Chapter 54 of 54 · The Left, the Right, and the State by Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr.
103. WE NEED AN ANGEL LIKE CLARENCE December 2006
As the war drags on and the state expands its reach in nearly every area of life, I’m detecting another moment of despair sweeping through libertarian ranks. Why aren’t all our efforts making a difference? What are we doing wrong? Are we just wasting our time with our publications, conferences, scholarships, editorials, vast web presence, recruitments of thousands of young people? Have our educational efforts ever made any difference?
There are a thousand reasons to object to this line of thought. Let us speak to the moral and strategic ones directly. Despair is a vice that squelches and defeats the human spirit. Hope, on the other hand, creates and builds. It is true in business, sports, and intellectual life. We must see success in the future in order to achieve it.
Murray Rothbard used to wonder why people who believe that liberty is unachievable or that activism of any sort is futile became libertarian in the first place. Would a team that is convinced that it will lose every game practice or come together at all? Would an entrepreneur who is convinced that he or she will go bankrupt ever invest a dime?
Perhaps you could say that a person has no choice but to follow the truth even when it is obvious that failure is inevitable. And truly there is some virtue in doing so. But as a practical matter, it makes no sense to waste one’s time doing something that is futile when one could be doing something that is productive and at least potentially successful.
So should libertarian activists be doing something else with their time?
Here is the crucial matter to consider. What might have been the fate of liberty if no one had cared about it in the last 100 years? That is an important way to look at this issue, one that accords with Frédéric Bastiat’s emphasis on looking not only at the seen but also at the unseen. He urged us to look at the unseen costs of state intervention. I ask that we look at the unseen benefits of activism on the part of liberty. We need to look at the statism that we do not experience, and what the world would be like if it weren’t for the efforts of libertarians.
We need an angel like Clarence to show us that world that might have been.
Less than a century ago, in our own country, the state was in its heyday. Socialism was the intellectual fashion, even more so than today. The income tax was seen as the answer to fiscal woes. Inflation and central banking would solve our problems with money. Antitrust regulation and litigation would achieve perfect industrial organization. World war would end despotism, or so that generation believed.
Preposterously, a small faction that would later be dominant in public life believed that if we could just pass national legislation against drinking, sobriety would prevail. Fathers would become responsible, sons would become educated, churches would fill with pious worshippers, and even poverty—which people then as now associated with substance abuse—would be a thing of the past. Speech should be thoroughly controlled and dissidents suppressed. Healthcare should be cartelized. The environment should be protected. The state would uplift us in every way.
If that trend had continued, we would have had totalitarianism right here at home. If the state had had its way—and the state is always happy with more power and money—there would have been no zone of freedom left to us, and we would live as people have always lived when the state controlled every aspect of life: in the absence of civilization. It would have been a catastrophe.
But it didn’t happen. Why? Because people objected, and they kept objecting for the remainder of the century. An antiwar movement put a major dent in the war and led to an unraveling of the state afterwards—and kept us out of more wars for many years. Public outrage at the income tax led to keeping a lid on it. Inflation was kept in check by intellectuals who warned of the effects of central banking. So too with antitrust action, which has been set back by libertarian ideology. Free speech has also been protected through activism.
The alcohol prohibitionists managed to pass a constitutional amendment banning all liquor—think of that!—but their victory was short lived. Public opinion rose up against them and the amendment was eventually repealed. It was a magnificent reversal, brought about mainly by the force of public ideology that said it was causing more harm than good and violating people’s rights.
We can look forward in time and see another bout of statism during the New Deal and World War II. But the state faced resistance. FDR and Truman hated, spied on, and harassed their opponents, but their opponents prevailed. FDR was stymied in his attempts to further the state, which is why he turned to war. Wartime planning and price controls were beaten back against Truman’s objections. The same was true with Vietnam and the draft. The war ended because public opinion turned against it. Reality conformed more closely to the critics’ views than to the proponents’ views. We won.
Nixon limited traffic speed to 55 mph by national decree. But another major rollback of the state happened and that was repealed. Then Carter did some good things, like deregulate trucking, and he did it because of public pressure and the triumph of free-market economics.
Again, what we need to take into account are the unseen benefits of activism. Had the advocates of liberty never spoken up, never written books, never taught in the classroom, never written editorials, and never advanced their views in any public or private forum, would the cause of liberty have been better off or even the same? No way.
You have to do the counterfactual in order to understand the impact of ideology. Libertarian ideology, in all its forms, has literally saved the world from the state, which always and everywhere wants to advance and never roll back. If it does not advance and if it does roll back (however rarely), it is to the credit of public ideology.
Don’t think for a second that it doesn’t matter. Most of the time the impact is hard to measure and even sometimes hard to detect. Libertarian ideas are like stones dropping into water, which make waves in so many directions that no one is sure where they come from.
But there are times when the Mises Institute has made a direct hit, and we know from personal testimony that we’ve caused bureaucrats and politicians to fly into a rage at what we are saying and what we are doing. If you think public opinion doesn’t matter to these people, think again. They are terrified about the impressions the public has of their work. They can be completely demoralized by public opposition.
We live in times of incredible prosperity, unlike any we’ve ever known. This is due solely to the zones of freedom that remain in today’s world, technology and communication among them. Why are these sectors freer and hence more productive than the rest? Because this is an area in which we’ve achieved success. The state is terrified to touch the Internet for fear of public hostility.
Again let me ask the question: does anyone really believe that these zones of freedom are best protected when there is no public advocacy of the libertarian cause? Would Bush feel more or less secure in the continued conduct of his egregious war if the antiwar movement shut up and dried up? Would entrepreneurs feel more or less at liberty to invest if there were no advocates for their cause working in public and intellectual life?
When measuring the success of the freedom movement, these are the sorts of questions we have to ask. It is not enough to observe that the world has yet to conform to our image. We need to take note of the ways in which the world has not conformed to the state’s image. No state is liberal by nature, said Mises. Every state wants to control all. If it does not do so, the major reason is that freedom-minded intellectuals are making the difference.
