Question about Anarchism and Libraries

From: M

Sent: Friday, November 08, 2019 4:31 PM

To: [email protected]

Subject: Question about Anarchism and Libraries

Dear Dr. Block,

I write with an important question, but let me start by thanking you for helping me see the dangers of socialism. I first heard you when I was a leftist listener to “The Sam Seder Show” some years ago.  His disingenuous “gotcha” type interview made me laugh at the time, but in that interview, you planted a seed in mind that turned me from an anti-war communist (I know, I know) into the Rothbardian Anarchist I am today.

I live in a small town in rural Maine. I’ve been fortunate to have become financially independent, so I have the freedom to do something I love, working with kids at the local library.

I dream of making the library a better place. Since it is such a small town, I will have the ability to influence the policy here eventually, if I play my cards right.

My dream, obviously, is to make the library stop funding itself with taxes, and instead voluntary contributions.

I’ve read some of your work, but I can’t find much on returning turning the socialist institutions we call libraries today back to their roots as either subscription or charity based places of learning and community.

Do you have any advice for me? Can you point me to any writings by you or other free-market types on this subject? I need a strong vision to present so when I eventually head to city hall and demand less money in my budget, people don’t simply write me off as crazy.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, for any words of wisdom you could provide, and more importantly, for all the work you have done in making the world a more free place. I know I’m not the only one who can now has a more rational view of human interaction thanks to you.

And if you’re ever up in Maine, let me know so I can buy you a beer, or a whoopee pie.

Yours,

M

Dear M:

Thanks for you kind words.

I’ve written quite a bit about privatization. See below. But, never about, specifically, privatizing libraries. Hopefully, you can extrapolate from what I’ve written about privatization in general, and specific privatizations (roads, rivers, space) and apply it to libraries; the principles are the same. If you publish something along these lines, please send it to me.

24. Nelson, Peter Lothian and Walter E. Block. 2018. Space capitalism: the case for privatizing space travel and colonization. Palgrave Macmillan; https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-74651-7; https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/3319746502/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&condition=new&qid=1531187909&sr=8-1&linkCode=sl2&tag=economicpolicyjournal-20&linkId=959e913e476f48b289a16223d557a826; http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2018/07/new-walter-block-book-space-capitalism.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29;

https://www.c-span.org/video/?448910-4/space-capitalism;

https://mises.org/power-market/walter-block-talks-space-capitalism-cspan;

https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/hey-im-on-tv-c-span/;

http://mitchell-langbert.blogspot.com/2018/09/walter-block-on-space-capitalism.html;

https://filling-space.com/2019/01/18/space-capitalism-laissez-faire-in-the-heavens/;

21. 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. https://mises.org/library/case-privatizing-oceans-and-rivers

scathing review: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R1SMO4B0T1AWM5/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1498518826; https://store.mises.org/-P11051.aspx

Block, Walter E. 2009. The Privatization of Roads and Highways: Human and Economic Factors; Auburn, AL: The Mises Institute; http://www.amazon.com/Privatization-Roads-And-Highways-Factors/dp/1279887303/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336605800&sr=1-1; available for free here: http://mises.org/books/roads_web.pdf; http://mises.org/daily/3416; http://www.walterblock.com/wp-content/uploads/publications/radical_privatization.pdf; audio: http://store.mises.org/Privatization-of-Roads-and-Highways-Audiobook-P11005.aspx; http://www.audible.com/pd/Business/The-Privatization-of-Roads-and-Highways-Audiobook/B0167IT18K?tag=misesinsti-20; http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=bf16b152ccc444bdbbcc229e4&id=6cbc90577b&e=54244ea97d

http://www.sanfranciscoreviewofbooks.com/2017/09/book-review-privatization-of-roads-and.html

Articles:

Block, Walter E. 2017. “Privatizing government, in the interim.” The Journal of Private Enterprise, Vol. XXXII, No. 3, Fall, pp. 33-45; http://journal.apee.org/index.php?title=2017_Journal_of_Private_Enterprise_vol_32_no_3_Fall_parte4.pdf

Krasnozhon, Leo, Pedro Benitez and Walter E. Block. 2015. “The Privatization of Antarctica.” Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment. Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 397-401; http://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/jece/

Cuneo, Michael, Anton Chamberlin, Theodore Birkofer and Walter E. Block. 2015.  “Private roads.” Journal of Leadership and Management. Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 3-11;

http://leadership.net.pl/index.php/JLM

Block, Walter E. 2002. “Radical Privatization and other Libertarian Conundrums,” The International Journal of Politics and Ethics, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 165-175; http://www.walterblock.com/publications/radical_privatization.pdf

Block, Walter E. 1990. “Comment on Alan Walters’ ‘Deregulation and Privatization: Lessons from the U.K.,'” The Law and Economics of Competition Policy, Frank Mathewson, Michael Trebilcock and Michael Walker, eds., Vancouver: The Fraser Institute, pp. 175-178.

