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Murray N. Rothbard

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Egalitarianism as a Revolt against Nature Kindle Edition

by Murray N. Rothbard (Author), Roy A. Childs Jr. (Foreword), David Gordon (Introduction) Format: Kindle Edition

4.8 110 ratings

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All evidence points to the superiority of the libertarian ideal — private property, capitalism, international trade, laissez-faire — but something is keeping the world from embracing it. That something is wrong-headed ideology — some philosophical error grown into a massive system of thought, an agenda that if unleashed would mutilate and crush civilization as we know it.

Murray Rothbard had a nose for such error. And when he smelled it, he wrote it up, exposed its underside, refuted its logic, and obliterated its intellectual foundation. That's why he was so hated — and so loved. He is so relentless that it makes the reader squirm. But he also teaches and inspires.

Consider, for example, "anarchosocialism." Here is an ideology that hates the state. Fine so far. Problem: it is an ideology that hates private property even more. In fact, these people believe that the state is the only reason private property exists.

Rothbard writes, "they totally fail to realize that the State has always been the great enemy and invader of the rights of property. Furthermore, scorning and detesting the free market, the profit-and-loss economy, private property, and material affluence — all of which are corollaries of each other — anarchocommunists wrongly identify anarchism with communal living, with tribal sharing, and with other aspects of our emerging drug-rock 'youth culture'."

Or here's another case: those people who are forever complaining about the "ugliness" and "brutality" of urban commercial life.

Rothbard writes, "My own observation is that most of the bellyachers about the ugliness of our cities and singers of paeans to the unspoiled wilderness stubbornly remain ensconced in these very cities. Why don't they leave? There are, even today, plenty of rural and even wilderness areas for them to live in and enjoy. Why don't they go there and leave those of us who like and enjoy the cities in peace. Furthermore, if they got out, it would help relieve the urban 'overcrowding' which they also complain about."

And we've all heard about oppression of women under marriage. Well, listen to Rothbard's take on it: "The women militants who complain that they are stuck with the task of raising the children should heed the fact that, in a world without marriage, they would also be stuck with the task of earning all the income for their children's support. I suggest that they contemplate this prospect long and hard before they continue to clamor for the abolition of marriage and the family."

So it goes through this wonderful book Egalitarianism as a Revolt Against Nature, and Other Essays. It might just be the wildest Rothbard romp ever. Fully armed, he slices and dices crazies of all sorts, from those who would level all incomes to those who would free all peoples of the world through bombings and nuclear war. This is Rothbard providing the reader a strong dose of sanity against the hordes of ideological fanatics who care not a knit for reality or reason.

But Rothbard is not one of those thinkers who, like Russell Kirk, concludes that ideology is itself a bad thing. On the contrary, Rothbard believes that ideology is critical for the defense of liberty: we must organize our ideas to make sense of the world and to have an agenda for the future.

Thus does this book also include outstanding pieces of positive theory, including "Justice and Property Rights," "War, Peace, and the State," and "Left and Right: The Prospects for Liberty." It concludes with his rallying cry: "Why Be Libertarian?"

With all the political books out there, each with a partisan spin, it's wonderful to read a thinker who doesn't fear exposing the errors of both the Left and the Right, measuring anyone and everyone against the great benchmark of the idea of liberty.

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About the Author

Murray N. Rothbard (1926-1995) distinguished himself as an economist, writing a major treatise on theory, several important economic histories, and a highly praised history of economic thought. But he was also known as the pioneer thinker of libertarianism, the political philosophy that roots freedom in private property ownership and decries the state as inherently contrary to the ethics of a free society. Writing from this perspective, he gained a reputation as the most provocative and influential contributor to the anarchist tradition in our century.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B003ZDO8B6
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ludwig von Mises Institute (August 11, 2010)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 11, 2010
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 644 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 354 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #222,328 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #39 in Radical Thought
- #81 in Communism & Socialism (Kindle Store)
- #113 in Political Philosophy (Kindle Store)

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Murray N. Rothbard

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Murray Newton Rothbard (/ˈmʌri ˈrɑːθbɑːrd/; March 2, 1926 – January 7, 1995) was an American heterodox economist of the Austrian School, a revisionist historian, and a political theorist(pp11, 286, 380) whose writings and personal influence played a seminal role in the development of modern libertarianism. Rothbard was the founder and leading theoretician of anarcho-capitalism, a staunch advocate of historical revisionism, and a central figure in the twentieth-century American libertarian movement. He wrote over twenty books on political theory, revisionist history, economics, and other subjects. Rothbard asserted that all services provided by the "monopoly system of the corporate state" could be provided more efficiently by the private sector and wrote that the state is "the organization of robbery systematized and writ large." He called fractional reserve banking a form of fraud and opposed central banking. He categorically opposed all military, political, and economic interventionism in the affairs of other nations.(pp4–5, 129) According to his protégé Hans-Hermann Hoppe, "There would be no anarcho-capitalist movement to speak of without Rothbard."