If it were otherwise, why would the state care so intensely about suppressing ideas with which it disagrees? Why would there be political censorship? Why would the state bother with propaganda at all?
Ideas matter. More than we know. Why haven’t we won? Because we are not doing enough and our ranks are not big enough. We need to do what we are doing on ever-grander scales. We need to make ever-better arguments on behalf of liberty. And we need to have patience, just like the prohibitionists and socialists had patience to see their agenda to the end. They’ve had their day. Our time will come, provided that we don’t listen to the counsel of despair.
The angel Clarence says in It’s a Wonderful Life that, ”Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?”
It’s something for anyone who advocates liberty to think about before he bails out.
INDEX
A| B | C | D | E
F | G | H | I | J
K | L | M | N | O
P | Q | R | S | T
U | V | W | Y
A
9–11. SeeSeptember 11
activism, libertarian, 525–34
Acton, Lord John, 291
Adams, Abigail, 34
Adams, John, 250
Adams, John Quincy, 461
Adams, Robert, 76
affirmative action, 187, 189–90
Afghanistan
Bush’s foreign policy, 44
consequences of invasion, 7
immigration to, 313
invasion of, 6, 215, 223, 278, 296
Soviet influence in, 203, 309See alsoal Qaeda; bin Laden, Osama; Taliban
Against the Dead Hand (Lindsey), 273
agriculture
of American South, 507
effects of regulation, 116
environmentalism and, 147, 153
government intervention of water supply for, 203
airline regulations
comparison between the state and the private sector, 65–66
loss of freedom and, 245
security and, 29, 54, 288, 309, 312
September 11 and, 3, 30, 301–02, 306
al Qaeda, 308
Alabama Peace and Justice Coalition, 262
Alexander the Great, 264
Allen, Paul, 110
allergies, food, 352–57
Alternative Minimum Tax, 461–62
American Association of Retired Persons, 450
American Economic Association, 388
American Medical Association (AMA), 127–28
American Revolution
Articles of Confederation and, 520
government size following, 66
objectives of, 21
paper money and, 425
American South
army bases in, 229
freedom of trade and, 229
policies of Lincoln, 414, 507–08
Reconstruction, 513–14
state’s rights and, 32, 195, 197, 200–02
Americans with Disabilities Act, 137–38, 190–94, 396
America’s Great Depression (Rothbard), 150, 411
anarchy
Articles of Confederation and, 220, 253–54
capitalism and, 175
families and, 49
liberty and, 22–23
Murray Rothbard and, 410
of production, 47
secession and, 507
in Somalia, 287
“Anatomy of the State” (Rothbard), 35–38
Anderson, Benjamin, 457
Anderson, William, 480
anthrax threat, 375
Anti-Federalists, 31–32
antitrust regulations, 341–42, 531
Apostles of Discord (Roy), 408
Arendt, Hannah, 67–68
Armentano, Dominick, 121
Army Corp of Engineers, 488–90
Articles of Confederation
betrayal of, 520
censuses and, 82
conflict resolution and, 253–54
government size under, 66, 220
liberal tradition of eighteenth century, 21
paper money and, 425
association, freedom of. Seefreedom of association
Atlantic Monthly, The, 143–44
Austrian School of economics
adjustment of market, 482–83
government economic data, 451
on guerrilla armies, 284
inflation and depressions, 424
Mises Institute and, 526–27
Murray Rothbard’s influence on, 403, 408–11
theory of business cycles, 449, 453–58
autarky, 108, 164–66, 334, 367
automation, 205–06
Axelrod, Steve, 433
B
Baker, James, 271
Bank of America, 319
Bank of England, 429
banking
business cycles and, 432–34
central banks, 389, 440–43, 458, 531–32
financial privacy and, 76–77, 436–39
threat of bank runs, 434–36
Bastiat, Frédéric
broken window fallacy, 276, 301, 471
nation-states and, 56
observing the unseen, 531
on producers, 320
on resolving conflict, 252–53
Batemarco, Robert, 150
Bebel, August
Woman and Socialism, 183–84
Bello, Walden, 328
Berlant, Jeffrey Lionel, 127
Bevan, Aneurin, 104
Biblical references
Garden of Eden, 164–65
Moses, 18–19
Nativity account, 80–81, 165, 377–79
teachings of Jesus, 165–66
teachings of St. Paul, 380
Bill of Rights, 23–24, 225, 501
bin Laden, Osama, 7, 288, 306, 309, 313–14
black Americans
Dixiecrats and, 195
favorable treatment in the workplace, 137, 189
Martin Luther King and, 203–07
prison population and, 242
racial conflict, 201
Reconstruction period and, 513–14
war with Iraq and, 221
welfare state and, 497
Black Book of Communism, The, 194
Bland, Herbert, 102
Boaz, David, 5
Bodin, John, 82
Bolshevism
compared to Menshevism, 102
compared to New Communism, 97–101
land nationalization and, 515
revolution of, 325, 330See alsocommunism
Bonnell, William, 312
Boot, Max, 469–70
Bork, Robert
Slouching Towards Gomorrah, 228
Bowers, Veronica, 237
Brady Bill, 517–18
Bretton Woods system, 442
Brownson, Orestes, 250
Buckley, William F., 347–48, 406, 409, 414, 492
Bureau of Justice Statistics, 248
Burger King, 337–38
Burke, Edmund, 250
Bush administration. SeeBush, George W.