Block, Walter E. 1990. “The Process of Privatization,” International Privatization: Global Trends, Policies, Processes, Experiences, O. Yul Kwon, ed., Saskatchewan: Institute for Saskatchewan Enterprise, pp. 431-436.

Block, Walter E. 1990. “Process of Privatization:  Organizing,” International Privatization, May, pp. 431-436.

Block, Walter E. 10/31/90. “Private rocket ships,” Fernie Weekly.

Block, Walter E. 1990. “Private Rocket Ships,” Fraser Forum November, pp. 38-39.

Block, Walter E. 1989. “Comment on William Stanbury’s ‘Privatization in Canada: Ideology, Symbolism or Substance?'” Paul MacAvoy, William Stanbury, George Yarrow and Richard Zeckhauser, eds., Privatization and State-Owned Enterprises: Lessons for the U.K., Canada and the U.S., Boston,  Kluwer, pp. 331-336.

Block, Walter E. 2/16/88. “Socreds better keep out of private sector,” The Financial Post.

Block, Walter E. 12/22/88. “Private sales should be no one else’s business,” The Financial Post

Block, Walter E. 2/24/88.  Dollars and Sense: “Privatization.”

Block, Walter E. 1988. “Privatization in Canada: Recipe for Inaction,” Economic Affairs, v. 8, n. 4, April/May, pp. 38-40; http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=289&hid=116&sid=781cb0b0-a517-47c5-9874-ee43ba5138d5%40sessionmgr3

Block, Walter E. 2/10/86. “The call for privatizing food testing,” Grainews, p.54.

Block, Walter E. 3/6/82. “Thrive or fail, privatizing’s best,” The Financial Post.

Here’s more for a reference section:

Privatization:

Garbage::

Anderson and Hill, 1996; Block, 2002, 2009, 2015; Butler, 1988; Carnis, 2003; Ebeling, 2013; Hanke, 1987A, 1987B; Hannesson, 2004, 2006; Hoppe, 2011; Karpoff, 2001; Megginson, 2001; Moore, 1987; Moore and Butler, 1987; Motichek, Block and Johnson, 2008; Nelson and Block, 2018; Ohashi, 1980; Ohashi, Roth, Spindler, McMillan and Norrie, 1980; Pirie, 1986; Savas, 1987; Walker, 1988; White, 1978

Anderson, Terry L. and Peter J. Hill, editors. 1996. The privatization process: a worldwide perspective, Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Block, Walter E. 2002. “Radical Privatization and other Libertarian Conundrums,” The International Journal of Politics and Ethics, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 165-175; http://www.walterblock.com/publications/radical_privatization.pdf

Block, Walter E. 2009. The Privatization of Roads and Highways: Human and Economic Factors; Auburn, AL: The Mises Institute; http://www.amazon.com/Privatization-Roads-And-Highways-Factors/dp/1279887303/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336605800&sr=1-1; http://mises.org/books/roads_web.pdf; http://mises.org/daily/3416

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. https://mises.org/library/case-privatizing-oceans-and-rivers

Butler, Eamonn, ed., 1988, The Mechanics of Privatization, London: Adam Smith Institute

Carnis, Laurent. 2003. “The Case for Road Privatization: A Defense by Restitution.” Journal des Economistes et des Etudes Humaines. Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 95-116

Ebeling, Richard. 2013. “Why Not Privatize Foreign Policy?” http://epictimes.com/article/127064/why-not-privatize-foreign-policy

Hanke, Steve H., ed., 1987A. Privatization and Development, San Francisco: Institute for Contemporary Studies

Hanke, Steve H. 1987B. “Privatization.” In J. Eatwell, M. Milgate and P. Newman, eds., The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, v. 3. London: The Macmillan Press, Ltd.: 976-77.

Hannesson, Rögnvaldur. 2004. The Privatization of the Oceans, in D.R. Leal (Ed.): Evolving Property Rights in Marine Fisheries, Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield, pp. 25-48.

Hannesson, Rögnvaldur. 2006. The Privatization of the Oceans. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Hoppe, Hans-Hermann. 2011. “Of Private, Common, and Public Property and the Rationale for Total Privatization,” Libertarian Papers 3, 1. http://libertarianpapers.org/2011/1-hoppe-private-common-and-public-property/

Karpoff, Jonathan M. 2001. “Public versus Private Initiative in Arctic Exploration: The Effects of Incentives and Organizational Structure,” The Journal of Political Economy, 109 (1): 38-78.

Megginson, W. Netter, J. 2001. “From State to Market: A Survey of Empirical Studies on Privatization.” Journal of Economic Literature, 39(2): 321-89.