Rothbard was a heterodox economist. Economist Jeff Herbener, who calls Rothbard his friend and "intellectual mentor", wrote that Rothbard received "only ostracism" from mainstream academia. Rothbard rejected mainstream economic methodologies and instead embraced the praxeology of his most important intellectual precursor, Ludwig von Mises. To promote his economic and political ideas, Rothbard joined Llewellyn H. "Lew" Rockwell, Jr. and Burton Blumert in 1982 to establish the Ludwig von Mises Institute in Alabama.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Ludwig von Mises Institute [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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J. Paul Henderson

I love this book!

Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2024

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Murray Rothbard was one of the 20th century's greatest economists and philosophers. The entire book is well-written and easy and entertaining to read. And no matter how hard you try it's almost impossible not to learn from it. It's a gem.

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Daniel Lyle

" People that realize this make the best of their lives regardless of their circumstances

Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2015

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Reading Rothbard offers a unique and refreshing historical perspective on why the world has faced continual turmoil since Cain slew Abel. He analyzes the underlying motives many of the raucous political and social movements of today are based on, especially the obsession with egalitarianism. Rothbard's style might come across as slightly abrasive and insensitive to a generation that has been brow beaten for decades into politically correct submission, but careful reading of his works provides ample evidence that he believed in preserving the dignity of all mankind and the inherent freedom of all persons to rise to the levels of success and ability that naturally would occur in the absence of artificial coercion. Rothbard describes the real enemy as the artificial political elites (as opposed to natural elites which should be free to succeed) and government power misapplied in suppressing exceptional talent and ability in their aim to equalize us to fit a common standard. Readers of this book might gain an awareness that there has been a voice of reason throughout the ages that has whispered the adage: "Life isn't fair nor should it be!" People that realize this make the best of their lives regardless of their circumstances. They don't whine as impotent victims of whatever oppression they might imagine. They don't envy or belittle others success or pull others down like lobsters in a bucket. They appreciate the fact that we are all different, are unequal except in being equally free to decide what life we will live and enjoy.

14 people found this helpful

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Jeff

Rothbard's Pathos Persuades

Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2005

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I have long used Rothbard's writing as an ideal in rhetorical mimesis exercises. He presents complicated issues with unrivalled clarity and concision. For example, in his essay "Egalitarianism as a Revolt Against Nature," Rothbard takes on a difficult rhetorical challenge: he seeks to undercut the commonplace belief in equality. This brilliant essay combines logos and pathos in a way few authors can, as when he examines fictional accounts of true egalitarian societies:

"The horror we all instinctively feel at these stories is the intuitive recognition that men are not uniform, that the species, mankind, is uniquely characterized by a high degree of variety, diversity, differentiation; in short, inequality. An egalitarian society can only hope to achieve its goals by totalitarian methods of coercion; and, even here, we all believe and hope the human spirit of individual man will rise up and thwart any such attempts to achieve an ant-heap world. In short, the portrayal of an egalitarian society is horror fiction because, when the implications of such a world are fully spelled out, we recognize that such a world and such attempts are profoundly antihuman; being antihuman in the deepest sense, the egalitarian goal is, therefore, evil and any attempts in the direction of such a goal must be considered evil as well."

Other reviewers do an able job of explaining Rothbard's thinking; my review provides you with some idea of the emotional force of his writing. This is an important collection of essays by an important American thinker.

28 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Liquidates woke narative.

Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2022

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Looks at rot that is devouring our country from a wide angle. Full of clear thinking historical proofs and observation. Written 20 some years ago for this time. A nuclear bomb defence against
irrational motives fuled by "feels" and romantacism.

3 people found this helpful

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Michael DeVinney

One of a kind

Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2020

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There may not have been many people as great as Murray Rothbard. I recommend reading anything by him, which I do in Pure Political Philosophy.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1098020227/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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Mars Villion

Is this an argument against Libertarianism?