Bush, George W.
attitudes toward private sector, 304–07, 449
conservative middle class and, 221–22
DUI and, 14
economic policy, 459–66
fascism in administration, 224–26
foreign policy of, 44, 92–93, 215, 245, 267–70, 460
Keynesian economics and, 391
military power and, 99
oil industry and, 275
political campaigns and, 88–89, 91–93
Postal Service reform, 375–76
protectionist policies, 132, 135–37, 365–66
regulations and, 114–15
September 11 and, 7, 169, 215, 308–11
students views and, 43–46
war with Iraq and, 249–50
worldview of right, 245–47
worship of, 217
Bush, Jeb, 437
business cycles, 432–34, 448, 454–56
businesses
faith of entrepreneurs, 380–83
prosecution of, 447–49
September 11 and, 304–07
underground economy and, 518
C
Calhoun, John C., 250
Callahan, Gene
Economics for Real People, 449
campaigns, political, 86–89
capitalism
business losses, 340–43
communism and, 99–100, 337, 486, 522
competition and, 336–40, 357–61
employment. Seeemployment
faith of entrepreneurs, 380–83
families and, 183–85
as goal of war with Iraq, 464
inheritances and, 362–65
legitimacy of, 327–32
price system. Seeprice system
protectionist policies and. Seeprotectionist policies regulations and. Seeregulations war and, 156, 176, 271–75
Carnegie, Andrew, 364
cartels, 125–29
Carter, Jimmy, 114, 116, 396, 532
Case Against the Fed, The (Rothbard), 452
cell phones, 17. See alsocommunication technology
Center for Libertarian Studies, 409
central banks, 440–43, 458, 531
certification for professionals, 125–29
Cheney, Richard “Dick,” 4, 169, 269, 309, 470
Chesterton, G.K., 183
Chicago School of economics, 19, 28
China
commerce with, 130, 155–58, 167, 358
government control, 18, 427–28, 501
political confessions and, 193, 195, 202
prison population and, 240
recognition of, 405
Russia-China accord, 89
secession and, 508
sympathy of left for, 182
world economy and, 63, 482, 484
Chirac, Jacques, 99
Chodorov, Frank, 35, 77–78, 246, 349
Christ. SeeJesus Christ
Christian Right, 50, 237, 416, 510, 522
Christianity
breakup of Christendom, 57
condemnation of commerce, 335
drug war and, 237
environmentalism and, 151–54
on free trade, 165–67
influence of Bush administration on, 216–17, 219, 224–25
in Iraq, 283
Rothbard on, 416
sacraments of, 261
on the state, 23See alsoreligion
Christmas story, 80–81, 165, 377–79
Churchill, Winston, 414–15
CIA factbook, 287
civil rights, 182, 189–94, 397, 499–500, 509
Civil War, 32, 201, 507–08, 513
Clark, John Bates, 273
Clarke, Richard, 307–09
Clinton, Bill
abortions and, 498
banking privacy and, 437
banking regulations, 76–77
censuses and, 85–86
disaster aid and, 480–81
drunk-driving bill, 17
federal spending and, 461
leftist worldview, 243–44
political revolt against, 212, 214
privacy and, 78–80
Somalia and, 287
training by Fabians, 104–05
triangulation and, 32
Clinton, Hillary, 3–4, 8, 484, 498
Cochrane, Steve, 472
Cohen, Ben, 362
coins, 419–28
Cold War
American political agendas and, 196–97, 414
capitalism and, 60
as cause for conservatives, 224, 246, 256, 296
Cole, Margaret, 103
colleges, leftist influence in, 176, 185–88, 222
Colonial Era, 21–22, 127, 166, 220, 411
Commerce Department, 147–54
communication technology, 60–61, 138–39, 533
collapse of, 11–12, 91, 135–36, 167, 296, 325
as current trend, 97–105
destructive nature of, 497
as justification for intervention, 295
as justification for totalitarism, 526
Martin Luther King and, 204
as political option, 58–60, 89–90, 220, 251
political trials and, 194
social democracy and, 396
tolerance of, 182, 256, 402See alsoLenin, V.I.; Marxism; socialism
computer industry, 344
computers
dot-com industry, 443–46, 456, 463
internet. Seeinternet
success of industry, 344
Conant, Charles
“The Economic Basis of Imperialism,” 272–73
Conceived in Liberty (Rothbard), 34, 220, 411
conflict theory of society, 244–45, 251–52
conscription, 302
Conservative Mind, The (Kirk), 250
Constitution
Bill of Rights and, 501
censuses and, 82–85
compared to ideals of Declaration of Independence, 31–35
illegal drugs and, 238
money and, 425
nationalism and, 260
presidents and, 72–75
prohibition on alcohol and, 532
as restraint to government, 23–25, 92, 280, 291
taxes and, 68
consumer credit, 392, 428–31, 444–46
Consumer Price Index, 450–53
Consumer Product Safety Commission, 115
Continental Congress, 425
Council of Economic Advisers, 464–65
Council on Foreign Relations, 269, 469–70, 505
counterfeit money, 423, 440–41
CounterPunch, 227
counterterrorism, 307–11
credit, consumer, 392, 428–31, 444–46
Credit Suisse First Boston, 305, 319
The Rise and Decline of the State, 82
crime, 242, 248–49See alsoprisons
Crisis and Leviathan (Higgs), 299–300
Crockett, Davy, 480
Cromwell, Oliver, 251
currencies. Seemoney
D
Davenport, Herbert
The Economics of Enterprise, 149–50
Davis, Nathan Smith, 127–28
“Death Taxes: Theory, History, and Ethics” (Tabarrok), 364
decentralization, explanation of, 500–05
Declaration of Independence, 31–35, 166, 252, 506
deflation, 343–47, 422–24, 434, 464–65
Department of Agriculture, 116
Department of Education, 60, 510
Department of Energy, 114
Department of Homeland Security, 216, 315–16
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), 115
deposit insurance, 430–31, 436
depressions
business cycles and, 453–59
economic errors and, 459–66
government intervention and, 345, 402
Great Depression. SeeGreat Depression
inflation as cure for, 424
national sufficiency and, 160
destructionism, 473
DiLorenzo, Thomas, 58–59
Dionne, E.J., 104
Disabilities Act, 137–38, 189–94, 396, 499
disasters, natural
government management vs. private enterprise, 471–88
