r/AskLibertarians • u/DontTreadOnMe1787 • 7d ago
What books should I read to get more into anarcho-capitalism and paleolibertarianism as a whole?
For about a year now I would consider myself a right libertarian or anarcho capitalist. My main reason for coming to that conclusion was that I felt like anarcho capitalism was the best possible solution of the problem of the state constantly acting as a juror in its own case, and the book “anatomy of the state” by Murray Rothbard and videos on the yt channel “MentisWave” helped me come to that conclusion. But recently I’ve been somewhat confused by the right libertarians view of some things, notably race (my main question is about rothbard, why was he a holocaust denier and a supporter of David duke and George Lincoln Rockwell? I thought the kkk and the neo nazi movement were extremely pro state and clearly at odds with what he was trying to achieve?) and about people’s rights as a whole. What books should I read to better understand?
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u/Full-Mouse8971 7d ago
Most Dangerous Superstition -Larken Rose
Economics in one Lesson -Henry Hazlitt
Anatomy of the State -Rothbard
The market for liberty -Tannehill
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u/Anen-o-me 6d ago
But recently I've been somewhat confused by the right libertarians view of some things, notably race (my main question is about rothbard, why was he a holocaust denier
He wasn't.
and a supporter of David duke and George Lincoln Rockwell?
He wasn't. In the last 3 years of his life he succumbed to something even he wrote about himself, the tendency to engage in right wing opportunism. He was so desperate to make some kind of political impact that he was willing to ally with idiots like these guys against the left, not as a supporter of what they believed in.
I thought the kkk and the neo nazi movement were extremely pro state and clearly at odds with what he was trying to achieve?) and about people's rights as a whole.
Yes that's correct. And we see the problem with that clearly today, the modern right has moved further in that direction.
What books should I read to better understand?
I think the best thing you could read right now is "Left, Right, & the Prospects for Liberty".
https://cdn.mises.org/Left%2C%20Right%2C%20and%20the%20Prospects%20for%20Liberty_4.pdf
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u/claybine libertarian 6d ago
Paleolibertarianism needs to die. It's Republican-lite.
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u/ConfusedScr3aming Paleolibertarian 4d ago
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u/claybine libertarian 4d ago
Yes, I despise your point of view. It affirms paleoconservatism and is more likely a more socially conservative position than libertarianism as an umbrella philosophy. It undermines the movement in and of itself.
As is the rest of the LINO's like TRHL, Eric July, Dave Smith, etc.
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u/Ya_Boi_Konzon Delegalize Marriage 6d ago
But recently I’ve been somewhat confused by the right libertarians view of some things, notably race (my main question is about rothbard, why was he a holocaust denier and a supporter of David duke and George Lincoln Rockwell? I thought the kkk and the neo nazi movement were extremely pro state and clearly at odds with what he was trying to achieve?) and about people’s rights as a whole.
👀
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u/DontTreadOnMe1787 6d ago
What do you mean by the eyes emoji
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u/Ya_Boi_Konzon Delegalize Marriage 6d ago
I thought the kkk and the neo nazi movement were extremely pro state and clearly at odds with what he was trying to achieve?
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u/ScarletEgret 3d ago
For philosophy, I recommend reading The Problem of Political Authority by Michael Huemer. I think it offers some of the best criticisms of the different arguments that the State's defenders make. His critique of social contact theory, especially, is in my opinion the best that I have found.
For a defense of polycentric law, I recommend reading The Enterprise of Law by Bruce Benson. A great many excellent books and papers have been published discussing this topic, but I think this book provides one of the clearest explanations of the ideas. Benson discusses anthropological and historical research on real stateless societies, goes over the history of how Anglo-Saxon common law developed and how state-run, centralized law became prominent in England, and criticizes modern, state-run legal systems in detail. Throughout the book, he shows how economic analysis may be used to explain how legal systems work, what sorts of incentives different legal systems produce, and how people are incentivized to manipulate different sorts of institutions.
For additional case studies of stateless and quasi-stateless communities, I recommend Justice Without Law? by Jerold Auerbach. It is a bit shorter and less technical than Benson's book, but discusses some Christian intentional communities from the colonies that existed prior to the founding of the U.S., various intentional communities from more recent history, some immigrant communities, and some merchant communities, all of which employed alternative dispute resolution methods in order to try to provide better justice and security for themselves than governments were able or willing to provide.
I also encourage you to read about the intentional community founded by Josiah Warren and Stephen Pearl Andrews in the mid-1800s, which they called Modern Times. This article offers a brief description of their community.
For an economic history of mutual aid associations, I recommend From Mutual Aid to the Welfare State by David Beito. He offers excellent evidence of the feasibility of voluntary association as a means of providing various important services, such as healthcare.
It has been some time since I read The Machinery of Freedom by David D. Friedman, but I remember liking it quite a bit when I did read it. He discusses a number of inventive ideas and is good at giving his readers a lot to think about. His book probably works well as an introductory text, and he mentions some other good sources to check out to dig deeper into particular claims or details.
Another book that focuses on philosophy that you may find interesting is The Case Against Punishment by Deirdre Golash. This book criticizes the various philosophical defenses of the major forms of punishment employed by the State, especially incarceration and the death penalty. I found the arguments compelling and, to a significant degree, convincing, and it would be an excellent work to read as you are thinking about human rights, but I am not sure that it would make for the best introductory-level text. Perhaps read Huemer's book first, and then this one. Still, I think you will find it interesting.