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2020

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I remember liking the title and as someone who found libertarianism appealing reading this essay many many years ago. Well recently I decided to read it again with fresh libertarian ideals and somehow it comes across as a diatribe against libertarianism; at least the way I and many people I know define it. I think this is because of two fallacies: 1. Rothbard mixes diversity with (imagined) hierarchy and 2. He assumes he knows natural law (in the similar way that Archie Bunker would claim that “it was always that way and will always be that way”).

Human’s have vast potentials but also have vast flaws. One is to think at a very short scale with time in comparison to the cosmos. So our assumptions of nature are limited by not only our senses but by our cognitive processes. It appears to me that in today’s time Rothbard’s limited capability at observation looks very obviously antiquated and more aligned with the extreme rule governed conservatism and modern liberalism than with “free to do and think as one chooses as long as no harm is done” understanding of Libertarianism we have today.

I am glad I have reread this. But it is not on the side of liberty. I question why this is considered an important essay in the libertarian cannon. It seems against it.

3 people found this helpful

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Ryan

Very impressed

Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2017

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I'm actually mainly rating the quality of the binding of this book because it is so well done. Strong backing, good firm pages, pre-made crease to avoid bending the spine. Very impressed.
And of course the topic and subject matter of the book is also of high quality!

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Darien Sumner

As brilliant now as ever before

Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2015

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This collection of essays by the immortal Murray Rothbard covers quite a range of topics -- philosophical, political, economic -- while remaining both insightful and engaging the whole time. Written for the layman, this book requires no special grounding in any of its disciplines to understand, and provides a terrific broad-spectrum introduction to the science of liberty.

4 people found this helpful

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Julian B.

Sehr gutes Buch!

Reviewed in Germany on September 6, 2020

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Sehr interessantes und aufschlussreiches Buch! Kann es jedem empfehlen!

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Jean-paul Lacharme

Une pensée politique originale inconnue en France

Reviewed in France on June 13, 2020

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Cet ouvrage qui comporte une quinzaine de chapitres de longueur variée sur des sujets divers fait le tour de nombreuses questions politiques qu’il éclaire de façon originale. Le point central de cette pensée est le suivant : l’État est la systématisation d’un processus prédateur sur un territoire donné. Il n’a jamais été créé par un contrat social mais il est né de la conquête et de l’exploitation. Le marché libre lui est antérieur. Il se maintient par le monopole de la force et de la violence et c’est la seule organisation sociale qui qui obtient ses revenus non par une contribution volontaire mais par la coercition. A partir de là, l‘auteur déroule un fil conducteur qui s’appuie sur la liberté de l’individu face à cet État, le marché libre et la propriété privée. Il en déduit une opposition résolue à toute guerre de conquête et à l’esclavage.

Comment les libertariens se positionnent-ils politiquement ? Rothbard distingue deux grands courants : le courant libéral (parti de l’espoir, du radicalisme, de la liberté, du progrès, de la révolution industrielle), face au conservatisme statique, théocratique, partisan de l’ordre ancien. Il déplore une dérive autoritaire du libéralisme qui le fait passer de son radicalisme novateur originel à un statisme réactionnaire contre-nature.

Il pointe la différence fondamentale entre libertarianisme et anarchisme : l’anarchiste est contre l’État parce qu’il pense à tort que celui-ci protège la propriété privée qu’il abhorre. Le libertarien est contre l’État parce que celui-ci supprime la propriété privée pour accroître ses pouvoirs. Si libertariens et anarchistes peuvent coopérer sur la première phase (la destruction de l’État), ils seront ensuite en opposition et l’auteur ne se fait pas trop d’illusions sur le respect des libertés individuelle par les seconds lorsqu’il s’agira de s’entendre sur le statut de la propriété privée.

Concernant les autres questions, on notera d’intéressants développements sur l’écologie, la justice, le féminisme, le droit des enfants et la division du travail dans le cadre de la société technicienne.

Le point faible de cette pensée me semble concerner le problème du pouvoir grandissant des multinationales géantes face à des États en décomposition : à terme l’État disparaît, tout comme la propriété privée du grand nombre. Ne restent que quelques entités privées appartenant à quelques d’individus qui finissent par s’approprier la terre entière. Pas sûr que ce problème ait été vu.

One person found this helpful

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Marcio Atz

Excelent reading!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 26, 2013

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Do not miss reading it, help understanding our present times and the empty dicourse of "world saviors" of all tribes. Great book for all freethinker individuals!

One person found this helpful

Hany K.

Not so egalitarian after all

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 10, 2020

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I was falsly attracted by the liberal title but although the content is refreshing and radical. It is too right wing to my test. The only consalation that it let you understand how the neoconservative evolved and why they hate big state intervention

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