Hurricane Ivan, 474–75
price gouging and, 467–70
discrimination, 78–79, 182, 189–94, 343. See alsoracism
Disney World, 230–32
division of labor
advancement of liberty and, 509–10
autarky and, 164
expansion of, 57, 274, 453, 457
government’s effects on, 400
inequality and, 69
law of association and, 252–54
Doomsday Book, The, 81–82
dot-com industry, 443–46, 456, 463
drafting for military, 302
driving, drunk, 14–17
drug companies, 116–17
drugs, illegal
the market and, 232–36
war on, 236–39
drugs, prescription, 462
drunk driving, 14–17
DuBois, W.E.B., 514
E
Eberstadt, Nicholas, 326
“The Economic Basis of Imperialism” (Conant), 272–73
“Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth” (Mises), 401
economics, Austrian School
defined, 385–90
government management of, 18–20
Keynesian. SeeKeynesian economics
market economics, 347–51
Monetarist School, 388–89
Rational Expectations School, 388–89
underground economy, 399, 518See alsobanking; specific economic systems, e.g., capitalism, socialism; Austrian School of economics
Economics for Real People (Callahan), 449
Economics in One Lesson (Hazlitt), 471
Economics of Enterprise, The (Davenport), 149–50
Editor & Publisher, 215–16
education
colleges, 176, 185–88, 222, 271, 321
GI Bill, 60
government management of, 27, 139
government’s effects on, 140, 181, 185, 216
for libertarians, 486–87, 509, 519–21, 528–29
privatization of, 12–13, 28, 50–51
quality of, 342
EEOC, 190–94
Eichmann, Adolph, 86
Eisenhower, Dwight, 197, 405–06
elections, 86–94, 516–17See alsopolitics: campaigns; presidents
Empire (Hardt and Negri), 99–100
employment
favorable treatment in the workplace, 137–38
freedom of association and, 26
government’s effects on, 140
labor in the third world, 161–62
minimum wage laws and, 368–72
mixed economy and, 396
relationship to inflation, 422–24
violence in the workplace, 189–94
Enemy of the State (Raimondo), 403–18
Enlightenment (of eighteenth century), 255, 520
Enron, 448
Environmental Protection Agency, 115
environmentalism
anti-human sentiments, 499
environmental cost of productivity, 147–54
garbage disposal, 143–46
human action and, 150–54
land nationalization, 181, 515–16
the market and, 233–34
estate taxes, 362–65
Ethics of Liberty, The (Rothbard), 411–12
euros, 458
F
FAA regulations. Seeairline regulations
Fabians, 102–05
factories, 326–27
Faith and Freedom, 405–06
families
Bush administration and, 226
central governments and, 49, 181, 216
collective interest of, 67
effects of welfare on, 498
socialism’s effects on, 183–85
famines, 326
Fannie/Freddie home loan organizations, 462
farming industry. Seeagriculture
fascism
desire for national greatness and, 526
in Italy and Germany, 332
New Deal and, 395
as political option, 59, 89–90, 220, 246, 251, 523
the political right and, 246–47
resistance to, 221
socio-political shift toward, 211–19
fast food industries, 336–40
FBI, 336
FCC (Federal Communications Commission), 116
Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 116
Federal Emergency Management Agency, 479
Federal Open Market Committee, 433
Federal Reserve
bailing out banks and, 429
central banks and, 389
Charles Schultze on, 396–97
depressions and, 454
effects of increase in money supply, 399, 421–28, 440–43
failure of businesses and, 448–49
interest rates and, 432–34
recessions and, 394
response to September 11, 302
supply of credit and, 444–46
Federal Trade Commission, 116
Federalist Papers, The, 294
FEMA, 28
fiat currency, 426, 430–31, 440–41See alsomoney, value of
financial privacy, 75–78, 436–39
Fisher, Peter, 375
Flexner Report of 1910, 128
“War on the South,” 200
Foer, Joshua, 45–47
Foldvary, Fred, 231
Fonda, Jane, 113
Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, 352–53
Food and Drug Administration, 116–17, 352–54, 483
food labeling, 352–57
FoodAllergyInitiative.org, 355
For A New Liberty (Rothbard), 411
Forbes Magazine, 110
foreign development aid, 138
Fort Benning, Georgia, 228–29
fractional reserves, 429–31, 435–36
Fred Alger Management, 318
free trade
religious lobbies and, 163–67
tariffs. Seetariffs
vs. war, 155–58
world government and, 158–63
freedom, definition, and defense, 525–30
“Freedom, Inequality, Primitivism, and the Division of Labor” (Rothbard), 411
freedom of association
decentralization and, 503–04
free markets and, 386
government’s effects on, 181
law of association, 252–54
French Revolution, 520
Friedman, Milton, 128, 328, 410
Friedman, Thomas, 168–73
The Lexus and the Olive Tree, 273
Frum, David, 469
G
Galbraith, John Kenneth, 401
garbage, 143–46
Garbage Project, 144–45
Garrow, David, 207
Garvy, George
“Keynes and the Economic Activists of Pre-Hitler Germany,” 107
General Theory (Keynes), 107
Genoa protests, 97–101
Gibson, Mel, 332–35
Gilder, George, 388
global warming, 148
globalization
economic vs. military, 155–58, 171
world government, 158–63
gold, as money, 419–28, 435–36
gold standard
establishment of, 458
freedom and, 426–28
sound banking and, 435
suspension of, 106, 250, 433, 440–43
Gonsalves, Sean, 328
Gorbachev, Mikhail, 142
Gore, Al, 498
gouging, 467–70, 476–77, 492–93
Grant, James, 440
Grant, R.W.
“The Incredible Bread Machine,” 117–18
Great Depression
government intervention and, 341, 454–57, 459
medical schools during, 128
unemployment benefits and, 394
Greenspan, Alan, 328, 432–34, 440, 455, 465
Greider, William
Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country, 498–99
Gross Domestic Product, 147–54
guerrilla armies, 283–84
H
Halliburton Corporation, 269
Hamowy, Ronald, 127
Hannibal, 102
Hardt, Michael
Empire, 99–100
Harris Beach & Wilcox, 319
Hayek, F.A.