Moore, Stephen. 1987. “Privatizing the U.S. Postal Service,” in Stephen Moore and Stuart Butler, eds., Privatization, Washington: Heritage Foundation.

Moore, Stephen and Stuart Butler, eds., 1987. Privatization, Washington: Heritage Foundation.

Motichek, Amy, Walter E. Block and Jay Johnson. 2008. “Forget Ocean Front Property, We Want Ocean Real Estate!” Ethics, Place, and Environment; Vol. 11, Issue 2, June, pp. 147 – 155

Nelson, Peter Lothian and Walter E. Block. 2018. Space capitalism: the case for privatizing space travel and colonization. Palgrave Macmillan; https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-74651-7; https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/3319746502/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&condition=new&qid=1531187909&sr=8-1&linkCode=sl2&tag=economicpolicyjournal-20&linkId=959e913e476f48b289a16223d557a826; http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2018/07/new-walter-block-book-space-capitalism.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29

Ohashi, T.M. 1980. Privatization, theory and practice : distributing shares in private and public enterprise. The Fraser Institute, Vancouver, B.C.

Ohashi, T.M., T.P. Roth, Z.A. Spindler, M.L. McMillan, & K.H. Norrie. 1980. Privation Theory & Practice, The Fraser Institute, Vancouver, B.C.

Pirie, Madson, 1986, Privatization in Theory and Practice, London: Adam Smith Institute

Savas, E. S. 1987.  Privatization. Chatham, N.J.: Chatham House Publishers.

Walker, Michael A. 1988.  ed., Privatization: Tactics and Techniques, The Fraser Institute, Vancouver, B.C.,  Canada

White, Lawrence H., 1978, “Privatization of municipally-provided services,” The Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol. 2, No. 2, Summer, pp. 187-197

Margaret Thatcher:

Duxbury, Nick. 2013. “Iron Lady’s right to buy and economic policies had far-reaching impact; Social landlords reflect on Thatcher’s legacy.” April 12; http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/tenancies/social-landlords-reflect-on-thatcher%E2%80%99s-legacy/6526486.article

Gamble, Andrew. 1988. “Privatization, Thatcherism, and the British State .” Journal of Law and Society     Vol. 16, No. 1, Spring, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1409974

Gamble, Andrew. 1988. “Privatization, Thatcherism, and the British State .” Journal of Law and Society     Vol. 16, No. 1, Spring, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1409974

Gulliver, Kevin. 2013. “Thatcher’s legacy: her role in today’s housing crisis; Margaret Thatcher made a huge impact on the housing sector during her time in office, and we can still feel the effects today.” The Guardian. April 17; http://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2013/apr/17/margaret-thatcher-legacy-housing-crisis

Marsh, David. 1991. “Privatization under Mrs. Thatcher: a review of the literature.” Public Administration, Volume 69, Issue 4, pages 459–480, December; http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9299.1991.tb00915.x/abstract

Milligan, Brian. 2013. “Right-to-buy: Margaret Thatcher’s controversial gift.” BBC News. April 10; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22077190

Wolf, Joel. 1991. “State Power and Ideology in Britain: Mrs Thatcher’s Privatization Programme.” Political Studies.Volume 39, Issue 2, pages 237–252, June;

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9248.1991.tb01365.x/abstract?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false

THE PRIVATIZATION OF THE OCEANS, by Rögnvaldur Hannesson

Reviewed by Donald R. Leal (Property and Environment Research Center)

http://www.independent.org/publications/tir/article.asp?issueID=48&articleID=623

Anderson and Hill, 1996; Block, 2002, 2009, 2017A, 2017B; Block and Nelson, 2015; Butler, 1988; Carnis, 2003; Ebeling, 2013; Hanke, 1987A, 1987B; Hannesson, 2004, 2006; Hoppe, 2011; Karpoff, 2001; Megginson, 2001; Moore, 1987; Moore and Butler, 1987; Motichek, Block and Johnson, 2008; Nelson and Block, 2018; Ohashi, 1980; Ohashi, Roth, Spindler, McMillan and Norrie, 1980; Pirie, 1986; Rothbard, 2018; Savas, 1987; Walker, 1988; White, 1978

Anderson, Terry L. and Peter J. Hill, editors. 1996. The privatization process : a worldwide perspective, Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Block, Walter E. 2002. “Radical Privatization and other Libertarian Conundrums,” The International Journal of Politics and Ethics, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 165-175; http://www.walterblock.com/publications/radical_privatization.pdf

