergraduates. I attach a listing of past successes in this regard.

Our economics club which meets twice a month, has had such outside speakers as Ron Paul, Hans Hoppe, Guido Hulsmann, Tom DiLorenzo, Bob Higgs, Walter Williams, Roger Garrison, Tom Woods, Peter Boettke, Tibor Machan, James Buchanan, George Ayittey, Richard Ebeling, Judge Andrew Napolitano and Joe Salerno. Ron Paul spoke for our economics club in the fall, 2009 to a gigantic audience. Our libertarian seminar studies books like Rothbard’s For a New Liberty and the Ethics of Liberty. Our Austrian economic seminar discusses publications such as Mises’ Human Action, and, most recently, Murray Rothbard’s The Case Against the Fed, and Tom Wood’s, Meltdown. These seminars are so popular with libertarian students at other New Orleans area Universities (Tulane, UNO) that not only do they attend them, they actually enroll in our courses (economics as taught at these other universities is very mainstream; that is, Keynesian and mathematically oriented.)

With all of this Austro-libertarian activity, and free market professors, as you can imagine, many of our students have adopted this philosophy. C’mon down. You’ll be among friends. At pretty much at any other college, with one or two exceptions, you’d be an ugly duckling. With us, you’ll be a beautiful swan. This doesn’t mean we don’t have socialist, liberal, “progressive” and multiculturist professors. Like most universities, we have plenty of them and they vastly outnumber us; but this is not altogether bad: it is good to acquaint yourself with all perspectives in political economy. However, Loyola is virtually unique in also presenting students with a strong free libertarian Austrian enterprise point of view.

WE DO OFFER SCHOLARSHIPS. The Office of Admissions offers several types of academic scholarships based on need and merit. My suggestion is to apply to Loyola http://apply.loyno.edu/ to determine your eligibility. The College of Business does offer some scholarships on a one-time basis based on need and academics, but are reserved for current students, not new admits. Please let me know if you have any questions about this. The website offers quite a bit of useful information, specifically on the scholarships and financial aid webpage http://www.loyno.edu/financialaid/

I’m copying a person on this in case you need help, or more information, about Loyola University New Orleans: She is Director of Admissions, Susan Oakes and her email is soakes@loyno.edu. I suggest you apply on line for admission. If you are denied, please get back to me for other suggestions.

The Best of Walter E. Block