American Right and, 246–47
as capitalist, 403
conservatism, 349
liberal tradition of, 100
on order, 253
Road to Serfdom, The, 167
on wars, 284
Haynes, Stephen, 432
Economics in One Lesson, 471
health care, 106, 111, 243, 441, 499See alsomedical care
health insurance
Medicaid, 120
Hedges, Chris
War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning, 261
Heerden, Ivor van, 489
Heilbroner, Robert, 400–03
The Worldly Philosophers, 401
Helms, Jesse, 442
Henry, Patrick, 31, 71, 82, 250
Hess, Karl, 415
Higgs, Robert, 121
Crisis and Leviathan, 299–300
History of Economic Thought (Rothbard), 411
History of Money and Banking in the United States, A (Rothbard), 272
Hitler, Adolf, 105–09, 502. See alsoNazis
Hobbes, Thomas, 255
Leviathan, 251–52
Homeland Security, Office of, 49
Hook, Sidney, 395
Hoover, Herbert, 116, 411, 455, 459
Hoppe, Hans-Hermann, 68
The Myth of National Defense, 310
housing boom, 462–63
HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development), 115
Human Action (Mises), 326, 387
human rights, 156–57
Hunt, Albert, 4–5
I
Ibrahim, Youssef M., 269
illegal drugs. Seedrugs, illegal immigration, 417
income tax, 531–32
“Incredible Bread Machine, The” (Grant), 117–18
inflation
bank credit, 431
beneficiaries of, 498–99
central banks and, 442–45, 455, 531–32
consequence of war, 156, 259, 279
decline of dollar, 458
Federal Reserve and, 464–65
as means to pay for government spending, 133, 279
measurement of, 450–53
political business cycle and, 432–34
as prescription to prevent deflation, 346–47, 422–28
reward for short-term thinking, 179, 228
tools of, 114
inheritances, 362–65
insurance, 117, 120, 132–33, 473–74
International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 411
International Labor Organization, 162
internet
dot-com industry, 443–46, 456, 463
government’s effects on, 62, 139
organization of society and, 22
spam legislation, 39–43
success of, 381
terrorism and, 302–03
Interstate Commerce Commission, 116
Iran, 282
Iraq, U.S. war with
capitalism as goal, 464
causes for, 303
consequences of, 134–35
conservatives’ worldview and, 249–50
decline in support for, 313–14
democracy as goal, 281–89
freedom as goal, 25–26
government’s benefits from, 92–93, 215, 276–81
Hurricane Katrina, 491
nationalism and, 260
Ron Paul on, 296
Rothbard’s “Anatomy of the State” and, 35–38
security and, 314–18
world economy and, 169–70
Irrepressible Rothbard, The, 407, 413
Islam, 180–83, 254–55, 278–80, 296See alsoIraq, US war with; Muslims
It’s a Wonderful Life (movie), 534
J
jails. Seeprisons
James, William, 125–29
Jefferson, Thomas
Bill of Rights and, 31–35
central governments and, 287, 291, 293
foreign and domestic policies, 294
free markets and, 349
Jesus Christ
crucifixion of, 332–35
teachings of, 165–66
jobs. Seeemployment
Joint Economic Committee, 362
Journal of Libertarian Studies, 409
K
Kagan, Robert, 273
Kennedy, John F., 107
Kephart, Robert, 410
Kessel, Reuben A., 127
Keynes, John Maynard, 401
General Theory, 388–89See alsoKeynesian economics
“Keynes and the Economic Activists of Pre-Hitler Germany” (Garvy), 107
Keynesian economics
as alternative to socialism, 60
Ben Bernanke as advocate, 465
business cycles and, 456–57
environmentalism and, 149
government management and, 388–89
government work and, 510
Hitler and, 105–09
World Trade Organization and, 484
Khrushchev, Nikita, 414
King, Martin Luther, 203–07
Kinsella, Stephan, 502
Kirk, Russell
The Conservative Mind, 250
Kolko, Gabriel, 121
Kristof, Nicholas, 267
Kristol, Irving, 347–48
L
labeling of food, 352–57
labor. Seeemployment
labor unions
as beneficiaries of inflation, 498
Clinton administration, 104
Martin Luther King and, 206–07
minimum wage laws and, 372
in Poland, 11–12
power of, 18
regulations and, 122, 128, 313
world trade and, 162
Laden, bin. Seebin Laden, Osama
Laffer, Arthur, 388
land nationalization, 181, 515–16
“Lange, Mises, and Praxeology” (Rothbard), 411
law of association, 252–54See alsofreedom of association
Lawrence of Arabia (movie), 421
legislators, 73
Lenin, V.I., 97–98, 156, 271–75, 508
levee system, 488–90
Leviathan (Hobbes), 251
Lewis, C.S.
