If so, what author’s writing influenced you the most?
This past year I came across the writings of Hans Herman Hoppe, and am reading Democracy: The God that Failed. It’s a dynamite book. I used to actually lean to the left economically, NOT socially, and more towards a heavy-handed government, not because I thought big government was good, but because of my cynicism in the masses at large (yes, that sounds snobby, I’m aware) and because of exploitation and monopolization. Now after reading some libertarian material, I’ve realized that in true libertarian situations, exploitation and predation can be minimized, and yes, sometimes through physical means.
I don’t have time for much recreational stuff like posting anymore, but I know some of the ancaps and libertarians I’ve read on here are very bright people, considerably brighter than me, I believe.
I have some libertarian leanings, but I don’t classify myself a libertarian. I favor a strong centralize government within the framework of federalism. I think one of the biggest issues regarding, what I would refer to as, central/federal overreach is how weak States have become in relation to the central government.
That’s interesting considering a strong centralized authority is the largest monopoly a country will likely have.
I’m not sure if Thomas Sowell is considered a Libertarian, but his writings have had an influence on me.
Go read “Washington: A Life” by Ron Chernow … you’ll like it. Make it a summer goal.
@BrickHead I haven’t read of of Hoppe, but have heard him speak a bit (youtube interviews and the like) - he’s heavily influenced by Ludwig Von Mises and Austrian economics (Murray Rothbard, Tom DiLorenzo, Tom Woods).
To a lesser extent, contemporaries and influenced by Mises was Milton Friedman, Thomas Sowell, FA Hayek, James Buchanan.
I’d recommend, if you’re liking Hoppe, check out Mises.org for more readings in the same vein. One of the most foundational books for Austrian economics/Libertarianism as/is “Human Action” by Mises, “Road to Serfdom” by Hayek, “Free to Choose” by Friedman, Any Thomas Sowell book (He just released a new book a few weeks ago), “Man, Economy, and State” by Murray Rothbard.
I haven’t read all of these, I’ve dabbled in “Human Action” and “The Theory of Money and Credit” by Mises, I’ve read “Free To Choose” and “Capitalism and Freedom” by Friedman, “Road to Serfdom” and “Constitution of Liberty” by Hayek, and “America’s Great Depression” by Rothbard.
Libertarians also hold Frederich Bastiat’s “The Law” in high esteem. It’s a quick read, I think it’s under 200 pages but introduces ideas like the “Broken Window Fallacy”. Also, De Tocqueville’s “Democracy In America” is popular among libertarians. Scottish enlightenment works are influential, Hume and Smith particularly. JS Mill “On Liberty”, Lysander Spooner is a well regarded anarchist/abolitionist.
Again, if want to browse I’d recommend mises.org (Mises Institute website) - they offer TONS of free ebooks for a lot of the authors I’ve mentioned. Cato Institute is a good resource as well, they’re a bit more mainstream than Mises institute but both are a wealth of information.
I’m also libertarian leaning, not a member of the Libertarian party. The most influential writings for me were a steady diet of left-wing websites and publications in my teens and early 20’s. Once I realized how full of crap they often were I started reconsidering my positions.
If you want to understand where the founders were coming from, read John Locke. His ideas are the basis for most of our constitution and form of government. Every educated person in 1700’s England/America would’ve been influenced by his writing.
In college I had a professor tell me to challenge my assumptions. So I read Engles, Marx, Lenin, Trotsky, Mao, Keynes, Chomsky. I tried to keep an open mind… But their writings didn’t really jive with how I understand humans to behave.
I’d recommend Anarchy, State and Utopia by Robert Nozick. As a philosophical work, it doesn’t touch on modern policy problems or economic problems that other political writers are concerned with. However, Nozick argues in a more abstract way towards minimizing the state to only a few roles. It’s definitely an interesting read.
I actually have visited and read articles and viewed videos on the Mises site and was actually considering buying the comical Hoppe T-shirt which has a screen print of his silhouette and the statement “privatize everything” under it.
As I was reading Democracy: The God that Failed and as I listen to the audio book for History of Man, the more I am astonished by how it seems that I was thinking or suspecting much of what is stated all along, though Hoppe is far, far more educated, talented, sophisticated, and well-written and spoken than I ever will be.
Some core concepts that Hoppe addresses over and over throughout his interviews, lectures, and writings, that I especially and passionately respect are:
personal duty to maintain healthy lifestyles
the concept of “covenant communities” (this indeed requires borders and defense)
freedom of association (which is congruent with such communities)
invitations to leave for or removal of those that violate covenants
a libertarian society is ideal, but monarchies would be more realistic, have existed and done well (despite corruption in some), and are far better than democracies
war waged in defensed, not a means to bully or colonize or mistreat the rest of the world
meritocracy
free market
direction to the future
Delving further into the above would be venture into highly politically incorrect talk and I wish not go down that road on the internet, but I’m sure some of you can think of or know what some of the above would result in or entail or have already read of such a brand of libertarianism. It certainly isn’t left libertarianism, nor is it the sort of libertarianism in which people are just atomized individuals doing their own things so long as “it doesn’t hurt anyone else”.
Home owners’ association. If you live in a condo or a housing plan where one was started all homeowners have to pay into it and they often have elected boards and officers. They are notoriously petty, inneficient and run by the neighborhood busybody. They will send letters demanding your grass be cut or your driveway be re paved. If you don’t comply the aggressive HOA’s will bring in a contractor to do the work on your property and then bill you for it.
I see your point, but the physical removal would apply to serious transgressions upon the culture of the community, which left unchecked can destroy the community, far more serious than personal landscaping.
Sorry. I was being facetious. When you brought up Hoppe’s covenant communities it sounded like a neighborhood more than a nation state. I’ve never read Hoppe. My humor is often not humorous to others.
Would be interesting to read his defense of monarchy over democracy though.