Block, Walter E. 2009. The Privatization of Roads and Highways: Human and Economic Factors; Auburn, AL: The Mises Institute; http://www.amazon.com/Privatization-Roads-And-Highways-Factors/dp/1279887303/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336605800&sr=1-1; available for free here: http://mises.org/books/roads_web.pdf; http://mises.org/daily/3416; http://www.walterblock.com/wp-content/uploads/publications/radical_privatization.pdf; audio: http://store.mises.org/Privatization-of-Roads-and-Highways-Audiobook-P11005.aspx; http://www.audible.com/pd/Business/The-Privatization-of-Roads-and-Highways-Audiobook/B0167IT18K?tag=misesinsti-20; http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=bf16b152ccc444bdbbcc229e4&id=6cbc90577b&e=54244ea97d

http://www.sanfranciscoreviewofbooks.com/2017/09/book-review-privatization-of-roads-and.html

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. https://mises.org/library/case-privatizing-oceans-and-rivers

Block, Walter E. 2017A. “Radical Privatization: Oceans, Roads, Heavenly Bodies.” Romanian Economic and Business Review, Vol. 12, Summer, pp. 41-56; https://econpapers.repec.org/article/raujournl/v_3a12_3ay_3a2017_3ai_3a2_3ap_3a41-56.htm; http://www.rebe.rau.ro/RePEc/rau/journl/SU17/REBE-SU17-A4.pdf

Block, Walter E. 2017B. “Privatizing government, in the interim.” The Journal of Private Enterprise, Vol. XXXII, No. 3, Fall, pp. 33-45; http://journal.apee.org/index.php?title=2017_Journal_of_Private_Enterprise_vol_32_no_3_Fall_parte4.pdf

Butler, Eamonn, ed., 1988, The Mechanics of Privatization, London: Adam Smith Institute

Carnis, Laurent. 2003. “The Case for Road Privatization: A Defense by Restitution.” Journal des Economistes et des Etudes Humaines. Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 95-116

Ebeling, Richard. 2013. “Why Not Privatize Foreign Policy?” http://epictimes.com/article/127064/why-not-privatize-foreign-policy

Hanke, Steve H., ed., 1987A. Privatization and Development, San Francisco: Institute for Contemporary Studies

Hanke, Steve H. 1987B. “Privatization.” In J. Eatwell, M. Milgate and P. Newman, eds., The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, v. 3. London: The Macmillan Press, Ltd.: 976-77.

Hannesson, Rögnvaldur. 2004. The Privatization of the Oceans, in D.R. Leal (Ed.): Evolving Property Rights in Marine Fisheries, Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield, pp. 25-48.

Hannesson, Rögnvaldur. 2006. The Privatization of the Oceans. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Hoppe, Hans-Hermann. 2011. “Of Private, Common, and Public Property and the Rationale for Total Privatization,” Libertarian Papers 3, 1. http://libertarianpapers.org/2011/1-hoppe-private-common-and-public-property/

Karpoff, Jonathan M. 2001. “Public versus Private Initiative in Arctic Exploration: The Effects of Incentives and Organizational Structure,” The Journal of Political Economy, 109 (1): 38-78.

Megginson, W. Netter, J. 2001. “From State to Market: A Survey of Empirical Studies on Privatization.” Journal of Economic Literature, 39(2): 321-89.

Moore, Stephen. 1987. “Privatizing the U.S. Postal Service,” in Stephen Moore and Stuart Butler, eds., Privatization, Washington: Heritage Foundation.

Moore, Stephen and Stuart Butler, eds., 1987. Privatization, Washington: Heritage Foundation.

Motichek, Amy, Walter E. Block and Jay Johnson. 2008. “Forget Ocean Front Property, We Want Ocean Real Estate!” Ethics, Place, and Environment; Vol. 11, Issue 2, June, pp. 147 – 155; http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13668790802252322?journalCode=cepe20; http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713417006~db=all~tab=issueslist~branches=11 – v1111, Issue 2, June, pp. 147 – 155

Nelson, Peter Lothian and Walter E. Block. 2018. Space capitalism: the case for privatizing space travel and colonization. Palgrave Macmillan

Ohashi, T.M. 1980. Privatization, theory and practice : distributing shares in private and public enterprise. The Fraser Institute, Vancouver, B.C.

Ohashi, T.M., T.P. Roth, Z.A. Spindler, M.L. McMillan, & K.H. Norrie. 1980. Privation Theory & Practice, The Fraser Institute, Vancouver, B.C.

Pirie, Madson, 1986, Privatization in Theory and Practice, London: Adam Smith Institute

plumb line

Rothbard, Murray N. 2018. “How to Desocialize.” February 18;

https://mises.org/wire/how-desocialize

Savas, E. S. 1987.  Privatization. Chatham, N.J.: Chatham House Publishers.

Walker, Michael A. 1988.  ed., Privatization: Tactics and Techniques, The Fraser Institute, Vancouver, B.C., Canada

White, Lawrence H., 1978, “Privatization of municipally-provided services,” The Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol. 2, No. 2, Summer, pp. 187-197

Best regards,

Walter

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3:07 am on November 29, 2019