Screwtape Letters, 48
Lexus and the Olive Tree, The (Friedman), 168, 273
Liberalism (Mises), 284–85
Libertarian Forum, 504
Libertarian Party (LP), 406, 412–15, 504
licensure, 125–29
Lincoln, Abraham, 32, 225, 292, 414, 507–08
Lindsey, Brink
Against the Dead Hand, 273
Lochner decision, 502
Treatises on Government, 252
Logic of Action (Rothbard), 412
London School of Economics, 103
Lord of the Rings, The (Tolkein), 512
losses in businesses, 340–43
Lott, Trent, 194–202
“Ludwig von Mises: Paradigm for Our Age” (Rothbard), 411
M
Madison, James, 72, 199, 250, 294, 506–07
Magna Carta, 81
mail service
government management of, 62
natural disasters and, 475–76
privatization of, 373–76
terrorism and, 310–11
Malone, Dumas, 35
Man, Economy, and State (Rothbard), 387, 409, 411
Manichaeanism, 151–52
Mao Tse-tung, 194–95
market incentives, 27–29
Marshall Plan, 196
Marxism
capitalism and war, 156, 176, 271–75
college curriculum and, 321
Declaration of Independence and, 32
Fabians and, 102–04
Mises on, 400–03
political agendas and, 522
Mass Mutual, 319
McCarthy, Joe, 409
McDonald’s, 337–38
medical care
licensure, 125–29
price controls for, 499See alsohealth care; health insurance
Meet the Press, 269
Memos to the President (Schultze), 396–97
Menger, Carl, 390
Menshevism, 102
militarism
as conservative agenda, 211–19, 224
economy and, 276–81
Lenin and, 271–75
tyranny and, 34–38See alsowars
minimum wage laws, 368–72
Mises, Ludwig von
Anti-Capitalistic Mentality, The, 187
on antisocialists, 214–15
“Causes of the Economic Crisis: An Address, The,” 332
on commerce vs. war, 156, 172–73
conservatism, 349
Constitution and, 23–24
on destructionism, 473
“Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth,” 401
on factories, 326
on families, 183–85
on government granted privileges, 114
on government’s ability to change, 64–65
on illegal substances, 238–39
on imperialism, 284–87
on intellectual battle, 322, 331–32, 517, 521–23
on John Ruskin, 175
on liberal tradition as political option, 90–91
Liberalism, 285–86
Murray Rothbard and, 408, 416–17
Nation, State, and Economy, 284
Omnipotent Government: The Rise of the Total State and Total War, 167, 246
on prevailing ideology, 488
on the price system, 232
as professor of economics, 60
rise of positivism and, 455
on secession, 509
September 11 and, 5
structure of society, 129
Theory of Money and Credit, The, 411, 454
value of goods and services, 145
on wars, 481–82
Mises Institute
gold standard and, 426
Murray Rothbard and, 409
political agendas and, 521–22
purpose, 525–30
on war and the economy, 276
works published by, 59, 257–58, 364
Mises University, 486
Monetarist School of economics, 388–89
supply of, 439–43
value of, 419–28See alsobanking
Montesquieu, Charles, 200
Moore, Gordon, 110
moral hazards, 242
moral standards for government, 264–66
Morgan, John, 127
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, 305, 318, 319
Morris, William, 102
Moses, 18–19
Moyers, Bill, 276
Mueller, Antony, 458
Mumford, Lewis, 395
murder rate, 235
Muslims, 169–71, 180–83, 254–55, 278–80, 296See alsoIraq, US war with; Islam
Mussolini, Benito, 107, 389, 395
Myers, Richard, 278
Mystery of Banking, The (Rothbard), 412
Myth of National Defense, The (Hoppe), 310
N
NASA, 336
Nation, The, 218
Nation, State, and Economy (Mises), 284
National Association of Business Economists, 318
National Endowment for Arts, 177
National Industrial Recovery Act, 54, 463
National Nutritional Foods Association, 355
nationalism, 164, 211–19, 257, 260–61
Nativity story, 80–81, 377–79, 465
natural disasters. Seedisasters, natural
Nazis
as political option, 251
racial solidarity of, 225
Romania and, 86
view of war as positive, 246
economic program of, 106–07, 389See alsofascism; Hitler, Adolf
Negri, Antonio
Empire, 99–100
neoconservatism
Declaration of Independence and, 32
emergence of in National Review, 257
Murray Rothbard and, 413
power of nation-state and, 56
Network Plus, 319
Neuharth, Al, 215–16
New Deal
compared to communism and fascism, 59, 332, 396
Garet Garrett on, 257
Great Depression and, 341
Hitler and, 107
housing policy, 115
Mussolini and, 389
racial conflict and, 201
rise of militarism and, 246
Stalin and, 395
New Individualist Review, 409
New School for Social Research, 401
Nixon, Richard
Alternative Minimum Tax, 461
gold standard and, 250
inflation and, 422
mail service and, 310
manipulation of cultural issues, 225
regulatory agencies founded by, 115
speed limit and, 532
No Child Left Behind Act, 216
Noah, Timothy, 301
Nock, Albert Jay, 71, 257, 414
Nye, Joseph, 273
O
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), 115
Office of Homeland Security, 49
oil industry, 114, 267–70, 275, 280, 467–70
Oklahoma City bombing, 56, 213
Omnipotent Government: The Rise of the Total State and Total War (Mises), 167, 246
O’Neill, Paul, 437
Oppenheimer, Franz, 171
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), 115
P
Paine, Thomas, 430–31
Passion, The (movie), 332–35
patents, 460
Patriot Act, 216
patriotism, 218
Paul, Ron
call for gold standard, 442
conversion to gold standard, 426
financial privacy and, 77
foreign policy doctrine, 293–97
opposition to Food Allergen
Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, 353
Perot, Ross, 406
Planned Society: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, The: A Symposium by Thirty–Five Economists, Sociologists, and Statesmen, 395
police
American Right and, 247–49, 253–58
driver profiling by, 16
enforcements against social vices, 181
Hurricane Katrina and, 491
as instruments of tyranny, 34
protection by private enterprise, 231, 253
September 11 and, 304
police state. Seefascism
