Who is Murray N. Rothbard

[Carehn]

So a good buddy of mine just called to wish me a happy 4th. Then he wanted to know if I knew who Murray N. Rothbard was. I shit bricks!

I was like "YA! All the cool kids know."

We had a good conversation and he told me how Rothbard changed his whole outlook on things. My friend is a smart kid and it was good to know that people can stumble upon Rothbard and he has this effect.

My buddy said he is completely convinced and is now reading Human Action to learn more. Rothbard truly is an enemy of the state because even in death he is turning people into anarchist.

Just happy that someone would call me out of the blue to talk about this. He was calling to convince me!!! It like bro! What have I been going off about for the last 5 years now. He wont listen to me but he will listen to Rothbard.

 

[mport1]

We had a good conversation and he told me how Rothbard changed his whole outlook on things.

He tends to do that. No possible way I could remain a minarchist after reading For A New Liberty and The Ethics of Liberty.

Rothbard truly is an enemy of the state because even in death he is turning people into anarchist.

I am convinced that people will be reading Rothbard centuries from now. He was without question one of the greatest thinkers that has ever lived. I have never seen somebody with such a deep knowledge of so many subjects. In his books, articles, and speeches it is amazing how he can combine his incredible knowledge of history, philosophy, and economics.

 

[Cleaner44]

Rothbard is the man! What a cool way for us to campaign for Ron Paul without ever bringing up his name.

 

[AlexMerced]

Yeah, Let's me evolution Liberal Socialist ---> Constitutional Conservative ----> Minarchist ------> Anarcho-Capitalist

Now I'm an aarcho-Capitalist, but I've been studying a lot of New Institutional Economics latley, which is giving me a lot of insight how to get their in a way that can be sustainable (step by step institutional reform) which instructs to me that their is a practical reason for anarchist to get involved in politics.

So as I combine Austrian insight, NIE Insights, along with other disparate insight I've learned from different economists, philosophers, social scientists, etc.

I feel like I'm coming to a place that I feel I can solidly argue and defend, I've moved from the depths of Rothbard and now a somewhere between him and Hayek. I still think a stateless society is the goal, but the role of politics, the role institutions, a lot of this probably a lot different than Rothbards orginal formulations.

Although, this is not a bad thing, knowledge and Ideology should adapt and change to in order assess a changing world and the dynamics that any moment in time present themselves.


If you wondering what the hell I'm talking about go to LearnEconomicsNOw.com and watch all the videos and you'll get an idea where I'm at these days, alot more focused on Knowledge and Risk and it's interplay with Individuals/Institutions/Cultures than I used to be which pro-occupied with the demonization of one particular institution.

 

[heavenlyboy34]

So a good buddy of mine just called to wish me a happy 4th. Then he wanted to know if I knew who Murray N. Rothbard was. I shit bricks!

I was like "YA! All the cool kids know."

We had a good conversation and he told me how Rothbard changed his whole outlook on things. My friend is a smart kid and it was good to know that people can stumble upon Rothbard and he has this effect.

My buddy said he is completely convinced and is now reading Human Action to learn more. Rothbard truly is an enemy of the state because even in death he is turning people into anarchist.

Just happy that someone would call me out of the blue to talk about this. He was calling to convince me!!! It like bro! What have I been going off about for the last 5 years now. He wont listen to me but he will listen to Rothbard.

Nice to hear people are waking up.

 

[Andrew-Austin]

Cool story.

edit: Hello LRC readers!

 

[Vessol]

If one of my friends called and asked me that, I would shit bricks.

That's awesome. I love Rothbard, I finished 'For a New Liberty' a bit ago and it was an amazing read. He has a very clear and defined style of writing.

 

[awake]

He told the truth as he saw it, even when he had to trade away everything he could have gotten from the state for giving in and shilling for evil. Mises did this as well, and in similar fashion Ron Paul. They did not respond to the candy that the controllers hand out to get them to go along. The worst thing to one who worships and exercises power is when it does not work - it makes them look small - like failures. It drives them mad that their power was useless against certain individuals and this is unacceptable.

 

[mport1]

It would be great if Murray was still alive today. I would love to hear his commentary on current events. I think he would be astounded at how much the liberty movement has grown since his passing in 1995.

 

[Freedom Forever]

IMO, Murray Rothbard's 'Man, Economy, and State with Power and Market' is the best book ever written.

 

[mport1]

IMO, Murray Rothbard's 'Man, Economy, and State with Power and Market' is the best book ever written.

