Acknowledgments

This volume would not have come into existence without the help and encouragement of Professor Gerard Radnitzky. He first proposed the project to me and established the initial contact to Professor Ragnar Gerholm and Gregory Breland, whose help was instrumental in realizing it.

The present book grew out of the proceedings of a conference committee on the subject of national defense which I organized and chaired, and which was held February 9–13, 2000 in Seoul, South Korea, in conjunction with the 22nd International Conference on the Unity of Sciences (ICUS). Special thanks go to the conference chairman, Professor Ragnar Gerholm, for his invitation and personal interest in the Committee’s subject, and to Gregory Breland (ICUS Executive Director) for his admirable organizational and logistical help. The subject matter of my committee and this book, as fundamental as it is, is rarely, if ever, touched upon and represents somewhat of an intellectual taboo. ICUS must be lauded for its courage to open the debate on a subject of truly vital importance.

Thanks go also to Cristian Comanescu, David Gordon, Stephan Kinsella, and Josef Sima for their assistance during various phases in preparing the current volume, and to Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. and the Ludwig von Mises Institute for publishing it. Last, and most importantly, I thank all contributors to this volume for their cooperation.

Hans-Hermann Hoppe
Las Vegas, Nevada
January 2003