politics
campaigns, 86–94
failure of, 69–71
power and, 129–42
students’ views toward, 43–47
third parties, 516–17
postal service. Seemail service
poverty
minimum wage laws and, 121
as policy goal, 154
substance abuse and, 531
taxing the wealthy and, 105
power worship, 225–26
precious metals, 419–28
prescription drugs, 132–33
price gouging, 467–70, 476–77, 492–93
price system
deflation and, 343–47
distortions of, 399–400
gouging and, 467–70
inflation and, 451
prisons, 234–35, 237, 240–43, 248–49
privacy
government’s effects on, 78–80
privatization
as defined by government, 28
of mail service, 373–76
as public policy option, 9–14
of Social Security, 13–14, 28, 50, 223, 342, 460–61
products, quality of, 357–61
professors, college, 185–88, 222
profits, 333–35
of Bush administration, 7, 132, 135–37, 250, 460
business failures and, 341–42
foreign relations and, 159, 160
steel industry and, 365–68
as violation of liberty, 108
Proudhon, Pierre Joseph, 21
public good, defined, 233
public housing, 178
public works, 106
Q
“Quest for the Historical Mises” (Rothbard), 411
Quigley, Carroll, 104
Quintius Fabius Maximus, 102
R
racial profiling, 15–16
racism, 194–202
Martin Luther King and, 203–07See alsodiscrimination
Rahn, Richard, 438
Raico, Ralph, 57
Raimondo, Justin
Enemy of the State, 403–18
Rand, Ayn, 415
Randians, 151–52
Randolph, John, 250
Rathje, William L., 144
rational expectations economics, 388–89
Read, Leonard, 410
Reagan, Ronald
call for gold standard, 442
environmentalists and, 146
government spending under, 250
power worship and, 225
supply side economics and, 388
tax cuts and, 9
recessions
business cycles and, 432–34, 454–55
colleges and, 186–87
government’s attempts to control, 132
Keynesian economics and, 391–95
paper money and, 431
price system and, 345–46
private sector as scapegoat, 304
wars and, 276–79
regulations
airline. Seeairline regulations
banking disclosures, 436–39
environmental, 147–54
food labeling, 352–57
to free enterprise, 11
inability to control economy, 129–42
licensure of professionals, 125–29
privileges for big business and, 113–17
reasons for, 117–24
Sarbanes-Oxley Act, 463
trade and, 158–63
Reisman, George, 426
religion
Bush administration and, 224
central governments and, 49–50, 216–17
conflict theory of society and, 254–56
under the Constitution, 75
environmentalism, 151
in Iraq, 283
lobbies against trade, 163–67
wars and, 259–61
Religious Right. SeeChristian Right
Reno, Janet, 498
Revolutionary War. SeeAmerican Revolution
Ricardo, David, 272
Richter, Gustav, 86
Rise and Decline of the State, The (Creveld), 82
Roberts, Paul Craig, 217
Robin, Corey, 349
Robinson, Joan, 106
Roosevelt, Eleanor, 508
Roosevelt, Franklin D.
Bill of Rights and, 225
blame for private sector and, 304, 449
depressions and, 455
election promises of, 196
as founder of Securities and Exchange Commission, 115
Great Depression, 459
Japanese internment camps and, 292
National Industrial Recovery Act, 54
opposition to, 532
Roosevelt, Theodore, 272
Rothbard, Murray
American Right and, 247
America’s Great Depression, 150, 411
“Anatomy of the State,” 35–38
Betrayal of the American Right, The, 257–58
Case Against the Fed, The, 452
Conceived in Liberty, 34, 220, 411
contrast between power and market, 65, 170
conversion to gold standard, 426
critique of war, 284
on decentralization, 503–05
definition of the free market, 386
on depressions, 455
on doctrine of liberty, 218
on economists, 9
as enemy of state, 403–18
Ethics of Liberty, The, 411–12
European interest in, 403
on food labeling regulations, 352
For A New Liberty, 411
“Freedom, Inequality, Primitivism, and the Division of Labor,” 411
on Great Depression, 150, 341, 411, 424
History of Economic Thought, 411
History of Money and Banking in the United States, 272
on inflation, 452
on justice system, 249
“Lange, Mises, and Praxeology,” 411
on libertarians, 530
“Ludwig von Mises: Paradigm for Our Age,” 411
Man, Economy, and State, 387, 409, 411
market incentives and, 28
memo on revolution against the Democrats, 212–13
Mystery of Banking, The, 412
on political agendas, 523–24
on political campaigns, 86
pro-freedom strategy, 512–13
on public involvement in economics, 390
“Quest for the Historical Mises,” 411
on recessions, 345–46
on regulations concerning natural disasters, 479
“Science, Technology, and Government,” 59
“Society Without a State,” 411
“World War I as Fulfillment,” 412
Roy, Ralph Lord
Apostles of Discord, 408
Ruskin, John, 175–76
Russert, Tim, 269
S
St. Augustine, 152–54
Salerno, Joseph, 426
Samuelson, Paul, 107
Savings and Loan industry, 429–31
Schlumberg Ltd., 269
Schmemann, Serge, 268
schools
colleges, leftist influence in, 176, 185–88, 222
government management of, 139
government’s effects on, 140, 181, 185, 216
privatization of, 10, 12–13, 28, 50–51
quality of, 342
Schultze, Charles
Memos to the President, 396–97
“Science, Technology, and Government” (Rothbard), 59
Screwtape Letters (Lewis), 48
Second Amendment, 518
Second Punic War, 102
Securities and Exchange Commission, 115–16
security
loss of liberty and, 92, 299–303
meaning of, 314–18
promise of from government, 140, 306, 307–18
segregationism, 194–202
separation of powers, 502–03
September 11
airline regulations, 3
airline regulations and, 30, 301–02, 306
blame for, 304–07
counterterrorism, 307–11
effects on students, 45
government’s benefits from, 93, 215, 480–81
increase in government power and, 3–8, 56, 299–303, 524
Iraq and, 280
militarism of US and, 109, 277
Mises Institute and, 527
Ron Paul on, 296
security and, 311–18
students and, 486
Washington think tanks on, 222–23
Serbia, 303
sexual harassment laws, 78–79