I can't wait to read it. It's the next thing on my list. Quite a large undertaking though.

 

[awake]

IMO, Murray Rothbard's 'Man, Economy, and State with Power and Market' is the best book ever written.

One of the best, yes sir. One warning though, with the contents properly understood, you will see the lies of the state and its cronies everywhere. It's sort of like switching on the light in a dark basement to see the rats and cockroaches in full business. And at that point the light switch disappears, leaving you with no way to return to the darkness - the red pill.

 

[XTreat]

God I thought "The Revolution" was the redpill. It was for me at least. I guess I have more reading to do.

 

[sevin]

I finally read "What Has Government Done To Our Money" yesterday. I've read many articles by him, but that is the first book of his I've ever read. And I was blown away! I have this urge now to read everything he's ever written! Now I understand why the term "Rothbardian" exists.

 

[mport1]

God I thought "The Revolution" was the redpill. It was for me at least. I guess I have more reading to do.

"The Revolution" is good, but anything by Rothbard is 100X better.

I finally read "What Has Government Done To Our Money" yesterday. I've read many articles by him, but that is the first book of his I've ever read. And I was blown away! I have this urge now to read everything he's ever written! Now I understand why the term "Rothbardian" exists.

I definitely know that urge...

 

[awake]

 

[A Son of Liberty]

http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/90797.html

Your post made the LRC Blog!

From the Ron Paul Forums:


So a good buddy of mine just called to wish me a happy 4th. Then he wanted to know if I knew who Murray N. Rothbard was...!

I was like "YA! All the cool kids know."

We had a good conversation and he told me how Rothbard changed his whole outlook on things. My friend is a smart kid and it was good to know that people can stumble upon Rothbard and he has this effect.

My buddy said he is completely convinced and is now reading Human Action to learn more. Rothbard truly is an enemy of the state because even in death he is turning people into anarchists.

Just happy that someone would call me out of the blue to talk about this. He was calling to convince me!!! It like bro! What have I been going off about for the last 5 years now. He wont listen to me but he will listen to Rothbard.

(Thanks to Travis Holte)

 

[Wesker1982]

One of the best, yes sir. One warning though, with the contents properly understood, you will see the lies of the state and its cronies everywhere. It's sort of like switching on the light in a dark basement to see the rats and cockroaches in full business. And at that point the light switch disappears, leaving you with no way to return to the darkness - the red pill.

Agreed.

Someone with sick skills should photoshop a Rothbard book over the red pill:

I can't wait to read it. It's the next thing on my list. Quite a large undertaking though.

I definitely recommend getting Bob Murphy's study guide along with it.

I actually finished Power and Market (AMAZING!) first. I am still working my way through MES. Man,Economy, and State is definitely a book that is hard to read straight through like a novel. If I don't feel like putting effort into concentrating hard, I will read something else until I am in the mood.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/90797.html

Your post made the LRC Blog!

That is awesome! Hopefully Lew has an account here so he can view the philosophy subforum lol. People who link to the thread from there won't be able to see it unless they are registered...

 

[A Son of Liberty]

Agreed.

Someone with sick skills should photoshop a Rothbard book over the red pill:

I definitely recommend getting Bob Murphy's study guide along with it.

I actually finished Power and Market (AMAZING!) first. I am still working my way through MES. Man,Economy, and State is definitely a book that is hard to read straight through like a novel. If I don't feel like putting effort into concentrating hard, I will read something else until I am in the mood.

Do you know off-hand if the free downloads available at Mises can be somehow adapted to Kindle? I don't have a problem buying the hardcopies to support the institute, but the Kindle is really handy...

That is awesome! Hopefully Lew has an account here so he can view the philosophy subforum lol. People who link to the thread from there won't be able to see it unless they are registered...

All the more reason to sign up!

It wasn't a problem to find the blog post... I read LRC everyday...

 

[Andrew-Austin]

Do you know off-hand if the free downloads available at Mises can be somehow adapted to Kindle? I don't have a problem buying the hardcopies to support the institute, but the Kindle is really handy...

Somewhere on the mises.org website is a link to download all the books that they offer for free at once, I think its a torrent file. Most of them are pdf files, but a lot of the best/major titles (like Mises and Rothbard books) are in the more ebook friendly format .epub. Both pdf and epub files can be put on your Kindle. I put them all on my Kindle 3 with a free program called Calibre E-Book manager. It was a long time ago but I think I converted the .epub files to something that the Kindle can read, the program can convert all of them at once for you.