Murray Rothbard 101: Explore the Enemy of the State

Murray Rothbard was an American economist, writer, and libertarian thinker who advocated for freedom throughout his life and was a significant representative of the Austrian School of economics. In 1976, Rothbard founded the Center for Libertarian Studies and was among the founding partners of the Mises Institute in 1982. He was recognised for his efforts to spread libertarian philosophy.

Rothbard’s books draw from various fields such as economic theory, politics, history, and philosophy. His ideas, particularly regarding the role of the state, taxation, and free market economics, are still being debated. His most important book is “Man, Economy, and State.” Rothbard passed away on January 7, 1995. If you want to learn more about him, you can check out the subtitles in this Zatrun.com article.

Who is Murray Rothbard?

Murray Rothbard was born on March 2, 1926, in New York City and began his academic career at Columbia University. He completed a mathematics degree in 1945 and then earned his PhD in economics in 1956. Following this, Rothbard taught economics at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute for 20 years before beginning work at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in 1986. He continued working there until his passing in 1995.

Murray Rothbard was a libertarian thinker and a passionate defender of the Austrian School of economics, which is considered unusual in the United States. The Austrian School was founded in 1871 with the publication of Carl Menger’s “Principles of Economics,” and Rothbard believed in the school’s philosophy. According to the school’s viewpoint, only individuals have the right to make decisions, and collective entities should not make decisions.

Rothbard, regarded as the father of libertarian anarchism (anarcho-capitalism), supports individual responsibility and private property over government control. He supports private property creating profit and loss, allowing producers to evaluate the consequences of investment decisions, and providing incentives for entrepreneurship. In this respect, he has ideas that are completely compatible with the Austrian School.

Rothbard’s Opinions

Murray Rothbard argued that even services traditionally seen as limited functions of government should be privatised. He believed that education, healthcare, security, and other government functions should only be offered in a free market. These ideas have generated significant debates in the economics world.

Rothbard also opposed taxation and said that the government should not interfere with personal economic matters. In his opinion, the privatisation of public services was necessary for the development of the economy, and the existence of the government was unnecessary.