Shaffer, Butler, 121
Shalala, Donna, 498
Shaw, George Bernard, 102, 105, 241
Shenoy, Sudha, 138
silver, as money, 419–28
slavery, 513
Slouching Towards Gomorrah (Bork), 228
Social Security
effects on families, 185
government management of, 18
inflation’s effects on, 450
privatization of, 13–14, 28, 50, 223, 342, 460–61
security and, 315
attitudes toward wealthy people, 109–12
collapse of, 11–12, 91, 453, 500
in colleges, 185–88
democracy and, 284–89
disasters and, 476
Fabians and, 102–05
families and, 183–85
Martin Luther King and, 204, 206
Mises on, 283–84, 331–32, 400–03
mixed economy, 395–96
new communism, 97–101
as political option, 134, 222, 225, 523, 528, 531
prisons and, 247–49
private enterprise and, 65–68, 382–83, 400–03, 460–61
privatization and, 13–14, 29–30, 146, 342
trade and, 156–57
violence and, 105–09
war and, 156, 283, 285, 288–89, 405
“Society Without a State” (Rothbard), 411
Somalia, 287
Soros, George, 362–63
The South, 195, 414, 507–08, 513–14
Soviet Communism: A New Civilization? (Webb and Webb), 104
Soviet Union
Cold War. SeeCold War
collapse of, 142, 169, 255–56, 500
families and, 184
ownership over capital stock, 65
protectionist policies, 366–67
spam legislation, 39–43
special interest groups, 113–17
Stahl, Lesley, 303
Stalin, Joseph, 104, 395, 401–02, 502
standards for government, 264–66
States’ Rights Party, 195, 197–200
steel industry, 136–37, 365–68
Stevenson, Adlai, 405–06
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Treasure Island, 419–20
stimulus plan (Bush administration), 391–95
Stone, Joe, 432
Stossel, John, 112
Sudan, 303
Sun Microsystems, 319
supply side economics, 389, 442
Symms, Steve, 116–17
T
Tabarrok, Alexander
“Death Taxes: Theory, History, and Ethics,” 364
Taft, Robert, 197
Taliban, 169, 180–83, 278, 522
tariffs
Abraham Lincoln and, 507–08
Bush administration and, 460
under the Constitution, 74
steel industry, 136–37, 365–68
trade and, 161–62
war and, 279See alsoprotectionist policies
tax laws
Alternative Minimum, 18, 461–62
reform of, 51
windfall profits tax, 114
technology
advances in, 457
central governments and, 59–61
communications, 483–84
dot-com industry, 443–46
entrepreneurs, 382–83
freedom and, 533
during Gilded Age, 67
government subsidies and, 396
order and, 256
organization of society and, 22
power of US and, 169
private enterprise and, 8, 141
telephones. Seecommunication technology
Tennessee Valley Authority, 12
Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution, 17
terrorism
counterterrorism, 300–03, 307–14
domestic, 213
government’s benefits from, 93
justification for, 299
as preferred means of fighting, 169
September 11 and. SeeSeptember 11
war on, 256, 288, 300, 313–14, 472
world economy and, 169
Thatcher, Margaret, 103
“A Theory of Everything” (Friedman), 168
Theory of Money and Credit, The (Mises), 411, 454
think tanks, 222–23
Thurmond, Strom, 195–202
Tocqueville, Alexis de, 63, 72
trade, free
religious lobbies, 163–67
tariffs. Seetariffs
vs. war, 155–58
world government and, 158–63
trade associations, 355
trade unions, 128
transfer of wealth, 362–65
Treasure Island (Stevenson), 419–20, 421, 427, 428
Treatises on Government (Locke), 252
Trotsky, Leon, 97–98
Turner, Ted, 112
Twain, Mark
War Prayer, 225
U
unions, labor. Seelabor unions
United Nations, 278
universities, leftist influence in, 176, 185–88, 222
Unto This Last (Ruskin), 175
US Constitution. SeeConstitution
USA Today, 216
V
Victorians, 428–29
violence in the workplace, 189–90
W
Wal-Mart
antitrust regulations and, 117–20
crisis management and, 28
culture and, 231–32
minimum wage laws and, 121–24
natural disasters and, 474
organization of society and, 22
prices and, 423–24
success of, 138
Wall Street (movie), 343
Wall Street Journal
September 11 and, 4–5
Wanniski, Jude, 388
War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning (Hedges), 261
War on Terror, 256, 288, 300, 313–14, 472See alsoterrorism
“War on the South” (Flynn), 201
War Prayer (Twain), 225
wars
with Afghanistan. SeeAfghanistan
bourgeoisie support of, 259–62
Bush administration and, 245
Civil War (American), 32, 201, 507–08, 513
vs. commerce, 155–58
consequences for the economy, 276–81, 481–82
government’s effects on, 140
ideology of, 281–89
with Iraq. SeeIraq, US war with Lenin and, 271–75
moral standards and, 264–66
opposition to, 290–93
profits from, 273–75
on terror. SeeWar on Terror
World War I. SeeWorld War I
World War II. SeeWorld War II
Washington, Booker T., 513–14
Washington, George
on coercive apparatus of the state, 354
foreign policy of, 135–36, 274, 285–86, 294
on need for government, 529
on secession, 507
water systems, 203–04
Waters, Maxine, 328
wealth, transfer of, 362–65
Soviet Communism: A New Civilization?, 104
Soviet Communism: A New Civilization?, 104
Wendy’s, 337–38
Will, George, 4
Wilson, Woodrow, 225, 293, 508
windfall profits tax, 114
Winik, Jay, 291–92
Wolk, Martin, 345
workers. Seeemployment
World Trade Center
attack on. SeeSeptember 11
World Trade Organization (WTO), 159–62, 365–66, 484–85
World War I
books by Rothbard on, 411, 412
as deterrent to liberty and peace, 325
farm welfare programs during, 116
Lochner decision and, 502
socialism and, 44
warnings against involvement, 294
“World War I as Fulfillment” (Rothbard), 412
World War II
centralization of government and, 59, 195–96, 199, 532
effects on civilization, 67
spending on defense, 48
warnings against involvement, 294
WorldCom, 448
Worldly Philosophers, The (Heilbroner), 401
WTO (World Trade Organization), 159–62
Y
Y2K computer bug, 434–36
The Left, the Right, and the State
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