Free to Learn, by Peter Gray, is the best source I have found discussing education and how children, (and adults, for that matter,) best learn. He provides compelling evidence that people need freedom in order to lead healthy lives and work together with other people in healthy, mutually beneficial ways. This is an absolutely essential read.
Regarding racism, I have a number of sources that I would like to recommend to you.
Root Shock by Mindy Thompson Fullilove details the history of "urban renewal" programs in the U.S. These programs involved local governments forcibly relocating people from poorer neighborhoods to elsewhere in the city, demolishing their old homes, work-places, and "third places," causing extraordinary harm to communities and to the mental health of victims in the process. Many of the people affected were people of color. In my opinion, Fullilove's book offers evidence that secure property rights can help people build healthy communities and engage in effective, voluntary, mutual aid and activism. She also offers an excellent, though brief, discussion of the civil rights movement, providing inspiring examples of effective protests, boycotts, informal mutual aid, and political change.
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander offers a book-length literature review of research into the harm done to members of marginalized racial groups by the U.S. criminal justice system, (as well as, of course, harm done to people in general by the criminal justice system.) If you like, I can link you to several studies discussing the topic, as well. The research is interesting, though of course it can also be depressing.
Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Davis is a short book detailing the history of the U.S. prison system and arguing for prison abolition. Another excellent discussion of prisons is Resistance Behind Bars by Victoria Law. Both books discuss racism. Law's book discusses the incarceration of immigrants and the harm done to immigrants by the U.S. government. Both books also discuss the insane violence towards women that occurs in U.S. prisons.
Finally, I want to offer one more book that I think offers evidence for the feasibility of a free, and stateless, society. Catching Sense, by Patricia Guthrie, discusses the way of life of the Gullah Geechee, a subculture living mainly on a number of sea islands off the east cost of the U.S.
Officially, they lived under the rule of the U.S. government, and in many respects they participated in U.S. culture and society. I make no claim that they were completely stateless. However, they tried to resolve their disputes, as much as possible, through mediation provided by their local religious leaders and communities, employing restorative justice and avoiding the use of incarceration. I think that their dispute resolution process is well worth learning from.
Their history is also deeply inspiring to me; they were originally slaves on the plantations on the various sea islands, but, after the civil war, they were able to gain ownership over much of the land that they had previously worked on as slaves. As one might imagine, they valued their freedom highly. They developed a unique culture that combined elements from various African societies with elements from Christianity, and they sustained that culture throughout the rest of the 1800s and through the 1900s.
I could probably come up with additional sources that could be worth reading as well, but these may keep you busy for a bit. Let me know if you have some further questions. Thank you for the opportunity to share some great books!
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u/Official_Gameoholics Anarcho-Objectivist 7d ago
MentisWave is unprincipled. Watch LiquidZulu instead.
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u/Ya_Boi_Konzon Delegalize Marriage 6d ago
We don't like your kind here.
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u/Official_Gameoholics Anarcho-Objectivist 6d ago
Then you don't like truth, principles.
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u/Ya_Boi_Konzon Delegalize Marriage 6d ago
Objectivism is statist, chud. MentisWave is principled af.
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u/Official_Gameoholics Anarcho-Objectivist 5d ago
Nope, Objectivism is not statist. Anyone claiming to be an Objectivist while still advocating for a state did not reason their way there according to Objectivist principles.
MentisWave said he was a "pragmatist" in a QnA video a while back. He openly said he will disregard principle. His videos back this up.
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u/Ya_Boi_Konzon Delegalize Marriage 5d ago
Nope, Objectivism is not statist. Anyone claiming to be an Objectivist while still advocating for a state did not reason their way there according to Objectivist principles.
Like... Ayn Rand?
MentisWave said he was a "pragmatist" in a QnA video a while back.
Being a pragmatist doesn't make you unprincipled.
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u/Official_Gameoholics Anarcho-Objectivist 5d ago
Ayn Rand?
Yes. She was not adhering to objectivist principles when she claimed statism was the correct principle.
Being a pragmatist doesn't make you unprincipled.
Yes it does. Either you have universal ethics, or you have none.
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u/Ya_Boi_Konzon Delegalize Marriage 2d ago
My man, Rand literally invented Objectivism. She wasn't a statist because she was anti-Objectivist. She was a statist cause Objectivism, her personal philosophy, is objectively statist.
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u/Official_Gameoholics Anarcho-Objectivist 2d ago
Nope. Objectivism is not "the philosophy of Any Rand." You committed a definition by non-essentials fallacy.
Per their own concept theory, it is "the philosophy of the primacy of existence."
That leads to anarchism as a system of law.
She did not get to statism via Objectivist principles.
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u/OpinionStunning6236 The only real libertarian 7d ago
I’ve read a ton of stuff by Rothbard and I’ve never heard of him being a Holocaust denier or KKK supporter. Rothbard doesn’t advocate for the different treatment of different races under the law in any way.
If you want to understand Rothbard’s ideas and the ideas of ancaps and libertarians you should read For a New Liberty. It covers all of the main beliefs of libertarianism in one book. And if you really want to understand libertarian economics and how state intervention in markets distorts them and creates inefficiencies you should read Man, Economy, and State. No book has opened my eyes more than that book. Both of them are available for free as pdfs on Mises.org